The True Heroes of Hemingway's The Sun Also RisesThe imagery of bulls and oxen permeates Hemmingway's novel, The Sun Also Rises. The bullfight is a major plot point and is very important to the characters. The narrator physically resembles an ox due to the nature of his injury. Mike identifies Cohn as a steer in conversation due to his inability to control Brett sexually. Brett falls in love with a bullfighter, a symbol of virility and passion. However, the bull-steer dichotomy has a deeper level than their respective sexual traits. The images associated with bulls and steers are more illustrative than their possession or lack of testicles. In their roles and in the images associated with them, bulls are glorious, exciting and dangerous. Steers are humble, helpless and secure. Hemmingway's treatment of these associations promotes an ethic of weakness which prevails over strength. Despite the apparent advantages of being a bull and the explicit statements in their favor, oxen are the true heroes of Hemmingway's novel. The imagery associated with bulls and oxen is confusing, as it clearly supports bulls over oxen. Taurus are associated with passion. Those who identify with bulls through their enthusiasm for bullfighting are called “aficionado,” from the Spanish word for passion (131). Those who lack aficion are worthless while a true aficionado is a “buen hombre” (132). Bulls are “beautiful,” muscular, aggressive, and “dangerous” (139, 141). Thanks to their physical prowess and sexual power, bulls are able to rise to the heights of glory. They stir up the passions of the crowds who gather to watch them run and fight. In contrast, steers are weak and emasculated. ...... middle of paper ...... decencies. Without bulls, steers would stagnate. Without the oxen, the bulls would self-destruct. The novel is a story about passion and how it must be quieted by the pedantic voice of normality. The way of the ox saves the way of the bull from its conclusion to self-annihilation. In turn, bull aficion gives meaning and purpose to the ox's life. Works cited and consulted: Bloom, Harold. Ernest Hemingway. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. Hemingway, Ernest. The sun is also rising. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc., 1993. Kerouac, Jack. On the road. New York: Penguin Books Ltd., 1976. Svoboda, Frederic J. Hemingway and The Sun Also Rises: The Crafting of a Style. Kansas: The University Press of Kansas, 1983. Young, Philip. “Ernest Hemingway.” International Encyclopedia. v.8, p.388-389. 1982 ed..