In the novel “The Sun Also Rises” Hemingway defines a code of ethics about heroism, and also expresses the theme of male insecurity. The character Romero seems to not have any of these problems, he has his life figured out and he has his morals and values in check. The character Romero portrays these characteristics through everything that he does. Romero is set in the book to be a character of contrast to Jake and his friends. In a world where drinking is the new fashion, Romero does not drink. He puts himself into his bull fighting in order to carry himself high with his head up and to stay confident in himself. Romero is a symbol of strength and honesty. Romero not only attracts people who already love bull fighting, but also people who are new to the sport. Jake and his friends never seem to show a meaning in their life, or even a purpose for their being. Romero proves himself through bull fighting, and lives his life out through the confidence and pride he gets from the sport. Romero is a character of true masculinity in a world that seems to be searching for their own masculinity. Romero puts out the vibe that he knows who he is and he knows what he wants. Romero is really in contrast with Jake because Jake really struggles with finding who he is. Jake is the opposite of what one would say is a hero because he never really tells anyone his feelings and he just goes with what everyone else wants. If Jake were to have more confidence, and go after what he wants, he could be seen as a hero, like Romero is. Romero also shows a major contrast of Mike Campbell, the man is supposed to marry Brett. They share the common interest of Brett because they both fall in love with her, but Mike is engaged to her. They are very different in the fact that Mike is always drunk and bankrupt, and he is also very rough. Since Romero does not drink, he is able to keep his poise and not have the anger and sloppiness that is often seen when MIke is drunk. Since drinking is a way for Jake and his friends to escape the problems of their everyday life, they often were just putting their problems off, not necessarily escaping them. In contrast to all of them, Romero is able to keep control so that the need to drink is not necessary. Romero is seen as a hero because he is strong, honest and is pure.
Heroes have changed throughout time and as a person gets older. One minute it could the famous singer, the next it could be that person who saved a life in a hospital. No matter what type of hero one has, they always seem to have the same characteristics. Confidence, pride, honesty and strength always seems to be the signs of a hero. The changes that have happened since the setting of “The Sun Also Rises” have changed, many of the morals, values and social situations have remained the same. The way a hero is categorized has been nearly the same since people can remember. Typically a person like Romero who is seen as a hero because of the way they carry themselves and the way they treat life. Many people look at big sports stars as heroes, but because many sports stars now have poor habits, many people look up to bad influences. Sports stars in the past held their head high, were honest and played fair games. They were never found in scandals much like the ones you see big sports stars are in today. Although the view of what kind of people are modern day heroes and what kind of people were heroes in the past, they all seem to have masculine attitude and seem to be very honest and strong.
