Overview of Earnest Hemingway

What Critics Say 

Earnest Hemingway, a famous American writer, has a unique writing style that is seen throughout his works. Using this style, he is able to make his novels significant and thus more fun to read. He has expressed this through his use of characterization, his significant settings, his sentence structure, and the perspective of his narrator. As a reader begins to analyze Hemingway’s works, it is obvious that how he writes, and what he writes about is significant. 

Hemingway’s characters play a huge role in his writing. This is obvious as from his character the old man in his novel, The Old Man and the Sea. At first glance, the old man reflects the hard working and realistic portrayal of a Cuban fisherman who “is not free of tragedy and pain”(Gurko 11). But when the reader takes a deeper look into these characters, specifically the old man, it is obvious that Hemingway intended the old man to reflect that humans were also a part of nature. The reader sees the complex “harmony”(Gurko 12) between humans and nature, that is “taking into account the hard facts of pursuit, violence, and death”(Gurko 12). These ideas are clearly seen in the old man's chase of the marlin. Although it might not look like it, the old man is still a hero in that he goes beyond where anyone else would in an attempt to catch something that no one else wants to catch(Gurko 12). Many believe that to be a hero, one has to “dare more than other men”(Gurko 12). Quite frankly, this is true and is obviously something that Hemingway believes in. 

The setting in Hemingway’s book about the Spanish Civil War, For Whom the Bell Tolls, is significant in not only the geographical sense but more so the fact that it is set in a time of war. Through this novel, Hemingway uses war as a “frame”(Allen 204) to not only shape his characters but also to show his beliefs and ideas of humanity(Allen 204). Robert Jordan, the main character in For Whom the Bell Tolls, changes in how he experiences “the inner crisis that springs from the recognition of the self”(Allen 205). This “crisis”(Allen 205) was brought about through his suffering and experiences from war. This is just one view of war that is exemplified by Hemingway. Through his use of detail Hemingway shows that he believes war only brings “personal misery”(Allen 204).

Hemingway structures his plot significantly, primarily with the usage of sentence format and “actions and flashbacks”(Thorne 521). These are significant because they add to driving the plot and give us insight into the minds and background of the characters. They can also be significant because he puts them in a realistic order that would have occurred during the real war. Hemingway’s writing has a theme of “working-out”(Thorne 523) around one statement or single event. In For Whom the Bell Tolls the order from Golz acts as this one statement. Hemingway also utilizes sentence structure to convey a message with the reader. In tense moments Hemingway shows the stress of the situation by using short sentences that are a “deliberate attempt to stop thinking”(Thorne 522). Trying to show that in some situations, you can’t think everything through and just have to react. While in less tense situations Hemingway uses long sentences that are descriptive and that “summarize”(Thorne 523) what is happening. 

Oftentimes in Hemingway’s novels, specifically For Whom the Bell Tolls he uses third person limited, through this he gives us the details he feels are necessary. In doing this Hemingway makes sure to “epitomize some aspect of the man”(Weeks 188). Hemingway relies on third person limited to be able to properly describe his characters and their thoughts without giving the reader a full explanation and description of every detail. Even this way of presenting information is significant in the way that it creates “that terrible fear”(Allen 206) that the reader gets from not knowing what every character is thinking or feeling. All while being able to continue his character’s development. Last, this is significant as Hemingway believes that in life no one can ever know every detail and that all are subject to confusion and tension. 

In conclusion, these four ideas connect to Hemingway’s style of writing. They all help connect and improve the general plot and development of the characters. Through the analysis of his works, we see his portrayal of a hero, his use of setting to form his characters, his use of sentence format and structure, and his use of third person limited. He is especially different in the way that he shows his beliefs and is able to make things significant. All in all, the use of these styles has made him one of the greatest American writers ever. 

Enduring Understandings

Character 

In Ernest Hemingway’s literary works, we can see him and his beliefs in many of his different characters. Such as the old man, Santiago, in The Old Man and the Sea, and in Robert Jordan with the Guerrilleros in his novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. Whether it was designed or unintentional, we see Hemingway in his characters. 

In The Old Man and the Sea, we see the experiences Hemingway has had through Santiago. Even at the most basic part of who the old man is, a Cuban fisherman, represents Hemingway in that he lived in Cuba and loved to fish. Hemingway being a hunter and angler himself, knows the struggle and adversity that occurs every time when looking for game. The old man's struggle to complete his life’s mission of catching a marlin, is a direct connection to Hemingway’s experiences while hunting or fishing. We can also see the values Ernest possessed, such as determination, courage and perseverance through trials, similar to those that the old man possessed throughout his battle with the marlin. Also in this work we see the cultural norms that Ernest experienced in his time in Cuba, such as the importance of respecting elders. In Cuban culture respecting elders is very present, this is shown through Ernest’s characters of the old man and Manolin. Manolin deeply respects and admires the old man through thick and thin. A great example of this is when the old man comes back from an unsuccessful day at sea and the boy brings him food and helps with his equipment.  

In For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway himself is present through his character Robert Jordan. Jordan is a soldier sent to destroy a bridge, in this conquest he sees a number of challenges and exhibits a wide range of themes that come with war. Such as sacrifice, a sense of duty and bravery, all of these Hemingway would have experienced in war. One belief that is shown in this novel is Ernest’s belief that being in the military is an honorable thing. A perfect example of this is a special code that the Guerrilleros live by. This code is built on the idea that it is honorable to fight for their homeland, which also seems to be the main reason as to why they fight so hard. This honor also creates a brotherhood within the Guerrilleros, with them all fighting under one common goal and under one common reason, it is understandable in the importance they have of honor. 

