The Transformation From Stoicism To Detachment

Ernest Hemingway is one of the most influential writers in America and is famous for his character creation. The heroes in Hemingway's works are distinctive and famous for their images of the code hero, but they are by no means one-dimensional tough man. Hemingway's writing period can be roughly divided into three stages, and the characters in each stage have their own attributes. The thesis intends to explore the development of these characters from stoicism, disillusionment to detachment by analyzing some of Hemingway's novels in different stages. The exploration is expected to help the readers, especially those caught in the dilemma of life to cultivate the positive attitude towards life, to solve the problems in their life and to realize the value of their life.The thesis consists of three parts:introduction, main body and conclusion, and the main body is divided into three chapters. Part one is the introduction, which presents Hemingway and his personal experiences closely related with his works in his three writing stages, followed by a review of literary criticism of Hemingway's works, and a brief introduction to Nietzsche's existentialism. The research questions are put forward at the end of this part.Chapter One elaborates stoicism of the Hemingway's characters in Hemingway's early writing stage. The representative work is The Sun Also Rises. In the work Hemingway describes a group of young men who suffer the spiritual predicament in the wake of World Warâ… . They wander aimlessly, indulging in the bar and bullring. The war seems to have shattered the young men's dreams and their traditional values, but they neither give in nor complain of anything, rather they try to seek the meaning of life in the spiritual wasteland with the quality of stoicism.Chapter Two explores Hemingway's characters featured by disillusionment. The characters in the middle writing stage are no longer indulged in the chaotic behaviors and they abandon their belief in the traditional values of patriotism and fame. In face of the harsh reality, they begin to take active actions to create new values. In the work For Whom the Bell Tolls, Robert Jordan is disillusioned with the traditional values, and he endeavors himself in quest of new values. Instead of accepting spiritual suffering passively, Robert Jordan begins to take an active part in the Republican cause and to pursue his true love.Chapter Three discusses the characters in Hemingway's late stage, who are possessed of detachment. The representative work in this stage is The Old Man and the Sea. Santiago is an old fisherman. Different from the other fishermen, who regard fishing output as their cause and the most valuable thing, Santiago holds that the meaning of life lies in the process of fishing in nature which reflects his spiritual triumph. Santiago fights against the big marlin and the sharks with the Will to Power, and gains spiritual victory, rather than success in terms of secular values. The emphasis of challenging himself and achieving spiritual triumph illustrates Santiago's detachment.The thesis applies Nietzsche's existentialism, especially Apollonian and Dionysian spirits, and the philosophy of superman, to analyze the internal world as well as the external actions of the heroes in Hemingway's works, i.e. how the heroes eventually alleviate their spiritual predicament and successfully realize the value of human life and human dignity. By analyzing the features of the Hemingway's characters the thesis comes to the conclusion that the development of the Hemingway heroes is from stoicism, disillusionment to detachment.