Ernest Hemingway Influences

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Shannon­Nicole LoStracco
Ms. Leonard
Honors American Literature
24 November 2014 Influence of Hemingway’s life upon his works
Some would say that Ernest Hemingway was born with writing in his blood. From the time he spent working on his high school paper to his first job on The Kansas City
Star, Hemingway was developing and perfecting his writing style. He speaks fondly of his time working at The Star and credits his mentor with developing his style. One in particular, C.G. “Pete” Wellington, provided Hemingway with the writing style of a newspaper: “use short sentences. Use short paragraphs. Use vigorous English, not forgetting to strive for smoothness. Be positive, not negative”(Boyd 7). Hemingway was later quoted describing them as “ the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing.
He used his personal experiences, especially those from war, to add a different level of complexity to his novels, especially
A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls,and The Sun Also Rises.
Although he was rejected by the army due to an eye injury, Ernest Hemingway was greatly impacted by war (Bloom 7). He joined the Red cross effort by driving ambulances throughout Italy during World War I. He was injured by shrapnel during this

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time and spent time in Milan, Italy, recovering. Hemingway was decorated by the Italian
Army for the bravery he exhibited during this time. The injuries he sustained prevented him from being directly involved in World War II; however, Ernest Hemingway served as a War correspondent. He followed soldiers through many parts of Europe, particularly
France, and reported on notable events such as the Battle of the Bulge and the Liberation of Paris (9). Bloom even makes a point to note “ Hemingway became something of a legend, joining the fighting as much as reporting about it”(9). This quote leads one to believe that Hemingway did not let his injuries prevent him from supporting a cause about which he felt
He has been deemed impotent and can no longer express his love to anyone. He is unable to come to terms with his injury, as he desires a relationship with Brett Ashley, the lead female character.

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Brett has been married twice since the war and been in multiple relationships. The characters of The Sun Also Rises represent what is called by Hemingway’s friend
Gertrude Stein “ the lost generation (Oliver 1­2). The lost generation is defined by critics as “ the generation of young American men and women who came to maturity during the postwar period that followed the end of World War I in 1918” (Seidel 1). This generation was skeptical of American society, as they felt that people were forgetting the war ­and as a result them­ in an attempt to return to normal. Many of these young people flocked to foreign countries such as Paris, the setting of The Sun Also Rises (1).
Hemingway uses Jakes disability as a way of expressing his own internal frustrations. As a member of the “lost generation,” Hemingway experienced the feeling of neglect expressed in the statement from Oliver. He felt first hand the struggles of