Epic Struggle of Common Man in Ernest Hemingway’s Short Stories

Abstract

The thesis is about the epic struggle of the characters in Hemingway’s two stories: “The Undefeated” and “Now I Lay Me.” Epic struggle is not only found in epic but also in every piece of literature including short stories. Epic features are available in common people. However, unlike epic heroes who were super powerful and undefeatable, modern heroes are attempting to find the meanings in their life by struggling and individualizing. Mahabharata, Ramayana, Homer’s Epics are examples of epics in which the heroes are super powerful; they are able to fight against unimaginable demons. The heroes in epic experience many struggles for giving justice to the people or sometimes themselves.

Ernest Hemingway’s short stories “The Undefeated” and “Now I Lay Me” are about the issue of epic struggle of a common person in the pursuit of living. The characters in the stories face many challenges and attempt to live meaningful life. “The Undefeated” deals with the struggle of Manuel who fights rigorously despite his old age to prove himself how capable he is despite so many adversities. Similarly, in “Now I Lay Me” Signor Tenente plays crucial role by searching his meaning evoking his individual capacity. He fights with internal or external circumstances and realizes that internal wars of a person are more important than external ones. As he lies in the bed, he remembers that difficult situation gives lesson to live in the present. So this research explores how in the selected text the struggle of common man is no less than the epic struggle is manifested.