Charles Padial
Professor Anderson
Literature
December 1, 2015
Essay 2 Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald are one of the most well known authors to have ever existed. Both authors have a very unique style of writing that captures the audience. Hemingway uses a simple writing style that allows the main argument of his stories to be straightforward, as his writing contains strong imagery, metaphors, and symbolism. However, Fitzgerald writes much lengthier stories that are full of figurative language. Also, he employs a strong command of the language with very eloquent vocabulary. Even though both authors write in much different and unique manners, there is a strong connection between Fitzgerald’s short story “Absolution” and Hemingway’s short story “The Battler”. In order to progress on their journey of self discovery, the two main characters from each story must overcome fear and develop a stronger sense of understanding in regards to the life lessons embodied upon them throughout their “adventures.” In “The Battler” by Ernest Hemingway, the story begins with Nick Adams being thrown off the train. He then must figure out his way through the darkness in order to get to “somewhere”. Just like Rudolph overcoming fear in “Absolution”, Nick must overcome the adversity of being stranded in the middle of
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Both protagonists must find their own ways to overcome fear and continue forward in their adventures. Nick Adams has to overcome the fear of being thrown off a train in the middle of the night and with no where to go, while Rudolph has to overcome the fear of confessing his sin to Father Schwartz and offending God. While both characters struggle to figure out their true identity, they are taught life lessons along the way in order to progress on their journey of self
We notice, right from the beginning of his life, that Ernest Hemingway was confronted to two opposite ways of thinking, the Manly way, and the Woman way. This will be an important point in his writing and in his personal life, he will show a great interest in this opposition of thinking. In this short story, Hemingway uses simple words, which turn out to become a complex analysis of the male and female minds. With this style of writing, he will show us how different the two sexes’ minds work, by confronting them to each other in a way that we can easily capture their different ways of working. The scene in which the characters are set in is simple, and by the use of the simplicity of the words and of the setting, he is able to put us in-front of this dilemma, he will put us in front of a situation, and we will see it in both sexes point of view, which will lead us to the fundamental question, why are our minds so different?
One observation that can be made on Hemingway’s narrative technique as shown in his short stories is his clipped, spare style, which aims to produce a sense of objectivity through highly selected details. Hemingway refuses to romanticize his characters. Being “tough” people, such as boxers, bullfighters, gangsters, and soldiers, they are depicted as leading a life more or less without thought. The world is full of s...
“Roman Fever” and “Hills Like White Elephants” are two stories that on surface seem very different from one another, but through careful analysis the two are quite similar. Their similarities are mainly evident through the significant use of the dialogues in the both stories. “Roman Fever” has a third person omniscient narrator which the author allows to know the inner private thoughts of both characters, Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley. In contrast, “Hills Like White Elephants” is composed in a third person limited narrative where very little is known about the thoughts of both Jig and the American. At first Ernest Hemingway’s short story can clearly be viewed as the most ambiguous out of the two. With its simplistic style, written mostly in straightforward dialogue which leaves the readers to contemplate over the ultimate outcome of the story and forces them to ...
Donaldson, Scott. Frederic Henry’s Escape and the Pose of Passivity. Hemingway: A Revaluation. Ed. Donald R. Noble. Troy: Whitson, 1983.
Among the similarities between them is the fact that they are both afflicted by private concerns that seem to torment them at the subconscious level. Their mental torments and the desire to renew themselves align them to the characteristics of the “Modern” man. Nick is intent on the search for relief from the horrifying realities of war. His mind is disturbed by the violence and the carnage of war. He looks forwards to nature and the external world to supply him with new hope and assurance of continuity from the horrors of war.
In The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume II. Edited by Paul Lauter et al. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991: 1208-1209. Hemingway, Ernest. A.
Kyle, Frank B. "Parallel and Complementary Themes in Hemingway's Big Two-Hearted River Stories and 'The Battler.'" Studies in Short Fiction 16 (1979): 295-300.
Hemingway packed plenty of theme, symbolism, and overall meaning into this short story. However, the story would not have been nearly as meaningful had it been written from another point of view.
