I decided to concentrate on the writing of Ernest Hemingway. The first book I read, completed in 1926, is The Sun Also Rises. This novel is set in the 1920s, and recounts the story of a group of American and European expatriates in Paris. Jake Barnes, the narrator, concentrates mostly on the life of his friend Robert Cohn. The characters are defined by the post-world war I Lost Generation, veterans that were somehow affected by the trauma of the war. Jake Barnes also tells the love story between him and Lady Brett Ashley, a British nurse who Jake met during the war.
After the novel, I continued with a collection of short stories from 1927, Men without Women. From this collection, I chose Hills Like White Elephants and Che Ti Dice La Patria? The first story, Hills Like White Elephants, is about a conversation between a girl and an American man while they wait for their train. Drinking a beer in Ebro Valley in Spain, the couple begin to discuss several things, one of them being the that the hills look like white elephants, and the other discussion focuses on a simple operation which the man wants the girl to have. At the end, the conversation ends with the man asking the girl if she feels better, and she says she feels “fine”.
In Che Ti Dice La Patria? the narrator tells the story of a little journey he takes with his friend Guy. As they travel through Italy, specifically going to Spezia, they give a ride to a hitchhiker. After they drop him off, they stop at a simple restaurant where they meet this Italian girl who is very much attracted to Guy. Eventually they leave and continue on their journey. Lastly, I read the novel A Farewell to Arms, completed in 1929. This novel set during the World War I, tells the love story between American lieutenant Fredrick Henry and English nurse Catherine Barkley. Eventually, she becomes pregnant but it’s not enough for them to get married.
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The Sun Also Rises, considered one of his most famous novel’s, Hemingway focuses on delivering an astonishing piece from the first person narrative. Told from Jake Barnes perspective, the reader is able to see the world from the outside. When the group of men go to Spain to watch a bullfight, there is a realization that the whole time Jake has been making a comparison between the outrageous and childlike behavior of the Robert Cohn and the other men to the violence and unstableness of the bullfighting.
Another aspect of the narrative that really catches on to the plot is the fact that Jake Barnes has an injury that prevents him from having sexual intercourse. This really affects the way he thinks of the world and the way other think of him, for example Lady Brett Ashley, who is in love with Jake but conflicted by his injury. Hills Like White Elephants, written in third person narrative, has a plot that is driven by dialogue. Hemingway uses simple, short, phrases for dialogue, but he is able to convey feelings emotions and a strong characterization of both the girl and the man.
The fact that the story ends without the reader knowing what the operation is, makes it more intriguing, but at the same time there is no need to know because the dialogue says it all. Che Ti Dice La Patria? is written in first person narrative. Unlike The Sun Also Rises, the narrator tells the story form his perspective, but also from Guy’s perspective. This allows the readers to connect to both characters, as well as the characters with less dialogue, like the hitchhiker and the Italian woman. Hemingway also uses setting to create the environment and to easily describe the situation.
Being very descriptive allows the characters more freedom and less restriction to dialogue. Finally, A Farewell to Arms also uses first person narrative, but unlike The Sun Also Rises, it actually sticks more to Fredrick Henry character’s story. It allows the character to take control of the story instead of telling it from the outside like Jake Barnes does.
Ernest Hemingway’s works helped me understand the idea what has to be said and what can be left out. The perspective of the narrator will lead the story, but once that narrator is established, there must be an idea of how much exposition there should be. When writing a novel, there is more space for exposition, but based on Hemingway’s short works, it is evident that exposition is not a major part of the stories. He mostly focuses on dialogue, characterization, setting and the suppleness of the writing. In general, it made me realize that there is a benefit of being simple and direct, allowing the characters to be judged and liked at the same time.
