Ernest Hemingway Was One of the Most Influential Fiction Writers - Essay Example

In Our Time Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), one of the most influential of twentieth century fiction, has left an indelible impression on twentieth century fiction with his distinct writing style. He won Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize for his classical novel, The Old Man and the Sea. ‘Grace under pressure’ characterizes most of his heroes in his novels. He started his career as a journalist, participated in and reported on the First World War before he settled finally as a writer. His experiences during the war had a profound impression on his writings. He was totally shaken at his first encounter with death when he served on the Italian front. He went close to the battle fields and witnessed many horrible and gruesome war scenes that left him shattered and disillusioned. This clearly reflects in his writings which deal with death and violence and human commitment and endurance. Born to a country doctor and deeply religious mother, Hemingway had a secure and protected childhood. Since childhood Hemingway had developed a taste for hunting, fishing, and roaming in the woods. He had a passion for out door living and adventures. After his school education, started his career as a writer in a newspaper office in Kansas City at the age of seventeen. Against his father’s wish he joined as an ambulance driver in the Italian army. While on duty he was severely wounded. Later after a brief stay in America, he went back to Europe where he published his first important work, The Sun also Rises (1926). His novel ‘Farewell to Arms’ (1929) brought him fame and made him a distinguished writer with its powerful and moving depiction of his disillusionment and commitment. For whom the Bell Tolls (1940) was him most ambitious novel. The Old Man and the Sea (1952), is a classic which made him an outstanding novelist in English. It deals with the story of an old fisherman’s journey and his long and lonely struggle with a fish and the sea. The novel stands apart with its deeply reflective and soul searching experience. First published in 1925, In Our Time is a collection of stories interspersed with brief, vivid sketches. The title is taken from Book of Common Prayer: “Give us peace in our time, O Lord.” The stories are interrelated form into a novel with the protagonist character Nick Adams. D. H. Lawrence calls it a fragmentary novel. The character of Nick Adams has some resemblance to the writer. It marked Hemingway’s American debut. ‘In Our Time’ has many popular stories like Nick Adams stories "Indian Camp," "The Doctor and the Doctors Wife," "The Three Day Blow," and "The Battler". The book heralds a significant development in prose writing. It is considered the beginning of highly influential style of Hemingway. He himself says about the writing style calling it ‘Ice-berg theory’. He says: If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. (Hemingway) The predominant theme in the book ‘In Our Time’ is death and how it is underlying throughout life. The story ‘Indian Camp’ is about the delivery of a baby. Nick follows his doctor-father who is asked for an emergency delivery case. Under the most challenging conditions, Nick’s father is successful getting the baby delivered. The birth of the baby is juxtaposed with the suicide of the just born baby’s father. Nick is left confounded seeking answers for his questions. The story introduces the process of birth and how sometimes it can be a most painful experience for a mother. It also challenges Nick’s understanding of life and the world. The story ‘Three -Day Blow’ is very suggestive of what Hemingway wants to communicate. It is one of the best examples of Hemingway’s writing style and his theory of ‘Ice-berg’. The story has only two characters: Nick and Bill. They sit drinking throughout the night talking gently on various topics. It shows how two men can be good to each other and best companions. The two go on drinking and still try to behave normally. This is evident in Nick going and getting a log to the fire place. Their conversation goes from one topic to another and comes finally to Marjorie, the girl Nick liked most. It makes him sad as he could not marry as his father was against his marriage. Nick feels it is all over like the three day blow which leaves the trees bare. With Bill’s words that there is still chance for him to get back his girl, Nick feels comforted. Thus, the story presents the time of change and chaos in the world as seen by the young man. The title is very symbolic and suggestive. "Soldiers Home", deals with the experiences of a doughboy named Krebs. He returns to his home in a small Oklahoma town after the war. When he comes to his place he feels out of place. The very familiar things seem strange to him. The experiences of battle have influenced him profoundly. He does not like to tell the truth about the war, he tells lies about his war experiences. And ironically people want to hear those lies only but not the truth. Everything looks fake to him: girls, his mother, the normal business of living. He does not feel like exerting himself anymore. "He did not want any consequences. He did not want any consequences ever again. He wanted to live along without consequences." The stories are mixed with vignettes which depict the scenes relating to war, before the war and after the war. They set strong and powerful background to the stories. These small write ups describing the scenes of war evoke a strong sense of disillusionment in the minds of the readers. The very first story, ‘On the Quai at Smyrna,’ introduces the war with a graphic description of an evacuation. The succeeding stories show how the protagonist of the novel Nick Adams learns many things in life. The stories ‘Indian Camp,’ ‘The Doctor and the Doctors Wife,’ "The End of Something,’ ‘The Three-Day Blow,’ ‘The Battler’ and ‘A Very Short Story’ all deal with different experiences of Nick while he is growing manhood. ‘A Soldier’s Home’, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Elliot’ and ‘Cat in the Rain’ deal with vacationing of American couple in Europe. The two stories ‘Big Two-Hearted River’ part one and two are about Nick’s return to fishing ground. These stories are separated by vignettes dealing with bull fights. In short, these vignettes serve the purpose of setting the background to the stories suggesting the underlying forces that have an overpowering influence on the lives of many. In Our Time stands remarkable for bringing the First World War experiences close to the readers. No other work has succeeded like this before in creating war scenes so graphically and powerfully as did In Our Time. Hemingway set a revolutionary trend with his unusual style. Ernest Hemingway once credited The Kansas City Star stylebook with containing the best rules he ever learned for the business of writing. It says: Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative. (The Kansas City Star) It made him the most popular writer of his times. His words truly depict the war scenes and brought them directly to the readers’ mind. His style is filled with many direct and simple yet powerful statements. He does not deal with unnecessary adjectives which will only spoil the effect the writer wants to create. Speaking about his style Susan Beegel of the University of Idaho, and editor of The Hemingway Review, says His language is sometimes as coarse as a woolen hunting shirt and sometimes as breathtakingly beautiful as our rough, wild land, but always it rings true. (Susan Beegel) The themes in the book captured the spirit of the Great War. In addition he also deals with several other themes like masculinity filled with a liking for battles and sports which are adventures by nature. It also includes the themes of relationships between men and women, bonding between members of the same sex, love etc. Hemingway was very successful in weaving stories with a wide variety of themes in a new use of language. This truly started a new trend in writing fiction. The popularity of his stories and novels is such that he is rated one of the best writers of all time. In the words of Russell Banks, the author of Continental Drift and Cloud Splitter, Hemingway stands tall and apart from all other writers. Russell says: I keep going back to the stories. I cant resist them. Even now after I dont know how many times over the years Ive read them and taught them. They still are great. Theyll stand forever, I think. Or a dozen at least will stand forever. And thats a dozen more than anybody elses.(Russell) Works Cited Hemingway Ernest. Death In the Afternoon, Scribners, 1932, Chap. 16, 192. http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap7/hemingway.html Russell Banks, Contemporary writers on Hemingway (1999) http://www.kcstar.com/hemingway/ehwriters.shtml Susan Beegel. The Hemingway Review, an international scholarly journal http://www.kcstar.com/hemingway/ehpro.shtml The Kansas City Star. Stylebook http://www.kcstar.com/hemingway/ehstarstyle.shtml Read More