There are many connections we went over in class between the stories we read about by Ernest Hemingway but one I believe we didn't go over is the reoccurring dark presence that appears in each of his stories, even if they are brief and short. In "The Short Life of Francis Macomber", the presence presents itself as the death of Francis Macomber and by his wife which brings sadness to the reader. In "Indian Camp", it presents itself as the suicide of the Indian father in the bunk which frightens young Nick enough to affect him, having him then believe he is invincible. In "Big Two Hearted River", the burned down town and countryside was the brief darkness before the story progresses into the woods and the brother's death in "The Undefeated".
Hemingway constantly continues to show this darkness, this entity may have manifested from his family's history of many suicides as well as his childhood and being surrounded by these heavy thoughts in the back of his mind on if he would suicide. These thoughts stayed small and quiet, only appearing in small things in his writings but from time to time would be bigger such as "Indian Camp" where it is strongly expressed by the father's suicide and the suicidal, drunk old man in "A Clean Well-Lighted Place". He mostly passes through it quickly like in "The Undefeated", where he acknowledges Manuel's brother's death once at the beginning of the story and the town in "Big Two-Hearted River". He probably did this so that his writing wasn't always dark and brooding which isn't always good.
I think the always present darkness in Hemingway's writing does help not only to make the stories more interesting, but to help define him as a writer. It also makes the reader ask, and want to explore more, and find out more about him. But does this style of writing get boring? Do you think that Hemingway writing predominantly dark stories make him a good or bad author. Do you think that him writing dark stories makes him a good author because it comes from a place of truth inside of him. Does it make his writing more connectable and realistic?
ReplyDeleteI mean if there is always dark and brooding in his stories and no excitement, it would be a bit boring, in my opinion. It would bore the reader while even a small bit of excitement can shock the reader and bring them back on board with renewed interest.
DeleteIm not a big fan of the dark stories and the fact that Hemingway wrote mostly dark stories may devalue Hemingway to me but it doesn't mean he's a bad writer.
DeleteI agree that Hemingway includes lots of sadness in his writings, but I think that the way that he talks about guilt and depression and sadness might be him contemplating what will happen if he in fact ends his life, and who will be affected, and what circles will be changed and etc. Overall, I agree with your idea, but I think it has a deeper meaning to it.
ReplyDeleteAhh yes. The documentary pointed to Hemingway's father committing suicide due to tremendous pains in his foot stemming from diabetes...the husband in Indian Camp? Boooooom!!!! On the surface they committed suicide because of bodily pain when in reality it was something a bit more disturbing and broken.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement that there is a constant theme of sadness in the short stories. I also think that the evidence provided about suicides is very relevant, having friends and family committing suicide can have a very strong and negative impact on you.
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