Research Question: How do these critics view Hemingway as an artist?
Ernest Hemingway has been the most influential
writer of the last century. His writings have
proved to be jewels in English literature. From
1925 to 1929, Ernest Hemingway produced some of
the most important works of 20th century fiction;
including the landmark short story collection
In Our Time (1925) which contained "The Big
Two-Hearted River." In 1926 he came out with
his first true novel, The Sun also Rises (after
publishing Torrents of Spring, a comic novel parodying
Sherwood Anderson in 1925). He followed that book
with Men without Women in 1927; it was another
book of stories which collected "The Killers"
and "In Another Country." In 1929 he
published A Farewell to arms , arguably the finest
novel to emerge from World War I.
Let us consider the following essays for today’s discussion on the topic of Hemingway’s artistry skills.
- Sudden Unexpected Interjection by David Gagne 1
- An Essay on In Our Time by Nathan Kotas 2
- Preludes to a Mood in The New York Times October 18, 1925 3
- Love and War in the pages of Ernest Hemingway by Percy Hutchinson 4
Ernest Hemingway had the most unique and colourful style of writing . He used symbolism. His style of writing involved getting right to the core of the scene without spending much time on building of characters. He used simple and declarative language. But this unique style of writing, made many feel that Hemingway was an artist in his essence. Lets find what these four people have to say on this particular aspect of Ernest Hemingway.
The first two essays deal with mainly the narrative style of Hemingway. As such, they would justify that Hemingway was truly an artist because of his narrative style. The latter two place Hemingway in a super soul level. His writings are considered more divine and bestowed with a power to evoke higher levels of feelings and that would be because of his real life experiences. This study on the reason behind his artistry with the language is new and makes one reflect .
In his essay “Sudden Unexpected Interjection”,
David Gagne highlights the vivid imagery used
by Hemingway in his book “In Our Time”
which is actually a collection of short stories
sometimes linked by character similarity. The
author points out that the third person style
of narration, permits more detail in description
of surroundings . While achieving this, the author
also enjoys the intimate musings of the mind in
situations when Nick, the central character in
the book, keeps talking to himself. This subtle
change in style of narration is like a deft shade
in a canvas painting. In the story “The
Big hearted River Part I “ , David points
out “ The story is completely written
the in third person and is full of images, sounds,
and smells.” The essay later explores
this technique of changing styles of narration
with the same used by Sherwood Anderson.
In the essay “An Essay on In our Time” the author, Nathan Kotas writes of his love for the character of Nick. The author points out the imagery skills of the writer by quoting - Little sentences like "He was careful not to let the hook bite into his finger" convey so much meaning to anyone who has ever tried to tighten a fishing hook on a line that you can only help but nod your head in agreement.
Further he feels that the stories carry a lot of intensity so much so it seemed to be a reflection of true life experience in many ways. That had inspired him to read the life of Hemingway. There is a philosophical enquiry raised by the author “In regards to your statement "I could not help but think of how much Hemmingway's content was influenced by his life", I wonder about the actual seperation of artist from art. It seems to me in some cases unless you understand the artist, or at least the time period, the work doesn't stand on its own”. An artist is someone who frames his skill with a passion that comes straight from the heart. According to Nathan Kotas, Hemingway maybe writing his own life experiences in a camouflaged manner. That would need artistry of a special kind. A semi-transparent writing style that does not allow you to fathom the writer’s spirit in its entirety could be the only way to achieve this. Nathan Kotas does indeed point out to this trait in Hemingway. It would be interesting to note the fact that Picasso’s paintings had women with grotesque faces at a period in life when he was harassed by his dominating wife. Later with the entry of his French love, his paintings took on a special color and beauty indicative of the permeation of love in his real life. Taking a cue from this example, Hemingway perhaps lets the shadow of his own life fall in his writings.
Sub question: Did his life experiences make Hemingway the artist he is proclaimed to be?
In an article titled “Preludes to a Mood”
that appeared in the Oct 18, 1925, edition of
the New York Times, there is a review of the Hemingway
writing style. His language is said to be “fibrous
and athletic, colloquial and fresh, hard and clean;”
– this is a unique description of a language
style. Hemingway’s writing style was unique.
The author also says, “his very prose
seems to have an organic being of its own. Every
syllable counts toward a stimulating, entrancing
experience of magic.”
The love of the author for the writings of Hemingway appears to be one of a man in a daze. What is evident here is that Hemingway’s writings meant different things to different people. They had the capacity to linger on in the memory “ an organic being of its own”. As a fitting explanation for the title “Prelude to a mood”, the author claims that the stories of Hemingway in the book “In Our Times” are actually not just stories but rather preludes to a mood that is created in the mind of the reader. This is a good statement on the artistry skill of Hemingway.
That Hemingway makes his words count more than
its literal meaning is what makes him stand apart.
Most of his stories carry a subtle truth of life.
In the story “Cat in the Rain”, there
is that desire of an American lady for a cat.
The beautiful narration of this simple desire
has a powerful impact. It makes one reflect on
a lifetime of discontent, that makes a heart keep
looking out for some unknown fulfillment. The
author also points to the vivid imagery conjured
up by Hemingway when he makes a reader see a trout
lying on the pebbles of a clear , swift, cold
stream and the four-cornered mouth of a grasshopper.
In “Love and War in the pages of Mr. Hemingway” , Miss Percy Hutchinson talks of the strongly masculine sentences used by Hemingway in his book “Farewell to Arms”. She says that this detached style of writing actually creates an enamel like luster.
“The chief result is a sort of enamel lustre imparted to the story as a whole, not precisely an iridescence, but a white light, rather, that pales and flashes, but never warms.”
The subtle weaving of description and narration is much appreciated by the author.
” In the attachment of Lady Brett for her physically incapacitated lover there is a profound and genuine affection which has something of inspiration. And the pathos of Lady Brett, that she can maintain this only by derelictions, evidences psychology so subtle that it has hitherto evaded the literary worker, and been not always discernible to the scientifically schooled.”
The above four essays do converge on one fact that Hemingway possessed magical skills as a writer . He was an artist who used the paint of words , with brushes of imagery and symbols, to paint human nature in the canvas of his books.
Thus the four essays taken for discussion fit like the pieces of jigsaw puzzle in answering the question “Is Hemingway an artist? What made people feel that he is an artist?” |