Societies Greatest Writer
Societies Greatest WriterHow would the world of literature have been affected without the works of Ernest Hemingway? His work will have an everlasting effect on the people read his books. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1898. He ended his life by suicide in July 2, 1961. Ernest Hemingway's works include, The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, The Old Man and the Sea, and many other important literacy masterpieces. Hemingway also wrote many short stories including, Three Stories & Ten Poems, In Our Time, and others. Hemingway contributed to literature his colorful style and his concern with presenting a tough, masculine image. Hemingway's writings show how his life and the events of his time period affected the outcome in For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Ernest Hemingway had an interesting and eventful life. He was born on July 21, 1898 in Oak Park, Illinois, son of Clarence Edmunds and Grace Hemingway. He led a happy and interesting childhood. In later years he had grown to hate his parents as some scholars noted " that as he grew older he felt bitter toward both his parents, particularly his mother, whom he viewed as selfish and domineering" (Schafer 2 of 6). After graduating from high school he worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Star. He later worked as an volunteer ambulance driver during World War I. This had a profound effect on his writing, "Hemingway's wartime experiences help suggest why his writing emphasizes physical and physiological violence and the need for courage" (Young 83). Some In his later years he became an international celebrity due to his many popular novels. The public adored his colorful style and concern for presenting a tough masculine image, which was a theme for the majority of his books. Hemingway's heroes frequently find meaning in the "code," of rules for living. Winning is less important than playing the "game" with honor, intelligence, and courage" (Contemporary... 1 ). Hemingway ended his own life by suicide in 1961, taking with him a legacy and knowledge and epic stories of the courage of mankind. Throughout his life he had been plagued by his drinking habits and an uncontrollable temper. This is the reason many of his wives left him. Hemingway's mental health deteriorated and eventually he had killed himself.
Throughout Hemingway's life there have been many interesting and life changing events, each of them having their own effects on his life and personality. The most profound event in his life had to have been World War I. "Of tremendous impact to Hemingway's development as a writer was his ensuing participation in World War I as a Red Cross ambulance driver in Italy" (Schafer 2 of 6). He was discharged from service because he was injured by a shrapnel explosion near the front lines. During his recovery he met his first love, an American nurse who cared for him. She later left him for and older man. When he recovered he returned to the United States and wrote of death and depression. This may possibly be because of his experience with the war and the loss of his first love. Upon his return he was decorated for his bravery by the Italians. In Hemingway's work there is usually present some sort of code. A young inexperienced man undergoes the strife of the world or a problem with the assistance of an older more experienced "hero,"
Two character types appear frequently in Hemingway's work. One is the inexperienced young man, learning as he undergoes the ordeal of life. He is frequently wounded physically and psychologically, suffering from insomnia, inertia, and an inability to communicate. In addition, this character often has a morbid fear of death-leading, paradoxically, to reckless acts of courage. The young man's counterpart is the "code hero" who has gone though his period of doubt and is a full participant in the code. Frequently the two appear together, with the code hero as the model or teacher for the young man. (Contemporary... 1 )
Many of his books received awards, one such award was the Nobel Prize! Hemingway's book The Old Man and the Sea won the Nobel Peace Prize in literature for his unparalleled use of first and third person narration. "In may of his earlier works one could discover the great writer about to emerge", (Young 83) stated Thomas Walker about young Hemingway's earlier works. "Hemingway's power and originality as a writer of compressed, impressionistic sketches became apparent with his next publication" (Schafer 3 of 6). Almost all of Hemingway's books contain a strong masculine figure that goes through the strife of an event only to emerge stronger than ever. Certainly, the wars and deaths of his past had a profound effect on his writings.
The book For Whom the Bell Tolls is one of Hemingway's most provocative books. The story opens in a small Spanish peasant town with the appearance of an American collage instructor named Robert Jordan. He has come to Spain to fight for the Loyalists in the Civil War. His mission is to blow up a bridge that is supplying the enemy. Throughout the book Jordan comes to see that no matter what side the people are fighting for, they are no longer interested in the war. Jordan also comes to see that he has changed as well. Jordan has been pulled and tugged by ideas of courage and fear. He moves from a belief in the value of the cause to the appreciation of the individual. At the end of the book Jordan lies wounded on a hillside waiting for the communis cavalry to capture him. He struggles with the idea of suicide many times before he decides not to do it. Jordan believes that if he stays alive he can protect those that are important to him. Hemingway must have intended his novels to be read my males rather than females. In the many novels written by him he gives vivid details of battle scenes and death. As stated by Walker "Do you see Hemingway's lack of descriptive, flowery narrative as perhaps contributing to the fact that Hemingway is less popular with female readers than with male." (Mud... 2 of 5). Hemingway also shows the reader and the public how he has mastered the "changing narrative point of view", as said by Phelan "This strategy makes good sense to me, because a one-rule-fits- all approach will severely limit our view of what authors have already done or are likely to do." (Mud... 3 of 5) Hemingway contributed a new and unheard of style in American Literature. His ingenious use of narratives from different of view impacted writers for years to come. "Hemingway has won his reputation as an artist of the first rank by operating within limits that would have stifled a lesser writer." (Young 82) Commented of Robert P. Weeks about Hemingway's writings'.
Ernest Hemingway is one of the most important writers of this century. His works showed us the dark side of our civilization and the courage that can be found in a man when he is pushed to his limits. His experiences were broadcasted throughout his works and echo in the minds of the readers. The events in his life and the issues and wars of Hemingway's time effected every aspect of his life and his writing, this is shown in For Whom the Bell Tolls. It is strange how a man that was so strong in his writings, could be so weak in life. The final chapter in Hemingway's life was suicide. Isn't suicide is what a weak man would do to solve is problems?