Hemmingways Writing Style - Research Paper Example

English 5 December Hemmingway’s Writing Style Introduction The novel Sun Also Rises and the short story Hills Like White Elephants give the readers an insight of various human reactions as well as the manner in which human beings deal with their problems. However in both the pieces of literature Hemmingway’s style of depiction and writing appears to be similar. 2. Writing Style Hemmingway can be identified as the pioneer who revolted against the 19 century romanticism in which verbiage, romantic allusions and a great deal of description or description of false sentiments was extensively illustrated. His style can be assumed to have emerged as a reply to the crash of values after the First World War in the history of English Literature and hence introduced the world with a new and unique art of depiction. Hemmingway justifies his use of simple words and diction by saying, “I use the oldest words in English language when I write. People think I an ignorant bastard that doesn’t know ten dollar words. I know the ten dollar words. There are older better words and if you use them in the proper combination you make it stick” (Weeks 28). The various stylistic techniques that have been extensively used in Hemmingway’s writings include use of simple diction, precision in writing style and symbolism. 2.1. Simple Diction On the surface his works appear to be simple in form and diction and appear to be easily comprehensible. However an in-depth analysis of his works shows that every word that he uses holds essence of meaning not only within the context of the text but also it unveils an aspect of human nature. He is observed to be creating his works on his “iceberg principle”. In Death in the Afternoon Hemingway states, “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 the iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water” (Strychacz 128). Hence he leaves it up to the reader to discover and understand the actual message that he tries to convey in his works. As it is stated in story Hills Like White Elephant that, “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,’ the man said. ‘It’s not really an operation at all.’… ‘I’ll go with you and I’ll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural’” (215). This conversation is illustrated in the manner that a third person would perceive it as a normal exchange between two people yet the underlying meaning holds a lot of importance and has a great impact on the readers. Since the operation which is being referred to is an abortion which was a taboo topic in the earlier times. Moreover the subtext of the story also deals with the different views of men and women about pregnancy and the emotional states of the two characters. As Bloom and Becnel also state, “beneath the surface of this deceptively simple story there is an enormous amount of psychological and emotional maneuvering going on although everything is coded in subtleties and irony the two main characters manage to make their different perspectives on the woman’s pregnancy clear” (159). Hence this subtle maneuvering is in sync with Hemmingway’s ‘iceberg principle’. So it can be perceived that he believed in providing the readers with hints regarding the subject so his works are a combination of precision and laconicism. 2.2. Precision in Writing Style In both the texts Hemingway is observed to be utilizing the technique of precise and to the point conversations for the progression of the plot instead of hefty descriptions of the surroundings or use of many adjectives. As observed in Hills Like White Elephants that the plot of the text is revealed in the form of dialogue and the presence of the narrator is more or less absent from the text. Similarly in the novel as well in most instances the readers get to know about the action of the play through dialogues. For example during the fiesta the actions of the bull and the manner in which they behave is either being described by Jake, Brett or any other character. As it is mentioned in Sun Also Rises that Jake says, “They’re only dangerous when they are alone or only two or three of them together…they only want to kill when they’re alone. Of course if you went in there you’d probably detach one of them from the herd and that could be dangerous” (82). Hemingway’s technique of relaying information to the readers through dialogues in a precise manner can be linked with Eliot’s concept of “objective correlative” (Hays 77). According to which it is a formula which by its mere reproduction produces the required emotion or in other words communicates the author’s intension fully to the readers without going in a lot of detail or using vivid and verbose descriptions. Gertrude Stein played a vital role in Hemingway’s writing career because she taught him to cut out unnecessary details and to focus on the most important event in the narration or the most important aspect of a scene. She also taught him to learn the effect produced by repetition of certain words with minor variation (Saturday Review Vol. 6 143). As observed in Hills Like White Elephants that it is mentioned, “if you don’t want to you don’t have to. I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to. But I know it’s perfectly simple… But I don’t want you to do it if you don’t really want to.” (213). Although the repetition of the phrase ‘don’t want to do it and do it’ makes it chaotic and confusing for the reader to keep track of the conversation yet it also shows the insecurity as well as the chaotic state of mind of the two characters. 2.3. Symbolism Symbols are a major and significant tool that Hemmingway incorporates in his works because these symbols act as hints for the readers to decipher the various hidden meanings and messages the writer wants to convey to his readers. Waldhorn says, “rather than artificially impose intellectual significance from without he allows his meaning to emerge from within…his images and symbols are organic, interior, naturalistic, almost always they come out of the fictional context” (38). As also observed in Sun Also Rises that it is stated, “the coffee glasses and our three empty glasses were on the table. A waiter came up and picked up the glasses…” (95). The empty glasses are an important symbol as they present the readers with the fact that the lives of Jake, Brett and Romero are as empty as the three glasses. Then again the bull fighting fiesta is of great significance because it also unveils an interesting aspect of human psychology according to which human beings have faced so much misery and pain during the war that now they have become immune to pain and transformed into blood thirsty vultures. So they feel exhilaration and are entertained by looking at somebody else’s pain and suffering and the sight of blood or the dying bull does not revolt them. Since human beings have been disillusioned to an extent where they are numb and they feel nothing and live a selfish existence. The setting in the simple prose Hills Like White Elephant is again very fundamental in the text because Hemmingway in a subtle manner relates the situation of the man and Jig with their surroundings. As observed that it is mentioned in the text, “The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun” (211). The sterility and barrenness of the surroundings is also symbolic of the sterile and empty relation they share. As Bloom says, “the setting is connected with the couple’s decision to have the abortion: it is associated with ‘sterility, aridity, the taste of licorice and the pregnancy as a white elephant on the hands of the girl” (169). 3. Conclusion Hence Hemingway’s simplicity of style of writing is the trademark of the author’s unique power of imagination and style of depiction. McCaffery also believes that, Hemingway’s simplicity is not simplicity of Sherwood Anderson…but a simplicity that has passed through the sophisticated criticism of Gertrude Stein the simplicity of an analytical mind that has deliberately rejected complexity as a method. It seems simple because it is stripped and transparent but it is packed with cumulative suggestion revealing depth within depth (133). Works Cited Becnel, Kim E., and Harold Bloom. Bloom’s How To Write About Ernest Hemingway. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2008. Print. Hays, Peter L. The Critical Reception of Sun Also Rises. New York: Camden House, 2011. Print. Hemingway, Ernest. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 2003. Print. McCaffery, John K. M. Ernest Hemingway: The Man and His Works. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1969. Print. Saturday Review, Volume 6. Minnesota: Saturday Review Associates, 1992. Print. Strychacz, Thomas F. Hemingway’s Theatre of Masculinity. Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press, 2003. Print. Waldhorn, Arthur. A reader’s Guide to Ernest Hemingway. New York: First Syracuse University Press, 2002. Print. Week, Robert Percy. Hemingway a Collection of Critical Essays. Michigan: Prentice Hall, 1962. Print. Read More