The purpose of this paper is to display Hemingway’s vision of man and his action related to exploration of the ‘self’. With his strong faith in the potential and dignity of man, the novelist contends that an individual’s ultimate goal should be to know the latent energy and power of the self. The quest for self-realisation has been a perpetual process of human beings since the primitive periods. Prophets, sages and seers – all have toiled a lot to attain this truth. In the process, they discovered the maxim of “know thyself” which proves to be a key to the understanding of human life shrouded in mystery. Hemingway finds man caught in the web of wordly dazzle, dreams and illusions and gets alienated from his self. His protagonists therefore, struggle hard encountering the challenges in life and nature to probe the mystery of life and death. In the process, they emerge victorious. With their unyielding disposition and unflinching determination, they prove that man is an unparallel piece of work who can be destroyed but not defeated. With this conviction, they achieve a tragic grandeur while discovering their self.
Guest Lecturer, Non-Collegiate Women Education Board, School of Open Learning, Delhi University, Delhi
