Words: 1937
The Star and credits his mentor with developing his style. One in particular, C. G. Pete” Wellington, provided Hemingway with the writing style of a newspaper: “use short sentences. Use short paragraphs. SE vigorous English , not forgetting to strive for smoothness. Be positive, not 7). Hemi Agway was later quoted describing them as ” the best rules ever learned for the business s of writing. Eve never forgotten them”(7). No matter who is responsible for its developed NT, Hemingway style is one of his most unique attributes. Deep and pensive, his writing reflects what he experienced over the course of his life.
He used his personal experiences, especially those from war, to add a different level of complexity to his novels, especially A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls,and The Sun Also Rises. Although he was rejected by the army due to an eye injury, Ernest Hemingway was greatly impacted by war (Bloom 7). He joined the Red cross effort by drive Eng ambulances throughout Italy during World War l. He was injured by shrapnel during this 2 Locators time and spent time in Milan, Italy, recovering. Hemmingway was decorated by the Italian Army for the bravery he exhibited during this time.
The injuries he sustained prevented him from being directly involved in World War II; however, Ernest Hemingway served as a War correspondent. He followed soldiers through many parts of Europe, pa articulacy France, and reported on notable events such as the Battle of the Bulge and the e Liberation of Paris (9). Bloom even makes a point to note ” Hemingway became something Eng of a legend, joining the fighting as much as reporting about it”(9). This quote leads one to believe that Hemingway did not let his injuries prevent him from supporting a cause about which he felt strongly.
Hemmingway World War and World War II experiences are clearly influential in his writing of A Farewell to Arms. The novel explores the life of Frederic He nary, an ambulance driver in Italy C] Just like Hemingway- during World War l. Similar t Hemingway experience, Frederic spends time recovering from an injury in a Milan hospital (1013). By placing his character in some of the exact situations that h e himself was placed, Hemingway makes it known that Frederic Henry is supposed to e embody Ernest Hemingway. The novel delves into not only the physically consequence s of war, but also the emotional tolls.
Frederic Henry recalls his experiences and re veal’s a desire for a whole and perfect retelling of the past” (Adman 1). His traumatic experiences prevent him from doing this, however, as his experiences taint hi retelling of the war. Some critics argue that the authenticity of the wartime situations portrayed in Farewell to Arms is compromised because they are being retold by someone t randomized 3 Locators by the experience. One notes that” .. The novel’s ‘enforced silences’ the disrupt petite workings of traumatic memories aggressively imposing themselves on the sure favor’ (Adman 2).
Frederic is unable to create the “perfect retelling” he desires beck use he is so emotionally scarred by the experience. Hemingway uses A Farewell to Arm s to show the psychological effects that war has on its participants. As Lacer so aptly states: Certain wounds, both personal and historical, cannot simply heal without leave Ins scars or residues in the present; there may even be a sense in which they have e to remain as open wounds even if one strives to counteract their tendency to SW allow all of existence and incapacitate one as an agent in the present. (CTD. N Doom an 6) Allowing for his character to have moments of obviously challenging recollect action, Hemingway presents an opportunity for the reader to figuratively “read been en the lines. ” Through these moments of weakness, Hemmingway writing evokes a fee ling of pity within the reader and allows for one to experience some of the emotional I tolls of war. This feeling within is carried over in Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls. On critic writes of a conversation between Hemingway and his friend F. Scott Fit Gerald. Hemingway makes a profound statement during this engagement: ” .
But w hen you get the damned hurt use it don’t cheat with it” (Carter 1). Hemingway uses the as me “hurt” that he speaks of here in many of his works. The story revolves around Robert Jordan, a Shakespearian man who travels to join the antifascist forces during the war n Spain. Hemingway pays close attention to detail, writing accurately and unbiased t 0 portray the war. He describes his struggle to do so with this in a letter to Ivan Asking: 4 Locators in stories about the [Spanish Civil] war try to show all the different sides of it, taking it slowly and honestly and examining it from many sides …
It is very complicated and difficult to write about truly would like to be able to writ understandingly about both deserters and heroes, cowards and brave men, try traitors and men who are not capable of being traitors. We learned a lot about all such h people. SSL CTD. In Carter 4) Statements such as this one give the reader accurate insight into how profound Andy complex the Spanish Civil War, like most wars, truly was. Fought from 19361939, the Sp anis Civil War was fought been the Republican (Democratic) and Nationalist (FAA cist) parties of Spain.