When a writer picks up their pen and paper, begins one of the most personal and cathartic experiences in their lives, and forms this creation, this seemingly incoherent sets of words and phrases that, read without any critical thinking, any form of analysis or reflexion, can be easily misconstrued as worthless or empty. When one reads an author’s work, in any shape or form, what floats off of the ink of the paper and implants itself in our minds is the author’s personality, their style. Reading any of the greats, many would be able to spot the minute details that separates each author from another; whether it be their use of dialogue, their complex descriptions, their syntax, or their tone. When reading an excerpt of Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast one could easily dissect the work, pick apart each significant moment from Hemingway’s life and analyze it in order to form their own idea of the author’s voice, of his identity. Ernest Hemingway’s writing immediately comes across as rather familiar in one sense. His vocabulary is not all that complicated, his layout is rather straightforward, and it is presented in a simplistic form. While he may meander into seemingly unnecessary detail, his work can be easily read. It is when one looks deeper into the work, examines the techniques Hemingway uses to create this comfortable aura surrounding his body of work, that one begins to lift much more complex thoughts and ideas. Hemingway’s tone is stark, unsympathetic, his details are precise and explored in depth, and he organizes his thoughts with clarity and focus. All of this is presented in A Moveable Feast with expertise every writer dreams to achieve. While Hemingway’s style may seem simplistic on the surface, what lies below is a layered...
Coming home from the grueling experience of being a soldier in World War I, he felt ecstatic when he saw a trout swimming in the stream. The perils of war took a devastating toll on Nick, as he suffered from a physical wound while in action. The camping trip here is like an oasis, which will let Nick to recover from all the distress. “Nick looked down into the pool from the bridge. It was a hot day. A kingfisher flew up from the stream. It was a long time since Nick had looked into a stream and seen trout. They were very satisfactory...Nick’s heart tightened as the trout moved. He felt all the old feeling.” (178) The healing process begins here with Nick re-acclimating himself with one of his favorite hobbies: fishing. “He started down to the stream, holding his rod...Nick felt awkward and professionally happy with all the equipment hanging from him...His mouth dry, his heart down...Holding the rod far out toward the uprooted tree and sloshing backward in the current, Nick worked the trout, plunging, the rod bending alive, out of the danger of the weeds into the open river. Holding the rod, pumping alive against the current, Nick brought the trout in...” (190,193,195) Nick finally reels in a trout after the big one got away, getting to the feeling of relaxation and washing away the horrors of war. By pitching his tent out in the forest and being able to function by himself so smoothly, Nick shows how he represents the trait of stoicism. He did not complain or stop living, coming back with the trauma of war. Going camping, he is able to relieve himself through using all the nature around him, showcasing his
Earnest Hemingway’s work gives a glimpse of how people deal with their problems in society. He conveys his own characteristics through his simple and “iceberg” writing style, his male characters’ constant urge to prove their masculinity.
The train. The train is the idea of having certain accomplishments in life that you have to follow to be seen as successful in society. When Nick gets off the train he is thrown off, almost as his life is derailed, he is taking a detour from the set expectations but on him by society. In all of the stories about Nick, he seems to have some sort of love-hate relationship with the train. Almost as if he want to reach success and be content with his life but he never seems to be able to stay on the train. There are almost always his demons
...s one may establish a better understanding for theme, writing styles, and technique. Though “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” is a full length novel and “The Lost Boy” is a short story the writings are comparable in the aspect of writing structure and key characters. One may also associate characteristics in Wolfe’s story with those in “Daisy Miller”. These stories are alike in the theme of life lost and different in many ways, as well. Harry, the leading character in Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” led a very different life than that of young Robert but the writings held numerous resemblances. The four stories depict humanity through the life stories of their developing characters. In comparing and contrasting the literary works written by Wolfe, James, Hemingway and Twain the student develops as certain appreciation for the literary community.
Hemingway has a way of making his readers believe that the feats and strengths that his characters obtain in his novels are actually possible. Although this statement may be too critical, and maybe there is a man out there, somewhere on the coast of Cuba who at this very moment is setting out to the open sea to catch a marlin of his own. The struggle many readers have is believing the story of Santiago’s physical powers and his strength against temptation bring forward the question of whether or not The Old Man and the Sea is worthy to be called a classic. Hemingway’s Santiago brought Faulkner and millions of other readers on their knees, while to some, believed Hemingway had swung his third strike. As we look further into Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, we can analyze the criticism and complications of the character Santiago. He is portrayed as a faulty Jesus, an unrealistic and inhuman man, and again still a hero to those who cannot find happiness in their life.
Santiago went through many turmoil’s in his life and his story is one of wisdom in defeat from the lengthy time of which he could not catch anything to that of his loss of the marlin to the sharks after such a lengthy battle to catch it then attempt to bring it back to shore. Now I could go on and on like any other paper about all the symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea but no matter what I did while reading it, in almost every aspect it screamed out to me as an impersonation or reflection of Hemingway’s own life in a multitude of ways that no one can deny. The Old Man and the Sea was an allegory referring to the Hemingway’s own struggles to preserve his writing i...