[Posher778]

Peer edit my intro paragraphs if you have the time. Tell me what's good/bad, what should I change, technical stuff, etc.


********

Ernest Hemingway is one of the most nationally gratified authors in the history of American literature. His works are often placed in the rankings of the best stories ever written by some of the toughest critics. He is well known for his dark and often depressing stories that will stick with the reader for days due to the almost flawless method in which they were written. In defense of this statement, Hemingway once claimed that life isn’t always a happy ending, which is why his stories don’t always end on a happy note. The reasons for these tragic works of literature can be found in the confines of Hemingway’s past.
Ernest Hemingway was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. Throughout the course of his life, he was married four times, and was divorced three of those times. His first novel was titled “The Sun Also Rises,” and was published in 1926. He soon after published “A Farewell to Arms,” in 1929, which has been referred to as Hemingway’s first breakthrough as a writer. In 1940, the novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” was published, and then in 1952 his most popular book, which won him the Pulitzer prize, is titled “The Old Man and the Sea,” which follows a fisherman over three days at sea, trying to catch a marlin, only to have it eaten by sharks in the end. Throughout his life, he also published many short stories and poems, such as “Indian Camp,” and “Hills like White Elephants.” Most of his writings reflect events that occurred in his life, such as war. The novel “A Farewell to Arms,” is about the tragedies that war brings, and is based off of Hemingway’s trials and tribulations as a soldier in Italy during World War 1. This makes sense, because Hemingway was always attempting to tell the truth in his stories, although they were fiction. He wanted to portray the events in the story so that the reader would feel as if it was real, or at least realistic. Hemingway’s life was also filled with depressing instances, such as the three divorces he went through, and the death of both of his parents. His father committed suicide, which helps explain why many of his works are based around death. The sights of war contributed to this factor as well, as Hemingway fought in World Wars 1 and 2. He was also an avid drinker, which most likely added to his depression, although Hemingway would never drink or be drunk when he was working on his writing, because he wanted to be at his best state of mind for working. To no one’s surprise, Hemingway committed suicide in July, 1961.
Hemingway’s work belongs to the post- modernism era of writing. He contributes to this genre with his style of writing that has yet to be copied, even today. He chose to be very simple in his style. While other authors would use large, descriptive adjectives and vast amounts of unnecessary extra sentences, Hemingway kept everything short, crisp, and to the point. He also utilizes parallelism, which conveys “the effects of control, terseness, and blunt honesty.” (Grebstein, Sheldon 132) However, Hemingway’s greatest contribution to literature is in his “search for truth and accuracy of expression, which is reflected in his economical prose style.”(Hoffman, Frederick 63)
Hemingway’s short story “Hills like White Elephants,” is just one example of his bluntness and accuracy of expression. A tale about an unnamed American man and his female lover named ‘Jig’, who are on their way to Madrid, Spain to have an abortion for their baby. This sounds like a simple matter, however, the couple is faced with opposing feelings on the subject. Jig does not want to have the abortion, while the American is almost dragging her to do it by manipulating her into feeling sorry for him or telling her sluggishly that she doesn’t have to do it if she really doesn’t want to, and by promising her that their now failing relationship will go back to the perfect one they once knew, supposedly before Jig became pregnant. Jig on the other hand, comes off as gullible, sounding almost as if she is in accord with her significant in wanting the operation. One has to look deeper inside of her mind to realize the truth: that she is smarter and far more logical than her lover. She sees the argument as pointless, because she knows that no matter what they do, their relationship is already broken beyond repair, and nothing they try to do can repair it anymore. She wants to keep the baby, but knows that there is no way to truly convince him that it is the right thing to do, so she solemnly nods and repeats him when he claims that things will go back to how they were. If not for her depression on the matter, she may even repeat him sarcastically, as she is portrayed as a child in this story. A young, defenseless girl against an adult in charge, what could she do? The story is filled with symbolism, including the title, which has a significant meaning to the story. Some of the symbolism that Hemingway uses even has multiple meanings all in one, which make for a very complex read.
Although Hemingway never faced the tragic game of taboo that the couple confronts, he was often faced with death and tragedy throughout his life, which aids him in the writing of this story. In “Hills,” the most important aspects are Hemingway’s use of symbolism to relate to a mother, a child, the number two (symbolizing a pair), and the train station in between a field full of living plants and green scenery, and a desolate wasteland, which symbolize life and death, and the male versus female issues involved with abortion. He also keeps the topic of the death of love in context, which acts as a catalyst for the events that are already occurring in the story, and also supports the dialogue and plot.