ABSTRACT

Is there any meaning to life or to our existence? How to exist and lead a meaningful life? These two questions constitute an eternal enquiry which perplexed numerous philosophers for centuries. Friedrich Nietzsche, the eminent 19th century German philosopher, tried to answer the questions from a new perspective. Nietzsche partially adopted Schopenhauer’s pessimism but drastically flogged its negativity, proposing the Dionysian spirit instead. The essence of the Dionysian spirit resides in the direct confrontation with the tragedies of human life, advocating a defiant smile against its tragic nature. Facing the same perpetual problem, American novelist Hemingway recommended a similar way of dealing with life’s challenges in the name of “grace under pressure” demonstrated by the tough guy characters created in his novels. It is not difficult to figure out that the Dionysian spirit and the tough guy images possess a closely connected connotation that is to fight against the tragic life vigorously, and to summon up all the courage and energy to resist and conquer rather than to roll with the punches. Today the torch of the Dionysian spirit and the tough guy images are still held aloft, providing us with a vibrant attitude on how to stand tall in front of challenges and tragedies.

This paper aims to mainly research on the typical tough guy images in Hemingway’s works and discuss the Dionysian spirit emitting from the tough guys as the tragic characters as well as analyze how those tough guys confront their tragic life, in which we could draw some inspirations. 

This paper is divided into five chapters: the first chapter is a brief introduction; the second chapter renders a brief introduction on Dionysus and the connotation and essence of the Dionysian spirit; the third chapter gives an analysis on the tough guy images and Dionysian spirit on the tough guys; the fourth chapter discusses the attitudes towards our tragic life; the last chapter serves as the conclusion.  

Key words: Nietzsche; Hemingway; Dionysian spirit; code hero; tragic life; fight

vigorously

CONTENTS

摘要

ABSTRACT

1.Introduction-1

2.Dionysus and Dionysian Spirit-4

2.1 Dionysus-4

2.2 Dionysian Spirit-4

3.The Tough Guy Image in Hemingway’s Works and the Dionysian Spirit on Tough Guy-7

3.1 An Analysis on the Tough Guy Image in Hemingway’s Works-7

3.1.1 Hemingway’s Image-7

3.1.2 Tough Guy Images in Hemingway’s Novels-7

3.1.2.1 Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises-7

3.1.2.2 Frederic Henry in A Farewell to Arms-9

3.1.2.3 Robert Jordan in For Whom the Bell Tolls-10

3.1.2.4 Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea-11

3.2 An Analysis on the Dionysian Spirit on Code Hero-13

3.2.1 Intoxication-13

3.2.1.1 Tough Guys and Wine-14

3.2.1.2 Hemingway’s and Our Affinity with Wine-15

3.2.2 From Perseverance to Detachment-16

4.On How to Deal With the Tragic life-18

5.Conclusion-21

References-22

Acknowledgments-23