“The fight with Cohn had not touched his spirit but his face had been smashed and his body hurt. He was wiping all that out now. Each thing he did with that bull wiped that out a little cleaner.”
Pedro Romero is the true Hemingway hero. He shows grace under pressure and continues to get up even when knocked down. He certainly proved it when Cohn found Brett in his room and began to punch Romero repeatedly. The reader could see that it was hard on Romero, but he kept standing up only to be knocked down again. When Cohn broke down into tears and asked Romero to forgive him and to shake hands, Romero punched Cohn in the face. Romero shows his masculinity with threats to kill Cohn if Cohn tried to help him, or even if he saw Cohn again.
At the bull fight, he showed grace. He did not show that he was hurt by Cohn while he was fighting the bull. He fought as though he was not injured at all. He fought the bull gracefully. Even before he was injured, he demonstrated grace. He didn’t need to exaggerate the danger of fighting the bull. He fought like a traditional bull fighter. He didn’t have to fake the danger. Everything about Pedro Romero was real. He gave a real show to the crowd. The bull-fight wasn’t faked to look more dangerous than it was. He showed the real danger by fighting the bull the proper way.
Romero is the complete opposite of Jake, the character who would seem like the hero, but he doesn’t quite have what it takes to be a Hemingway hero. Before Cohn went in a rage after Romero, his anger lashed out at Jake. Cohn demanded to know where Brett was, and he believed that Jake had the answer to that. When Jake said that he didn’t know, Cohn didn’t believe him and called him a “pimp”. This was an insult to Jake, who responded by swinging a punch at Cohn. Cohn hit Jake, and instead of fighting back like a true “man”, Jake crawled underneath a nearby table to hide.
It was no surprise that Brett fell in love with Pedro Romero. While it is true that she loved Jake, Jake was not “manly” enough to give her what she wanted the most. Romero is manly. Romero had the ability to satisfy her. Romero could give Brett what she wanted. Unlike the other men, Romero wasn’t used by Brett. He was not one of the men that she destroyed. He was probably hurt that she left, but it didn’t destroy her life. We don’t hear about his reaction to her leaving him. Most men are damaged by Brett, like Cohn and Mike who resort to violence and drinking. Romero doesn’t show that he is damaged from his relationship with Brett.
Pedro Romero is a hero because he has a sense of pride about him. As stated before, he doesn’t fake the danger in the bull fights. He doesn’t need any handicap for what he loves to do. The other bull fighters change their method because they think that it is what the crowd wants. Romero actually knows what the crowd wants, and it’s not what those other bull fighters are doing. He is real when he is fighting the bulls. He doesn’t need to put on an act or pretend that it’s dangerous. The danger that Romero goes through when he goes up against the bulls is real danger. He doesn’t exaggerate it at all. It actually seems like a dance when he gets the bulls attention and then moves off to the side. He is graceful when he handles the bulls, which is something that normal people would not be able to pull off. He is calm and he treats the bulls “like friends”. He knows how to handle himself and how to handle life better than some of the other characters in the novel.
Pedro Romero is the true Hemingway hero. He shows grace under pressure and continues to get up even when knocked down. He certainly proved it when Cohn found Brett in his room and began to punch Romero repeatedly. The reader could see that it was hard on Romero, but he kept standing up only to be knocked down again. When Cohn broke down into tears and asked Romero to forgive him and to shake hands, Romero punched Cohn in the face. Romero shows his masculinity with threats to kill Cohn if Cohn tried to help him, or even if he saw Cohn again.
At the bull fight, he showed grace. He did not show that he was hurt by Cohn while he was fighting the bull. He fought as though he was not injured at all. He fought the bull gracefully. Even before he was injured, he demonstrated grace. He didn’t need to exaggerate the danger of fighting the bull. He fought like a traditional bull fighter. He didn’t have to fake the danger. Everything about Pedro Romero was real. He gave a real show to the crowd. The bull-fight wasn’t faked to look more dangerous than it was. He showed the real danger by fighting the bull the proper way.
Romero is the complete opposite of Jake, the character who would seem like the hero, but he doesn’t quite have what it takes to be a Hemingway hero. Before Cohn went in a rage after Romero, his anger lashed out at Jake. Cohn demanded to know where Brett was, and he believed that Jake had the answer to that. When Jake said that he didn’t know, Cohn didn’t believe him and called him a “pimp”. This was an insult to Jake, who responded by swinging a punch at Cohn. Cohn hit Jake, and instead of fighting back like a true “man”, Jake crawled underneath a nearby table to hide.
It was no surprise that Brett fell in love with Pedro Romero. While it is true that she loved Jake, Jake was not “manly” enough to give her what she wanted the most. Romero is manly. Romero had the ability to satisfy her. Romero could give Brett what she wanted. Unlike the other men, Romero wasn’t used by Brett. He was not one of the men that she destroyed. He was probably hurt that she left, but it didn’t destroy her life. We don’t hear about his reaction to her leaving him. Most men are damaged by Brett, like Cohn and Mike who resort to violence and drinking. Romero doesn’t show that he is damaged from his relationship with Brett.
Pedro Romero is a hero because he has a sense of pride about him. As stated before, he doesn’t fake the danger in the bull fights. He doesn’t need any handicap for what he loves to do. The other bull fighters change their method because they think that it is what the crowd wants. Romero actually knows what the crowd wants, and it’s not what those other bull fighters are doing. He is real when he is fighting the bulls. He doesn’t need to put on an act or pretend that it’s dangerous. The danger that Romero goes through when he goes up against the bulls is real danger. He doesn’t exaggerate it at all. It actually seems like a dance when he gets the bulls attention and then moves off to the side. He is graceful when he handles the bulls, which is something that normal people would not be able to pull off. He is calm and he treats the bulls “like friends”. He knows how to handle himself and how to handle life better than some of the other characters in the novel.