Ultimately, the rebel Nationalists were victorious, resulting in their dominance within the Spanish politics for the next thirty six years. Naturally inquisitive, Hemingway immediately began reporting on the Spanish Civil War. He used many of his experiences from “the first media war” (Faber, CTD. In Carter 3) as components of the setting and plot of For Whom the Bell Tolls. As Carter states For Whom the Bell Tolls is perhaps one of the truest war novels eve r written, a conclusion which is largely due to the fact that Hemingway does not present s impel characters, simple problems, or simple answers”(4).
Turning the Spanish Civil War into a “simple” war for the sake of the novel would have done the novel and those w ho read it a disservice. Hemingway portrays war exactly as it is: chaotic and not always CLC an cut. While the historical accuracy is remarkable, it is thoughts of Robert Jordan (the novel’s main character) that makes For Whom the Bell Tolls a signature Hemingway n Eve l. Robert is attached to a loyalist (Republican) regime and specializes in explosive sees and 5 Locators destroying pertinent structures. In the novel, he is tasked with the detonation of a key bridge: a task he knows he ultimately will not be able to survive.
Robert strut glees to accept his impending doom, but refuses to admit that his mission is one that s basically suicide. He is adamant in his viewing suicide as cowardly and selfish, an ironic statement in light of Hemming. Say’s suicide just over twenty years later. However, after ext en’s;eve fighting, he has a profound realization which is aptly described by Carter as of Lows: “He [Robert] is confronted with the realizations that the arbitrary butchery of war I s not limited to one side, and that truly, there are no absolutes of good and bad, or right and wrong, in this or perhaps any war (45).
Hemmingway main goal in his writing of For Whom the Bell Tolls was to accurately show the difficulty of something wit h which every Spaniard had to deal: selecting a side in the war. The emotional trials an triumphs of war are felt by all, even those who do not physically fight. This is especially t rue of the Spanish Civil War, as it was the first war where attacks were staged upon large e urban areas, thus killing large masses Of civilians (2). Just as in A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway ensures the events and struggles of the time are aptly discussed and accurately portrayed.
The third and final Hemingway classic that properly divulges an aspect of the famous authors style is The Sun Also Rises. The novel explores the aftermath of war on both its participants and its observers. The main character, Jake Barnes, is left physically maimed after his job reporting on World War resulted in an injury. He has be en deemed impotent and can no longer express his love to anyone. He is unable to come to terms with his injury, as he desires a relationship with Brett Ashley, the lead female character. Locators Brett has been married twice since the war and been in multiple relationships . The characters of The Sun Also Rises represent what is called by Hemmingway Fri. ND Gertrude Stein ” the lost generation (Oliver 12). The lost generation is defined by critics s ” the generation of young American men and women who came to maturity y during the postwar period that followed the end of World War I in 1 918″ (Sidle 1). This g enervation was skeptical of American society, as they felt that people were forgetting the war and as a result them in an attempt to return to normal.
Many of these young people flocked to foreign countries such as Paris, the setting of The Sun Also Rises (1 ). Hemingway uses Jakes disability as a Way of expressing his own internal frustrations. As a member of the “lost generation,” Hemingway experienced t he feeling f neglect expressed in the statement from Oliver. He felt first hand the strut glees of war and simply could not watch the nation keep forgetting about the efforts of hi m and his fellow soldiers.
Hemingway evokes a certain feeling of deep thought when he quotes a King James Bible passage from the book of Ecclesiastic l: 47: One generation passage away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abide forever The sun also airiest, and the sun Goethe down, and haste to the place where he arose the wind Goethe toward the south, and turned ABA out unto the north; it whirled about continually, and the wind returned again according to his circuits all the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come thither they return again. Oliver l) This quote helps the reader to understand Hemmingway thought process and emotion. His goal in writing the novel was to convey the feeling of loss: loss of innocence e, loss of 7 Locators confidence, and loss of selectors. Many victims of war were “physically and psychologically damaged” (Sidle 1) as a result of the experiences. Much like h is other novels, Hemmingway depiction of the setting Spain and France is remarkably d detailed ND accurate. One scene involves attending a bullfight and the famous “running Eng of the bulls” in Pomona, Spain.
The depiction of this event in particular is regarded as one of the most accurate and detailed of the time. Hemingway uses his main character err,Jake, and his struggles as a way to articulate Hemmingway thoughts and emotions relate Eng to the consequences of war. As he does a veteran of World War l, Hemingway saw his fair share of loss an d tragedy. However, he did not allow these experiences to define him. He did n to let the, at times, overwhelming memories of WWW dictate his life. He, instead, chooses to channel this hurt and grief and use it in his writing.