Violence In The Life Of Hemingway

“Introduction to Ernest Hemingway: Hills Like White Elephants.” The Norton Introduction to Literature Shorter Eleventh Edition. Ed. Mays, Kelly, J. New York, London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2013. Page 590. Print.

Ernest Hemingway faced numerous troubles throughout his time and during and post war. He experienced explosions to his body and the death of many around him, which is

Pain can come in many forms, but it is shared among all heroes- that is, shared between Hemingway’s and

       In his novels Ernest Hemingway suggests a code of behavior for his characters to follow: one that demands courage in difficult situations, strength in the face of adversity, and grace under pressure.  Termed the "code hero," this character is driven by the principal ideals of honor, courage, and endurance in a life of stress, misfortune, and pain.  Despite the hero's fight against life in this violent and disorderly world, he is rarely the victor.  The code that the hero follows demands that he act honorably in this uphill battle and find fulfillment by becoming a man and proving his worth.  Hemingway himself lived his life trying to show how strong and unlimited

The period between World War I and World War II was a very turbulent time in America. Ernest Hemingway most represented this period with his unrestrained lifestyle. This lifestyle brought him many successes, but it eventually destroyed him in the end. His stories are read in classrooms across America, but his semi-autobiographical writings are horrible role models for the students who read them. Hemingway’s lifestyle greatly influenced his writings in many ways.

In Hemingway’s writing, he is always searching for truth, although, he often looks at the world in a nihilistic way. When reading through the authors’ short-stories or novels, he often refers to nothingness and the meaninglessness of existence. However, he also uses a practical application to repair his existential nihilistic viewpoints. Hemingway’s work is often seen as a representation of himself, and I believe that he used pragmatism as a distraction from the meaninglessness of the world. With suicide being prevalent in his family, I firmly believe that Hemingway himself strived for meaning in life, but eventually opted out because life is chaotic and there are too many unknown answers in the world. Hemingway tried to establish values and morals through pragmatism, but in reality, values are constantly changing and everything is temporary. By looking through a philosophical lens, I will demonstrate how Hemingway uses absurdism, nihilism, and pragmatism as a way to understand and interpret the world. In order to do so, I will look through Hemingway’s short-stories and novels and analyze passages critically to showcase the theories that are present in his work. In order to undertake this grand idea, I will also incorporate biographical elements to display Hemingway’s family history of suicide and to showcase his personal struggle to find meaning in the world.

Often times, violence is prevalent in literature. It is captivating, it enhances the plot, and it creates feelings of suspense and tension within the reader. However, in well-crafted works of literature, scenes of violence serve an even greater purpose. Violence is frequently used in order to contribute to the meaning of the complete work, and Ernest Hemingway utilizes violence in order to highlight the meaning in The Sun Also Rises. In the novel, Robert Cohn verbally attacks protagonist Jake Barnes and his friend Mike Campbell after questions arise pertaining to the whereabouts of widely-coveted Lady Brett Ashley. Jake then strikes Cohn, and a fistfight between the three men ensues. Hemingway utilizes the violence between the men in order

Secondly, Hemingway portrays violence through entertainment. Hemingway demonstrates violence through entertainment by bullfighting in arenas for the crowds enjoyment or the for the matador's satisfaction, the narrator reports,”The crowd shouted all the time and threw pieces of bread down into the ring, then cushions and leather wine bottles; keeping up whisling and yelling. Finally the bull was too tired from so much bad sticking and folded his knees and lay down and one of the cuadrilla leaned out over his neck and killed him with the puntillo. The crowd came over the barrera and around the torero and two men grabbed him and held him and some one cut off his pigtail and was waving it and ran away with it” (Chapter XI). This demonstrates violence through entertainment for the reason that the crowd is very enthusiastic with the bullfight by throwing bread and alcohol finally, someone kill it takes it tail to play with, he has no remorse for the bull. Occasionally with bullfighting the matador kills the bull purely for their own satisfaction, this is shown when a man takes on many bulls and happy for himself he exclaims,”We kills the savages’ bulls, and the drunkards’ bulls, and the riau-riau dancers’ bulls. Yes. We kill them. We kill them all right. Yes. Yes. Yes” (Chapter XIII). This demonstrates violence entertainment purely for the matador by recognizing how content he is when he kills a large amount of

The characters in Hemingway’s stories reveal much about how he feels about men and the role they should play in society. Most of Hemingway’s male characters can be split into one of two groups. The first of which is the “Code” Hero. This is the tough, macho guy who chooses to live his life by following a “code of

In Ernest Hemingway’s The Dangerous Summer, Hemingway follows the exploits of the two greatest bullfighters of the time, as they travel the country of Spain bullfighting during the summer of 1959. In this memoir, Hemingway watches the mano a mano fights between Antonio Ordóñez and Luis Miguel Dominguín. Throughout the story, Hemingway describes him as an avid lover of bullfighting and offers his analysis and commentary on the action taking place in the ring. It is through this analysis that he is able to deliver his message of the importance of keeping with tradition and that the loss of sacred values through progressivism is detrimental to society.

Many authors, critics, and everyday social readers define Ernest Hemingway as the prime example of 20th century American literature. Hemingway’s works transcend time itself, so that even readers today analyze and criticize his works. His works, of course, have drawn praises and animosity from all corners of the globe. Critics often applause Hemingway on his short simple prose, for which many people recognize him for. His writing builds upon the masterful usage of “short, simple words and short, simple sentences” (Wagner, 3) to create clear and easy to

Evidently, when presented with a dilemma, Hemingway’s writings suggest men will naturally be drawn to putting other people in danger, rather than themselves. Even before his aforementioned awakening, Francis Macomber was showing hints of brutality. While the lion is wounded and waiting in the tall grass, Macomber becomes afraid, and offers to send beaters in to look for the lion, instead of going in himself. Wilson quickly dismisses this idea, however, on account of how it is “just a touch murderous” (Fitzgerald 15). Macomber’s utter disregard for the live of anyone other than himself goes to show men aren’t only violent for amusement, but at their most basic instinct. It is almost as if Macomber forgets the beaters are just as human as he is. In another one of Hemingway’s stories, The Interchapters, Chapter IV depicts the narrator while at war. The narrator describes

To preface, Ernest Hemingway was an American writer who shaped fiction of the twenty-first century through all of his novels and short stories. Much of his literature, such as Soldier’s Home and The Sun Always Rises have heroes that share similar story lines, values, and attributes. Hemingway Code Heroes can still be seen today in many modern books, movies, and more. These Hemingway Code Heroes are dynamic characters that reject the conventional values that they are taught and instead find new sets of morals based off their own actings of skill, knowledge, and courage in the chaotic world they live in (Colvert 1955). The article, “Ernest Hemingway’s Morality in Action” by James B. Colbert states, “...he wipes clean in his

Many of the passages of the novel reflect his life. Hemingway writes: “But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” This has been shown through his life, as Hemingway wrote the novella to prove he wasn’t finished as a writer. This is also reflected during his time in World War 1. Hemingway was wounded by Austrian Mortar fire, and yet despite his injuries or “defeat,” Hemingway carried a wounded italian soldier to safety. Hemingway wrote: "When you go to war as a boy you have a great illusion

Through the perfectly realized symbolism, the author managed not only to depict his own tragedy of life but also the tragedy of a common man. Even though the story is lacking realism at definite points, it provides the readers with an understanding of the real human nature and presents a celebration to the human qualities that help an individual to keep on board. The struggle depicted in the writing by Hemingway makes this short novel a masterpiece that always would find its