A Writers Job Is To Tell The Truth By Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway takes a different path in the writing world than most authors. Most authors tend to believe if they have sophisticated syntax, they will be known as legends; which is not always the case. Hemingway was known as a brilliant writer. He does not try to confuse the reader with words—although he does melee the reader with his depth. In all of Hemingway’s writings, he crafts his text to reveal purpose by telling the truth, simplifying, and using symbolism.
One of Hemingway’s styles of writing was, to tell the truth. He did this for numerous reasons; the main reason was to reveal the purpose of the text. “’A writers job is to tell the truth,’ said Hemingway in 1942” (Baker 1). Hemingway believes that the reason a writer does what they
do is, to tell the truth. He did not believe in justifying himself with evidence; never gave anyone an exegesis of what he was doing. Defending his claim is non-existent to him. This means that Hemingway rarely says anything he does not believe or does not support. This shows purpose in the text. Since Hemingway would never write about something he does not believe in or think is important, the reader knows that his work is credible. Hemingway says this in various ways—they all mean the same thing in the end—throughout the text. “…say the truth and nothing but the truth…” (Baker 13). This is another example of Hemingway discussing how the truth is important. If he did not think that telling the truth all the time would help him bring out his point, he would not do it. If he always tells the truth, readers will start to understand why he emphasizes on it. This is focused on because once the reader sees that Hemingway only puts in the truth, they see the importance in it. This is a repetitive lesson that is trying to be conveyed. Hemingway used telling the truth to reveal his purpose; he did this to show the reader that his work was true.
Another way Hemingway reveals the purpose in the text is by simplifying.
He does this with paraphrasing “…illustrate Hemingway’s point by paraphrasing his sentence.” (Levin 4). What this is saying is how Hemingway’s work feels like it is not the full thing. His vocabulary feels very minuscule. He takes what is necessary and uses it. Never will you see a work that Hemingway wrote and approves of that is long and superfluous. This reveals purpose because it shows the reader exactly what they need to know, not too much or too little. Hemingway does this because he feels like trying to make your work longer just for the sake of it is not efficient; that there are different ways to approach your point. “…one short spontaneous vulgarism is more honest than all those grandiloquent slogans…” (Levin 7). What this is saying is that speaking in a vignette way is much better than the other way around. This ties to the point. That just because someone demonstrates something to you in more advanced standard English, it does not mean it is a more elevated work. “…Any part you make will represent the whole if it’s made truly.”(Levin 16). This quotation means that, no matter how small a point is, if you can defend it, you can make it bigger. It does not matter as long as you represent the claim right. You can make a point that no one believes, as long as you have your evidence to back it up. Whenever Hemingway was presenting his Noble Speech Prize speech he ended it with “I have spoken too
long for a writer.” (Hemingway 1). He said he was talking too long for a writer. This implies that writers should not babble, but they should say what they mean and move on. The reader will appreciate this and want to actually read the work the author wrote. “Use short sentences.” (Paul 1). Lastly, this quotation says exactly what it means; use short sentences. This is what Hemingway learned at Kansas City Star. He learned that you must use colloquial speech. Whenever a message gets to be too long, the reader gets disinterested. Hemingway uses simplifying to reveal his purpose; he did this so he can show what is really important. If he wrote about irrelevant topics, the reader would not know what is important and what is not. This way it gives them exactly what they need and nothing else.
In order to reveal purpose, Hemingway uses symbols in his work.
This is described as the iceberg principle. This is much like the iceberg in the “Titanic”. The people on board noticed a quasi-small iceberg but, when looked under the water, they have apprised it was much more ice than expected. This affected the entire ending of the movie. Hemingway uses this in all of his work. He is thought to be talking about one, but once reread and the text has been analyzed, something completely different appears to be the true meaning. “Hemingway’s prose at its best gives a sense of depth and of moving forward on different levels…” (Baker 19). What this is saying is Hemingway’s work goes deeper than what is seen — many like different layers of a cake—the more the cake gets cut into, the more layers are shown. “He pushed the magazine full of the heavy yellow shells…” (Hemingway 26). What this is saying is that the Doctor in the story is just messing around in his bed, with his magazine. This is the small part of the iceberg; once under the water, it is totally different. What was really occurring was since the husband and wife do not even have the same bedroom, it is understood that they do not fulfill each other’s needs. The doctor has to pleasure himself instead. When Nick is going to break up with Marjorie, he says “There’s going to be a moon tonight,” (Hemingway 34). He kept bringing up the moon. Usually, whenever Hemingway repeats something multiple times, it is important and must
be analyzed. It may be interpreted that they are talking about the moon, but this is not the case; they are not just talking about the moon. In ancient times, there was believed to be a goddess of the moon, she was known to protect women’s virginity and purity. So what was meant when Nick kept repeating the moon was coming, is that Marjorie was about to be protected by the goddess and they would not end up together. In “The Cat in the Rain”, “The cat was trying to make herself compact that she would not get dripped on.” (Hemingway 91). The cat in this story is the women. She did not get enough attention from her husband so it was like she was the lonely cat in the rain. This is why she had sympathy for the cat and wanted to retrieve her. If just read over this, it is understood it is about a woman who rescues a cat from the rain. Hemingway is simple but has a lot of depth. This Iceberg Principle makes Hemingway’s stories chimerical. It makes it hard to follow, but eventually, everything clicks. Hemingway uses symbolism to reveal his meaning; he does this because it shows what is really going on. Once unraveled, the symbols become apparent. He does this to add extra depth to his writing.
Hemingway crafts the text to reveal meaning and purpose by telling the truth, eliminating word difficulty, and using symbolism. He reveals purpose from truth telling by showing the reader what is really right. He reveals purpose from simplifying his words by showing the readers what is actually important. Lastly, he reveals meaning from using symbolism by displaying one thing and meaning another. Hemingway’s work may feel simplistic writing, but that is what makes his work so complex.