Hemingway prose

"Simplicity

 Is the ultimate 

   Sophistication"

                                                  - Leonardo da Vinci

The story of Sheikh Saadi teaches us that being simple does not mean being hollow. Rather, all the great figures of the world, for example, Franz Kafka, John Clare, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Henry David Thoreau have put emphasis on the simplicity of life. Since we write from life and call it literature and literature lives because we are in it, the style of unraveling the depth of literature should be exoteric. The great literary figure Francis Bacon initiated his aphoristic style to justify Shakespeare's famous line, "Brevity is the soul of wit."

 Papa Hemingway has also broken the tradition of following the Baroque style of the Victorian era. He has developed his own style of writing, 'The Iceberg Theory' or 'The Theory of Omission'. The principles of 'The Iceberg Theory' are given below: 

1) It focuses on the surface elements without discussing the deeper meanings.

2) The true meaning should not be evident in the surface story. Rather, it should lurk through the inner layers.

3) The readers should fill the omissions with their understanding.

Some references from the text A Farewell to Arms to support 'The Iceberg Theory' are given below:

In Chapter 2, Henry says, "The forest of oak trees on the mountains was gone". Nothing is told about the causes of the disappearance of the forest. It is the responsibility of the readers to find out the causes.

A similar example can be found in Chapter 9 when Henry says, "My knee wasn't there."

 The other features of Hemingway's prose style are:

1) He has put more emphasis on the use of "verbs".

2) The use of gorgeous "adjectives" are deliberately avoided by him.

3) Repetition of the same words, phrases, or contents is also noticeable in his works.

4) Hemingway has craftily made the use of short and long sentences according to the situation.

5) He has also made an extensive use of the conjunction "and".

6) The use of irony and dramatic irony is remarkably important in Hemingway's works.

Hemingway developed his writing style in such a precise manner while working as a journalist. He learned how to be economical in showing expressions at that time. Besides, he laid stress on speaking with facts and objected groundless concoction in writing. Interestingly, Hemingway's writing style, themes, plots, characters etcetera are not shaped only by his profession but also by his personal life and inner psychology. As a result, we can trace autobiographical elements in his compositions.

Now, I will discover how Hemingway's writing style discloses the truth of human life through metaphorical implications in the novel A Farewell to Arms:

* Deliberate avoidance of pompous adjectives:

Hemingway was broken inside due to the suicide of his father, conflict with his mother, and failure in love with the nurse. So, he felt no importance of using high-flown adjectives to describe any situation in the novel. That's why, neither Henry nor Catherine use any ornamental adjectives to express their love. Rather, almost all the adjectives have negative connotations. Some examples are given below: 

# Henry says, "I was always embarrassed by the words "sacred", "glorious", and "sacrifice" and the expression in vain." 

* Emphasis on using verbs:

 There goes a famous saying, "Actions speak louder than words. Words cost nothing. Actions cost everything." Hemingway's life is full of adventurous actions. As a journalist, he covered the war between Greece and Turkey. Then, he joined the First World War and severely wounded. However, he did not let the war devour his spirit. Though the war psychology shook him, he lived his life fully by hunting, bullfighting, drinking, fishing etcetera. The protagonist of the novel Henry, too, is a man of action. He maintains a stoic attitude towards the war, he continues to fight. He rejoins the army even after being wounded. He proves that he is a man of instant action when he shoots an engineer during the retreat. The engineer refuses to help Henry when his car gets stuck into mud. So, Henry shoots him.

*Repetition:

Our life cycle is always repetitive. In the novel "The Great Gatsby", we can get a clear description of Gatsby's schedule. It includes: 

  Rise from bed - 6.00 A.M.

  Dumbbell exercise and wall-scaling - 6.15-6.30 A.M

  Study electricity etc. - 7.15-8.15 A.M.

  Work - 8.30-4.30 P.M.

  Practice elocution and poise- 5.00-6.00 P.M.

  Study needed invention- 7.00-9.00 P.M.

The routine is designed for Gatsby's self-improvement. Still, he repeats the same thing again and again. As our life is a repetitive cycle, Hemingway uses repetition in his writing. Some textual evidences are given below: 

# "I know, you are the good Anglo-Saxon boy. I know, you are the remorse boy, I know." (Rinaldi)

# "But you will have a better time. Even with remorse, you will have a better time." (Rinaldi)

# "No, we never get anything. We are born with all we have and we never learn. We never get anything new." (Henry)

* The use of irony and dramatic irony:

Hemingway uses the device irony to attack the war sharply. So, the use of irony is evident from the beginning.

Example:01 

In the beginning, Henry says, "At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came cholera. But it was checked and in the end only seven thousand died of it in the army."

Example:02 

During the retreat, some soldiers say, "We are going home. The war is over." It is an example of one of the biggest ironies because nobody will go back to home. The war will put a full stop in everyone's life.

Example:03 

Henry uses dramatic irony to refer to the chauvinistic attitude of the young officers during the retreat. He says, "They were all young men and they were saving their country." Moreover, Henry uses irony to indicate the aggressive attitude of the officers. He says, "The questioners had that beautiful detachment and devotion to stern justice of men dealing in death without being any danger in it."

* Stream of consciousness:

This technique is used to catch the character's internal thought process often by incorporating unusual syntax, incomplete ideas, and rough grammar. Sometimes, repetition is included to indicate the tumultuous situation of the character's life. This technique is pivotal when Henry thinks about Catherine's death. He says, "But what if she should die? She won't die. She is alright. But what if she should die? She can't die." Henry is repeating the same lines again and again because the matter of Catherine's death is taunting him.

* The use of the conjunction "and":

Hemingway has used the conjunction "and" several times to put emphasis on the connection of life which was smothered during the war. He has expressed a subconscious wish to form a society of brotherhood.

Some examples from the text is given below: 

Example: 01:

"I was not made to think. I was made to eat and drink and sleep with Catherine." ( Henry)

Example:02: 

"It kills very good and very gentle and very brave." (Henry)

Hemingway is highly popular for his terse, succinct, thoughtful writing style. We can dissect his writing style from a wide range of perspectives and enhance our knowledge and understanding. Hemingway's prose style works as an ample façade to get an overall idea about the war and its effects.

                               

                                                               Thank you