Ernest Hemingway

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Ernest Miller Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois July 21, 1899. Hemingway is known to be one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He has written more than one hundred short fiction stories, many of them to be well known around the world. Some of these short stories had just as powerful an impact as his novels.

As a young man, Hemingway left from his hometown to Europe, where he worked for the Red Cross during World War I. His time spent there inspired him to write some of his most famous novels. Most of which spoke of the horrors of the war (Benson xi). Hemingway's short stories, "Soldier's Home" and "Another Country" are used to show the damaging psychological and physical effects of World War I.Hemingway knew first hand the horrors of war. In May of 1918, Hemingway became an honorary second lieutenant in the Red Cross, but could not join the army because he had a defective left eye. Hemingway first went to Paris, and soon after receiving new orders he traveled to Milan, Italy.

The day he arrived, an ammunition factory exploded and he had to carry mutilated bodies and body parts to a makeshift morgue. This was definitely a most terrifying moment for the young Hemingway. After being seriously injured weeks later, Hemingway found himself recovering at a hospital in Milan. After his stay at the American Hospital in Milan, Hemingway was relieved of duty (Mitran 1). Having no other purpose in Europe, he returned unhappily to Oak Park, Illinois.

The impression left on Hemingway by his stay in Italy had changed him profoundly. He never really returned to America as an America(Meyer 115). When Hemingway returned home from Italy in January of 1919 he found Oak Park dull compared to the adventures of war, the beauty of foreign lands, and the romance of an older woman. He was only nineteen but the war had matured him beyond his years. He was now living with his parents who didn't really appreciate what he had been through. His parents where concerned about his future and wanted him to get a job, and further his education.

Hemingway could not find anything he would be interested in. Hemingway often exaggerated his war stories to satisfy his audience. This frustrating period of his life was used to create the short story called, "Soldier's Home" (Meyer 115).Hemingway's story "Soldier's Home" con...

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.... Hemingway's short stories, "Soldier's Home" and "Another Country" are used to show the damaging psychological and physical effects of World War I. Hemingway is able to explain these affects of war to his readers most effectively. This is because of his firsthand experience in his involvement in World War I. He had been exposed to the horrors of war himself.

In the story "Soldier's Home" a man who represents Hemingway comes home from World War I much to late. No one appreciated what he had done for his country and was forever psychologically damaged. He came home as a totally different person and now couldn't lead a normal life. He didn't have the will to work or obtain an education. The American soldier's in "Another Country" where forever damaged by the war. Each of these men couldn't even leave Europe because of their injuries.

These men can never return home and pick up from where they left off. Their injuries will hold them all back from doing the things they love most. One mans injuries held him back from being with his sick wife back at home. These two short stories are perfect examples of how war can change a man's life forever.

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