They represent some notion of a code, some notion of honor, that makes a man a man, and that distinguishes him from people who merely follow their random impulses and who are, by consequence, "messy" (Warren 79). .
The other type of masculinity found in Hemingway's work is more of a coward, in some cases a homosexual, or a "messy man" that follows no code of ethics and is generally submissive. This second character has no sense of valor or bravery and is often dominated by a woman, by far the most humiliating condition according to Hemingway. This masculine, and I use this term loosely, man is best exemplified by Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises. These two very different types of men lead to the question of which one is more superior. Is it better to be a macho man with a "never say die" attitude or a more sensitive man that knows when to throw in the towel.
Before we can look any further at Hemingway's works to find which type of masculinity really is superior, we must look at Hemingway's personal life to find out where his views on the subject actually came from. It is clear that Hemingway glorifies the violence and strength of the code hero, but at the same time the second less honorable hero is consistently the focal point of other works making us question who Hemingway really supports. The life of Hemingway begins with a little boy who was dressed in girl's clothing by his mother during his early years, a point he would later avoid when mythologizing his youth. He preferred to concentrate on roaming teenage adventures (apparently invented) in which his only problems were the sexual advances of adult hoboes, which he bravely resisted by carrying a knife wherever he went.
During his famous post-World War I life in Paris as an expatriate he encountered homosexual people of both sexes but always had greater difficulty dealing with the men than with the women. Lesbians with whom he was capable of being relatively charming included Gertrude Stein and Alice B.
The purpose of human and animal confrontation in Hemingway's works was not to show human superiority or conquest over animals. ... In the 1920s he moved to Paris to work as a newsman. ... Hemingway had a deep appreciation for nature. ... Hemingway loved fishing more than anything in the world. ... Hemingway has said before that no person experiences life like the bullfighter (Hemingway, 1966). ...
