Ernest Hemingway's Accomplishments

The Creator of a New Era

Ernest Hemmingway is perhaps one of the most well-known writers of his time. Although his writing was much shorter than most styles Hemmingway was one of the most influential writers in literature because he took the details of a long novel and turned them into a simple story that intrigued readers to the very end. This style mixed with events in his life gave him credibility that attracted readers to his work. This paper is to display Hemmingway’s work and how its uniqueness made him one of the most successful authors in history.
The origin of his style came from his success in the world of journalism. After graduation from high school he began to work for the Kansas City Star. Writing for the paper he learned
to shorten his writing, “On the Star you were forced to learn to write a simple declarative sentence…” (“Ernest Hemmingway”). In journalism the point is to take information and word it in a way that is perfectly clear to the reader. This clarity is what made his books much more interesting to the reader. With the short direct sentences Hemmingway could make his stories much more dramatic by adding emphasis to a specific issue. Another way Hemmingway captivated readers is by making his stories more fluid by taking out punctuation to form compound sentences. This is typically known as stream of consciousness, a style that is “aimed at expressing in words the flow of a character’s thoughts and feelings in their minds.” ("Stream of Consciousness - Examples and Definition."). This allows readers to understand the situation the characters are in, creating a closer relationship between book and reader. This straying away from the usage of hyperbolic literary devices was a stark contrast of the writing styles of other popular writers at the time, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The style was not the only factor that contributed to his success.
Hemmingway’s stories were based off of events he had witnessed and been through in his own life. This made them seem more realistic to readers. The success of this prose can be seen with his works The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms. The novel The Sun Also Rises, published in 1926, was one of Hemmingway’s first big hits. The inspiration behind it was found in Hemmingway’s experiences in Europe after World War I. Hemmingway used people he encountered in Paris as characters to describe his distress for their insignificant lives. In the story a drunk becomes a hero whom carries out his actions with honor and courage. The story emerged as one of the best at the time “Its first edition, just over 5,000 copies, sold well… Within two months, The Sun Also Rises was in a second printing, with many subsequent printings to follow. In 1927 the novel was published in the UK by Cape under the title Fiesta, and is said to be one of the most translated titles in the world.” (McCrum). Another one of his works that put him in the spotlight is A Farewell to Arms. This story is about an ambulance driver with the Italian Army during World War I, who took a break from war and fell in love with a nurse in the town hospital. The storyline was an exact depiction of how Hemmingway met one of his own loves, which made the story seem much more realistic. As soon as it hit the shelves in 1929 “A Farewell to Arms became a bestseller, selling 100,000 copies in twelve months. It was adapted for the stage a year later and has been made into a film twice” ("NEA Big
Read").
Hemmingway’s work still impacts society today. Most schools require students to read one of his works. Some organizations reward writers who write in his style such as the “Ernest Hemingway Flash Fiction Prize” ("The Ernest Hemingway Flash Fiction Prize"). Organizations are made in his name like the Ernest Hemmingway Society which “offers a wonderful way to connect with others who love and promote the work of Ernest Hemingway. With nearly 600 members worldwide, it is one of the largest single-author organizations in existence” ("Join The Hemingway Society"). Kassidy Nance says, “By using cut-and-dry writing techniques Hemingway was able to draw focus on current issues without the reader being influenced by symbolism.” This changed how writers discuss today’s important topics.
Hemmingway’s unique techniques brought a whole new aspect to the literary world. The way he worded his works were very different from the writers of the time and this ultimately led to his huge success as a writer. He influenced much of what we read today which is why Ernest Hemmingway is considered one of the most successful authors in history.