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Ernest Hemingway is easily one of the most important and influential authors of the twentieth century. He produced some of the most widely praised novels and short stories of our time. In short, Hemingway was a literary genius. He was a legend in his own time. As is often the case, however, legends usually have secrets lurking underneath the glamour. Ernest Hemingway had his secrets.
Behind the large, bold man lived an insecure boy. This boy suffered great traumas both emotionally and physically at a tender age. These traumas left deep scars. The man tried to hide the scars by creating a myth to surround the truth. Thus the search for the true man, as well as his monsters remains a difficult task.
Hemingway the man stood out from among the rest. He surrounded himself with the company of great artists such as Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson, and Gertrude Stein, yet Ernest Hemingway was the one that people noticed. The difference between Hemingway and fellow artists is that he was idolized both as an artist and as a man. Hemingway was the designated hitter for America (Reynolds 5). He took his readers to places that they would have otherwise never experienced. He took them to the battlefront of war, into the depths of Africa, and against a charging bull.
It was not only his capability of bringing adventure and passion to readers that made him great, but also the fact that he himself had experienced this adventure first hand. Hemingway was the all-American boy. Born into an average family, his own hard work, talent and ambition drove him to the top. He was the self-made man, which constituted the dream of a generation. Thus it is for both his literary genius and personal qualities that Hemingway stood out from among the rest. Hemingway s genius in his writing was the result of a specific formula.
He combined personal experience and emotions with his less is more theory. In this theory Hemingway compared the structure of a story to that of an iceberg where only 1 / 8 can be seen above water while the remaining 7 / 8 under the surface are what truly provide the momentum to the entire piece. In short, omitting the right thing from a story could actually strengthen it (The Hemingway Resource Center s Biography 3). Evidence of this revolutionary style is first seen in Hemingway s first collection of short stories, In Our Time (1925) (Reynolds 41).
In Our Time includes the highly acclaimed stories Soldier s Home, Indian Camp, A Very Short Story, My Old Man, and Big Two-Hearted River. In Our Time also marked the beginning of the Nick Adams stories. Almost all of Hemingway s short stories told of the experiences of this character. Most people believe that Nick Adams represented Hemingway himself. The triumph of these pieces proved that Hemingway s formula really worked. Thus this formula, which allowed for great passion but with minimal wording, became the backbone for all his great works.
Hemingway s works were produced in a creative flurry throughout the 1920 s and 30 s. It was during these two decades that Hemingway published the majority of his famous literature (In Our Time (1925), The Torrents of Spring (1925), The Sun Also Rises (1926), another short story collection called Men Without Women (1927), A Farewell to Arms (1929), Death in the Afternoon (1932), Green Hills of Africa (1935), To Have and Have Not (1937), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) ) (Hemingway: An Annotated Chronology). It became quite obvious that Hemingway s works were based on his experiences and the people in his life. He immortalized his wives, friends, and enemies. This personalization provided the passion that made his writing so appealing.
However, it also succeeded in destroying many friendships when those portrayed were displeased with Hemingway s characterizations. In addition, since Hemingway s stories were so personal one can start to see part of the true man. Through his works we get a glimpse of his thoughts, emotions, and ultimately his monsters. Hemingway s monsters came in the forms of depression and alcoholism. These monsters chased him throughout his life.
It is well established that the turning point for Hemingway with regards to his fears / illnesses was World War I. However, there are two theories as to what aspect of the war experience changed him. One theory suggests that Hemingway s problems resulted from the injuries / shell shock he received when a trench mortar exploded near him as he was distributing cigarettes and chocolate to soldiers in the trenches. Hemingway had hundreds of pieces of shrapnel imbedded in his leg and had possibly been shot as well (his kneecap was basically blown off) (Brian 18 - 19). There is no doubt that the pain he suffered was immense. There is evidence to support that Hemingway grew depressed with the possibility of it being necessary to amputate his leg.
In addition, the alcoholism may have grown its roots at this time because it was known for Hemingway to drink in order to mask the pain. In addition, after suffering the injury Hemingway developed a fear of the dark and was plagued with terrifying nightmares that would continue for the rest of his life. The other theory surrounding the change Hemingway underwent during WWI has to do with the young man s involvement with his nurse, Agnes Von Kurwosky. The alleged story is that while hospitalized in Milan the two had an affair and were madly in love. Hemingway went back to the states and Agnes was supposed to follow shortly thereafter, once Ernest had gotten a secure job. However, Hemingway soon received a letter from Agnes saying that she could not go through with it and that he should find someone more his own age (she was 8 years his senior).
The loss of his great love apparently sent Hemingway into a deep depression. There is evidence to support this account from Hemingway s comrades and family who noted how he longed for Agnes when at home (Brian 27 - 33). Due to the fact that Hemingway was notorious for exaggerating experiences it is difficult to know what actually happened to him during the war. It is safe to say however, whether more greatly affected by his injuries or the loss of his alleged lover; WWI changed Ernest Hemingway forever... Hemingway was devastated when she [Von Kurwosky] rejected him and after that rejection he began writing like Hemingway for the first time (q. in Brian 31).
It cannot be definitively stated that Von Kurwosky s rejection stimulated Hemingway to write like Hemingway. What can be positively stated is that after WWI Hemingway began writing like Hemingway for the first time. After WWI we see evidence Hemingway s genius and madness working together to produce some of his great works. An example of this idea is exhibited in Soldier s Home (In Our Time).
This short story gives an account of the emotional roller coaster a young man goes through when he returns home from war to find that he is out of place in his old life. At one point in the story the young man tells how he has to make up and exaggerate stories so people will listen to him (Hemingway 69). A Very Short Story (In Our Time), just one page in length, tells of a soldier who was jilted by the nurse with whom he d fallen in love. Both of these stories are clearly taken right out of Hemingway s WWI experience. He combines his literary skills with his own personal pain to create amazingly powerful pieces. This same pattern continued throughout the rest of Hemingway s works.
