Ernest Hemingway Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ernest Hemingway Research Paper - Essay Example Early Life Ernest Hemingway was born in Illinois on July 21, 1899. His mother’s musical interests did not influence him as much as his father’s love for the outdoors. This spirit of adventure would later be visible in his writings (Boon 9). In high school, he edited the school newspaper Kansas City Star. He participated in the World War I for the American Red Cross as a bus driver and was injured in 1918 after an attack. After the World War I, he returned to the United States of America and met Sherwood Anderson, and in 1921 he married Hadley Richardson. A short time later he moved to Paris, France, as a correspondent of the Star. Their stay in Paris coincided with the publication of Three Stories and Ten. Hemingway wrote the drafts In our Time in 1923 and later published it in 1924. In mid-1923, the family returned to Toronto where he rejoined the Star, but he went back to Paris in 1924. In Paris, he met Gertrude Stein, and this ushered him to the world of artists and authors of the ‘lost generation’, giving an inspiration to the novel The Sun Also Rises (Bloom 11). Literary Career Death in the Afternoon The novel starts with Hemingway talking about his love for bull fighting after being introduced to the sport by Gertrude Stein. He is initially skeptical about bull fighting, as he assumes that it would cause the death of horses. This novel is a nonfiction account of Hemingway’s observation of bull fighting in Spain from the 1920’s to the 1930’s. The book gives a vivid explanation of bullfighting in Spain and his life. â€Å"The bull fight is not a sport in the Anglo Saxon sense word that is it is not an equal contest or an attempt at an equal contest between a bull and a man. Rather it is a tragedy the death of the bull which is played, more or less well, by the bull and the man involved in which there is a danger for the man but certain death for the animal† (Hemingway, â€Å"Death in the Afternoon† 22). The Old Man and the Sea This story is set in Cuba where Santiago, a fisherman, sets out to fish but fails to catch anything. His young apprentice, Manolin, is convinced by his parents to leave Santiago and go fishing in another area. Nevertheless, Manolin continues to help Santiago. Later on Santiago goes further away from his usual fishing waters, releases his fishing gear deep into the sea, hooks into a marlin, and the fish pulls his fishing boat. The fishing experience goes wrong, and he endures a lot of pain while holding the fishing equipment. Blood appears in the waters, attracting sharks; he kills them but they eat the marlin; nevertheless, he takes the skeletons to his ramshackle. The following day fellow fishermen gather around his boat in amazement and Manolin is excited upon seeing Santiago safe in bed. The story depicts bravery of Santiago, who ventures out into the sea despite having caught no fish in eighty four days. Despite the difficulties Santiago endures a nd conquers, the victory of sea and sharks is the ultimate point in the story. Our Time This is a collection of fifteen short stories. In the first part, Nick Adams is brought into an Indian Camp by his father, and a woman gives birth there. Later, Nick’s father argues with an Indian. Nick Adam’s love life follows that of Nick, and his friend Bill drinks at Bill’s house. In chapter five, Nick is thrown off a train and meets an old friend of his. Thereafter, a soldier falls in love