Zachary White White 1Ms. GilroyEnglish 1020 February 2014Point of View and Conflict in “The Undefeated” by Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway's short story “The Undefeated” is mainly based on how the main character, Manuel Garcia, is getting older and is told that he will not be able to He doesn't fight bulls anymore because he's getting old. He is offered a position to fight a bull, but it was a substitute position. This causes Manuel to become worried because his brother died fighting a bull when he was a substitute. He ends up taking the job anyway but is then told by his friend Zurito (also a picador) that he is too old and not good enough to fight a bull. Later in the story, both the reader and the other characters discover that Manuel is capable of fighting a bull until... his chest is horned and he is defeated. Ernest Hemingway uses many different literary elements to make all of his stories more dynamic. In "The Undefeated", he uses point of view to show different characters' views and opinions regarding the conflicts and actions that take place. The different tones of the different characters fuel the plot and the conflict that unfolds. The tones of the characters in the story motivate the plot and make the story more interesting and dynamic. These tones and different points of view fuel conflict in the story. At first, Manuel Garcia's tone was hesitant to replace another bullfighter due to an internal conflict that is in his memory. “I don't like replacing anyone,” Manuel said. That's how they were all killed. This was how Salvador was killed” (Hemingway). He is torn because he wants to come back and fight a bull, but he doesn't know whether to take the substitute sp...... middle of paper...... for being incompatible, in opposition, or in disagreement. Conflicts can arise in wars, disagreements or mental fights. In the story, Garcia's work in all the preliminaries of the killing shows his greatness as a bullfighter. His inability to kill the bull properly, that is, in an "honorable" manner, gives him an inferior status as a bullfighter and almost gets him killed. He has failed and is on the operating table, but he begs Zurito not to cut his pigtail. It can be destroyed but remains “undefeated”. This shows that Manuel still believes in himself but it also shows him that he has taken the wrong path; he took on a challenge when his instincts told him not to. Many clichés arise due to a conflict that occurred in a previous period; this action by Manuel demonstrates the cliché, "always follow your instincts". Garcia didn't, and it eventually came back to haunt him.