Biography of Ernest Hemingway
Biography of Ernest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park,
Illinois. His father was the owner of a prosperous real estate
business. His father, Dr. Hemingway, imparted to Ernest the
importance of appearances, especially in public. Dr. Hemingway
invented surgical forceps for which he would not accept money. He
believed that one should not profit from something important for the
good of mankind. Ernest's father, a man of high ideals, was very
strict and censored the books he allowed his children to read. He
forbad Ernest's sister from studying ballet for it was coeducational,
and dancing together led to "hell and damnation". Grace Hall
Hemingway, Ernest's mother, considered herself pure and proper. She
was a dreamer who was upset at anything which disturbed her
perception of the world as beautiful. She hated dirty diapers, upset
stomachs, and cleaning house; they were not fit for a lady. She
taught her children to always act with decorum. She adored the
singing of the birds and the smell of flowers. Her children were
expected to behave properly and to please her, always. Mrs. Hemingway
treated Ernest, when he was a small boy, as if he were a female baby
doll and she dressed him accordingly. This arrangement was alright
until Ernest got to the age when he wanted to be a "gun-toting Pawnee
Bill". He began, at that time, to pull away from his mother, and
never forgave her for his humiliation. The town of Oak Park, where
Ernest grew up, was very old fashioned and quite religious. The
townspeople forbad the word "virgin" from appearing in school books,
and the word "breast" was questioned, though it appeared in the
Bible. Ernest loved to fish, canoe and explore the woods. When he
couldn't get outside, he escaped to his room and read books. He loved
to tell stories to his classmates, often insisting that a friend
listen to one of his stories. In spite of his mother's desire, he
played on the football team at Oak Park High School. As a student,
Ernest was a perfectionist about his grammar and studied English with
a fervor. He contributed articles to the weekly school newspaper. It
seems that the principal did not approve of Ernest's writings and he
complained, often, about the content of Ernest's articles. Ernest was
clear about his writing; he wanted people to "see and feel" and he
wanted to enjoy himself while writing. Ernest loved having fun. If
nothing was happening, mischievous Ernest made something happen. He
would sometimes use forbidden words just to create a ruckus. Ernest,
though wild and crazy, was a warm, caring individual. He loved the
sea, mountains and the stars and hated anyone who he saw as a phoney.
During World War I, Ernest, rejected from service because of a bad
left eye, was an ambulance driver, in Italy, for the Red Cross.
Very much like the hero of A Farewell to Arms, Ernest is shot in his
knee and recuperates in...
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