He was able to use both his genius and his illnesses to produce masterpieces. A final confirmation of Hemingway s great skill was given when he received both a Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for his novel The Old Man and The Sea (1952) (Hemingway: An Annotated Chronology). Unfortunately, soon after being awarded these high honors the madness would overcome the genius and Hemingway would slip into a deep depression from which he escaped by committing suicide. Many of Hemingway s friends and family noted that at various times in his life he had spoken of committing suicide. He was never taken seriously. Hemingway had suffered from depression and alcoholism for almost his entire life.
The trigger to his final breakdown was physical ailments that he simply could not handle. In 1954 Hemingway was involved in two consecutive airplane crashes, the second of which left him with his 10 th and near fatal concussion... a hole in his head, from which cerebral fluid leaked onto his pillow at night (q. in Brian 237) The concussion was only one of several injuries: a crushed liver, spleen, and vertebra, his sphincter muscle was paralyzed, a collapsed large intestine, double vision, and loss of hearing. Hemingway s body was barely functioning. John Hemingway (son) stated that his father was a changed man after the crashes (Brian 238).
Hemingway couldn t handle how his body was breaking down. In addition, the head trauma greatly affected him; he suffered loss of memory, began to have panic attacks and nightmares, and some paranoid delusions. No longer able to bear the pain and confusion, Hemingway tried to kill himself with a shotgun. His wife found him and was able to stop him. Hemingway was hospitalized and treated with Electro-convulsive therapy. ECT is known to cause confusion and loss of memory among other side effects.
Hemingway could not take losing anymore of himself. This treatment only escalated his problems. After being in and out of the hospital, Hemingway convinced his doctors that he was feeling better. He was released from the hospital and allowed to go home. Two days later, on July 2, 1961 Hemingway committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a shotgun (Brian 245 - 252). It is important to note that Hemingway s father, Hemingway himself, and his brother, Leicester, all committed suicide by shooting themselves after suffering great physical ailments.
In addition, his sister Ursula who suffered from cancer was believed to have died of a drug over dose. Thus there was an obvious family history of mental illness. As for Hemingway himself, his diagnosis can best be bi-polar disorder (manic depression). At the end of his book, Denis Brian interviews two psychiatrists renowned for their knowledge of manic depression. Hemingway exhibited classic symptoms: highs and lows, impulsive behavior, drinking as a defense mechanism, insomnia, unstable relationships, etc (Brain, 308 - 315). In his manic stages he consumed himself with writing.
In his depressed states he was the aggressive and sometimes cruel alcoholic (Hemingway reportedly did not drink when he was writing). Thus we see that this great man Ernest Hemingway was both mad and genius. However, both aspects were necessary for his success in the literary world. It was combining his wisdom and fears that allowed his words to be filled with such intensity. Writing was Hemingway s own therapy. He cleared his mind by putting it all on paper in a way that no one else could.
In the end, when the madness had smothered the genius Hemingway could no longer write. Without his writing there was no man. He was lost forever. Works Cited Brian, Denis. The True Gen: An intimate portrait of Ernest Hemingway by those who knew him. New York: Grove Press, 1988.
Hemingway, Ernest. In Our Time. New York: Simon &# 038; Schuster Inc. , 1996. No Man Alone. Hemingway Resource Center s Biography of Ernest Hemingway. web (18 February 1999).
Reynolds, Michael. Hemingway: An Annotated Chronology. Detroit: Omnigraphics, Inc. , 1991. THE TRUE GEN, by Denis Brian discovers Ernest Hemingway by means of interviewing those that knew him.
The book is in fact one extensive dialogue between Brian and the various people who were part of Hemingway s life. The entire work is written in interview format. Contributors included Hemingway s first wife, Hadley, his brother, two sisters, Carlos Baker (the only authorized Hemingway biographer), and various friends and associates whom maintained relationships with this great man through the various stages of his life. A wonderful addition to this work is a final interview with two psychiatrists renowned for their knowledge of depression, especially manic depression. These two doctors used evidence from Hemingway s behavior throughout his life to diagnose him as a manic-depressive. As a result we are given a truly intimate portrait of Hemingway: what made him a legend, what made him a man, his loves and fears.
Through this unique format Brian is successful in providing a well-rounded, deep investigation of who Hemingway really was. IN OUR TIME, by Ernest Hemingway is a collection of short stories. When first published it was highly praised for its expression of a wide range of emotions while using simple and precise language. This collection of stories was Hemingway s first major published work. The style of writing for which he was praised would be found throughout all of Hemingway s following pieces. Thus, with this rather short book one can get a true feel for how passionate and personal Hemingway was in his writing.
In Our Time introduces readers to his unique style and is the key to understanding all of his later writing. THE HEMINGWAY RESOURCE CENTER S BIOGRAPHY provided a brief background to how Hemingway was influenced during his earlier years, while growing up in Oak Park, Illinois. Besides focussing on his life, this article also addresses the specific formula found in Hemingway s writing. Thus, while providing a basic background this article is still successful in providing a new perspective on Hemingway as an artist.
HEMINGWAY: AN ANNOTATED CHRONOLOGY, by Michael Reynolds provides an extended time line of Hemingway s life. It includes both major events (i. e. publishing dates, dates of birth / death , etc. ) as well as personal ones (i.
e. when gathering information for books, when writing, etc. ). Reynold s chronology proves very helpful for gaining insight into Hemingway s world due to the extent of information that he provides. The reader can see the progression of physical events from year to year that influenced Hemingway and thus see the gradual progression of changes that affected him. 328
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