Intro to the life and writings

Hemingway mini bio

Born July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois to Dr. Clarence Hemingway and Grace Hall Hemingway• Upper middle class up brining. Hemingway

would later refer to it as “wide lawns and narrow minds.”

Hemingway’s owned a house (Windmere) on Walloon Lake in Northern Michigan• This is where Hemingway’s father taught

him to hunt and fish

Attended Oak Park High School and wrote for the newspaper where he wrote humorous columns

After graduation went to work for the Kansas City Star, to his parents dismay

The paper forced short sentences, short paragraphs, active verbs, clarity, and compression which influenced his writing

At 18, he tried to enlist in the army but he had a poor left eye and was deferred

He then enlisted as a volunteer for the Red Cross as an ambulance driver

In July, only a few weeks after arrival he was seriously wounded by fragments of an Austrian mortar shell• Carried another soldier back even though he

had been shot. • Was awarded the Italian Silver Medal of valor

During his stay in a Milan hospital, he fell in love with an older nurse

This love affair became inspirations to his novel, A Farewell to Arms

Wrote for the Toronto Star Weekly Ford Maddox published some of

Hemingway’s short stories in the TransAtlantic Review

Collection of short stories, In Our Time (1925)

Novel- Torrents of Spring (1925) novel- A Sun Also Rises (1926) Collection of short stories, Men Without

Women (1927) Novel- A Farewell to Arms (1929)

novel-Death in the Afternoon (1932) Short story collection, Winner Takes Nothing

(1933) Novel- Green Hills of Africa (1935) Novel- For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) Novel- Across the River and Into the Trees

(1950) Novel- Old Man and the Sea (1952) Novel- A Moveable Feast (1964) Novel- The Garden of Eden (published after

his death) Novel- Islands in the Stream (published after

his death)

Father committed suicide in 1928- shot himself in the head

His mother and father both suffered from severe depression• Siblings also suffered depression. • Hemingway’s son would go on to suffer

depression His love affairs during his marriage

caused much drama in his life, but also sparked much of his inspiration

Hadley Richardson (1921)

Pauline Pfeiffer (1927)

Martha Gellhorn (1940)

Mary Welsh (1944)

John (1924) Patrick (1928)

• C-section Gregory

Suffered severe health problems later in his life

Had difficulty in his writings and was not producing the quality of work he was use to

Committed suicide in his home in Idaho July 2 1961

Published by Scribners Won the Noble Peace Prize for Old

Man and the Sea Lived in Paris, Toronto, Key West,

Florda, Cuba, Idaho Many of the themes deal with death,

parent relationships, emasculation

Style is simple• Influenced by his early time in newspaper

Avoids adjectives whenever possible Puts emphasis on nouns

• Comes the closest to “things”• Uses conjunctions to string them along

Known as the “master of dialogue” because he presents dialogue as it would really be said.

Critics disagree frequently on Hemingway’s style

Hemingway (along with Joyce, Fitzgerald, and James) utilized this style.

Prominent during the Jazz Age Hemingway utilized it heavily in his

novel “A Farewell to Arms”• Used to show the interior monologue of a

character Hemingway uses it often when characters are

drunk, disillusioned, escaping, or fantasizing

From “A Farewell to Arms”• Maybe she would pretend I was her boy that was killed

and we would go in the front door...and I would stop at the concierge's desk and ask for the key and she would stand by the elevator and then we would get in the elevator and it would go up very slowly clicking at all the floors and then our floor...and she would step out and I would step out and we would walk down the hall and I would put the key in the door and open it and go in and then take down the telephone and ask them to send a bottle of capri bianca in a silver bucket full of ice...(37-

38). 

We will be starting with “Indian Camp” and “A Clear, Well-Lit, Place”

I do most of my work in my head. I never begin to write until my ideas are in order. Frequently I recite passages of dialogue as it is being written; the ear is a good censor. I never set down a sentence on paper until I have it so expressed that it will be clear to anyone.Yet, I sometimes think that my style is suggestive rather than direct. The reader must often use his imagination or lose the most subtle part of my thoughts.I take great pains with my work, pruning and revising with a tireless hand. I have the welfare of my creations very much at heart. I cut them with infinite care, and burnish them until they become brilliants. What many another writer would be content to leave in massive proportions, I polish into a tiny gem.A writer's style should be direct and personal, his imagery rich and earthy, and his words simple and vigorous. The greatest writers have the gift of brilliant brevity, are hard workers, diligent scholars and competent stylists.