Setting 

Ernest Hemingway is intentional in the settings he places for his characters. Many things contribute to his famous settings, things such as the realism feature of it, the cultural detail, and its extreme accuracy. Through these factors, we see the values Hemingway thought of as most essential. Great examples of this are Hemingway's novels The Old Man and the Sea, set in Cuba, and For Whom the Bell Tolls, set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. 

The Old Man and the Sea, is set in Cuba, or more specifically, the waters off the coast of Cuba. These waters are known for being especially fierce and unforgiving. Then when you add needing to catch and defend an eighteen foot Marlin, it seems almost impossible. Obviously, as we are reading the novel we might think to just cut our losses and give up, “But man is not made for defeat”(Hemingway 103). This idea of perseverance is an essential part of the book, whether the old man was dealing with criticism of being unlucky or battling sharks he always persevered and never gave up. This value is truly encompassed by the old man’s endless war with the waters of Cuba. During this ‘war’, the old man gets a new found respect for nature. Hemingway shows the reader that this respect of nature can only be truly grasped through trials and suffering. This is shown through the old man addressing the fish as, “my brother”(Hemingway 95). 

In Hemingway’s novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, the setting is placed in the mountains of Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Although some values in this novel are repeated in The Old Man and the Sea, we are introduced to new ones as well. This setting is extremely important to the novel in its way of shaping characters and showing their core values. For example, a main theme of the novel is life and the inevitability of death. The Guerrilleros accept this fate, it seems as it is almost part of their culture. As a part of this they exhibit themes of sacrifice, willing to give up their own life for one another. This sacrifice is what they are built on. “Everything you have is to give”(Hemingway 368), this quote describes how Robert Jordan has nothing but the clothes on his back and his life to give. This was a common occurrence within the Guerrilleros as they had much taken from them. 

Speaker

Ernest Hemingway is known for his ability to convey information in various ways to the reader. To be able to convey this information to the reader he emphasizes the use of a simple style and a third person omniscient point of view. He uses these in both The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. 

In his novel The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway utilizes the third person omniscient point of view. This point of view fits in perfectly with the story as there is little dialogue present so instead, we get a narrator who is able to give us the thoughts and feelings of the old man. This change makes it so the reader is not left in confusion over what happened but instead is simply described the situations and the details that were necessary. Along with this, Ernest’s short sentences not only creates drama for the reader, but also gives information as to the thoughts of the old man.  In the old man’s thoughts while first hooking the fish, “All right. Are you ready? Have you been long enough at table”(Hemingway 44). These short sentences give us the indication that the old man has been waiting for this moment, which almost creates a sense of curiosity as to why he is so anxious about this moment. During this book, Hemingway was able to use an omniscient point of view to give us a better idea of who the old man is, as the other “fishermen made fun of the old man and he was not angry”(Hemingway 10), this helps us get a better understanding and experience the type of man that the old man is. 

Ernest Hemingway again uses short sentences and third person point of view to be able to get information to the reader in his novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. However, in this novel he uses a third person limited point of view to communicate with the reader. The limited point of view is especially effective in this story because the reader is able to focus on the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist, Robert Jordan. It also makes the reader feel more of a connection with Jordan as we get almost one on one time with him, where we learn more about him through his thoughts and emotions. Finally, Hemingway’s straightforward style of writing helps the reader to be able to interpret the text easier, as we do not need to go digging for information or read between the lines. 

Author 

Ernest Hemingway had what many would consider a very interesting view of humanity and the human experience over all. While both succeeding and failing to exemplify a christian worldview. 

His view of the human experience was rather sad, his works depict an end to life where there is nothing or nobody awaiting them. Some of his works consist of Christ like characters without the Christ like end in the resurrection. All in all he believed that the future demise for everyone was a lonely death with a Christ-like crucifixion without the hope or the Christ-like resurrection(Mitchell 15). I think this played into his realism type of works, to him it might have just felt almost impossible to be that realistic, then have something like a resurrection to occur to someone who isn’t Christ. It might have also been that he didn’t want to compare these characters, in his works, to Christ in anything other than actions. From what I’ve seen in his works, he depicts humans as sometimes honorable and sometimes just rotten people which is also true. 

Ernest both succeeded and failed to exemplify a Christian worldview. He did convert to Catholic but little is known about the rest of his religious life. From his actions however, it seems like it is split. He loved being out in God’s creation, and he loved to just be out experiencing all of God’s creation.(As a side note I am not saying that I am fit to judge him as that power should only reside in the Father, I am merely just stating things that people would consider non-Christian activities) Hemingway is unfortunately known for being anti-semetic after failing to convert Jewish people to Christianity, he is also known for his heavy drinking throughout his life, and was known for having affairs with other women while still being with his fist wife. 

Works Cited

Gurko, Leo. “The Old Man and the Sea.” College English, vol. 17, no. 1, 1955, pp. 11–15. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/495716. Accessed 17 Feb. 2024.

 Allen, Michael. “The Unspanish War in ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls.’” Contemporary Literature, vol. 13, no. 2, 1972, pp. 204–12. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1207824. Accessed 17 Feb. 2024.

Thorne, Creath S. “The Shape of Equivocation in Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls.” American Literature, vol. 51, no. 4, 1980, pp. 520–35. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2924954. Accessed 17 Feb. 2024.

Weeks, Robert P. “Fakery in the Old Man and the Sea.” College English, vol. 24, no. 3, 1962, pp. 188–92. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/373283. Accessed 17 Feb. 2024.

Works Cited

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. Scribner Publishing, New York, NY. 

Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom the Bell Tolls. Scribner Publishing, New York, NY.

Mitchell, Stephen. “Humanity Crucified: Hemingway and the Human Condition.” Christian Research Institute, Christian Research Institute, 8 Mar. 2023, www.equip.org/articles/humanity-crucified-hemingway-human-condition/.