The Undefeated by Ernest Hemingway
Manuel Garcia, an aging bullfighter recently out of the hospital, climbs to Retana's office seeking work. Retana, the impresario, offers only a substitute spot in a nocturnal the next night, paying far less than established fighters like Villalta receive. Manuel bargains him up from two hundred fifty to three hundred pesetas but cannot secure money for a proper cuadrilla or a good picador. He goes to a café to find Zurito, an old friend and picador, and asks him to work the fight. Zurito refuses at first, urging Manuel to quit and cut off his coleta, but relents on the condition that if Manuel doesn't succeed this time, he will retire. At the bullring that night, Manuel works alongside the young, popular matador Hernandez and a cuadrilla including the gypsy Fuentes. The bull, Campagnero, is large and dangerous. Manuel performs a series of verónicas with the cape, drawing little applause from the bored crowd, while a cynical newspaper critic writes dismissive copy without really watching. Zurito pics the bull skillfully, wounding it in the shoulder, and Fuentes plants banderillas with daring, applauded skill. In the final third, Manuel dedicates the bull and begins his faena with the muleta, working carefully and instinctively despite his fear, focused on getting the bull's head down for the kill. His first sword thrust fails and the blade flies out; he tries again and again, each attempt met with more strain. The bull tosses him repeatedly; Manuel is gored in the side but continues, refusing help from Hernandez. The crowd grows hostile, throwing cushions and a bottle at him. Finally, on another charge, Manuel drives the sword fully in and kills the bull, gesturing defiantly at the jeering crowd before collapsing, coughing. He is carried to the infirmary, where doctors work on him as his consciousness fades in and out. Retana and Zurito arrive; Zurito, still in his picador clothes, is handed scissors, apparently to cut off Manuel's coleta as promised. Manuel, rousing, protests, and Zurito reassures him he was only joking and will not do it. Manuel insists weakly that he was fighting well and had bad luck. As anesthesia is administered, he repeats that he was going great, and Zurito, watching awkwardly, agrees with him.
By Ernest Hemingway · First published 1927 · Genre: Historical Fiction, War Fiction, Adventure Fiction · 10,370 words
First lines
MANUEL GARCIA CLIMBED THE STAIRS to Don Miguel Retana's office. He set down his suitcase and knocked on the door. There was no answer. Manuel, standing in the hallway, felt there was someone in the room. He felt it through the door.
"Retana," he said, listening. There was no answer.
What this Textopian page supports
The Undefeated is listed on Textopian as a novel by Ernest Hemingway, dated 1927 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Novel
- Author: Ernest Hemingway
- Date: 1927 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Historical Fiction, War Fiction, Adventure Fiction, Literary Fiction
- Length: 10,370 words
- Structure: 1 section, 354 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Undefeated by Ernest Hemingway
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering The Undefeated?
- How does this novel by Ernest Hemingway fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Historical Fiction first become important in the reading?
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Genres
- Historical Fiction — The Undefeated is set during the Spanish Civil War and follows the story of a group of soldiers fighting for the Republican side. This makes it a historical fiction novel.
- War Fiction — The novel follows the story of a group of soldiers fighting in the Spanish Civil War, making it a war fiction novel.
- Adventure Fiction — The novel follows the story of a group of soldiers on a dangerous mission, making it an adventure fiction novel.
- Literary Fiction — The Undefeated is written by Ernest Hemingway, a renowned author of literary fiction, making it a literary fiction novel.
Tags
20th century · american and canadian literature · american fiction · barrera · bull · bull's · cape · charged · dark · eyes · feet · fuentes