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Young Hemingway

The making of a writer, a seminal work, the spanish influence, hemingway’s relationship to war, the hemingway legacy.

How did Ernest Hemingway influence others?

What was ernest hemingway’s childhood like, when did ernest hemingway die.

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Ernest Hemingway

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• Poetry Foundation - Biography of Ernest M. Hemingway
• The Nobel Prize - Biography of Ernest Hemingway
• WyoHistory.org - Ernest Hemingway in Wyoming
• Spartacus Educational - Biography of Ernest Hemingway
• Ernest Hemingway - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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What did Ernest Hemingway write?

Ernest Hemingway wrote The Sun Also Rises (1926) and A Farewell to Arms (1929), which were full of the existential disillusionment of the Lost Generation expatriates; For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), about the Spanish Civil War ; and the Pulitzer Prize -winning The Old Man and the Sea (1952).

Ernest Hemingway, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, had a great impact on other writers through his deceptively simple, stripped-down prose, full of unspoken implication, and his tough but vulnerable masculinity, which created a myth that imprisoned the author and haunted the World War II generation.

Ernest Hemingway was born in a suburb of Chicago . He was educated in the public schools and began to write in high school, where he was active and outstanding. The parts of his boyhood that mattered most to him were summers spent with his family on Walloon Lake, near Petoskey , Michigan .

Having departed Cuba, his home for some 20 years, Ernest Hemingway settled in Ketchum, Idaho, in 1960 and temporarily resumed his work, but, anxiety-ridden and depressed, he was twice hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic. On July 2, 1961, he took his life with a shotgun at his house in Ketchum.

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Ernest Hemingway (born July 21, 1899, Cicero [now in Oak Park], Illinois , U.S.—died July 2, 1961, Ketchum, Idaho) was an American novelist and short-story writer, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. He was noted both for the intense masculinity of his writing and for his adventurous and widely publicized life. His succinct and lucid prose style exerted a powerful influence on American and British fiction in the 20th century.

The first son of Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, a doctor, and Grace Hall Hemingway, Ernest Miller Hemingway was born in a suburb of Chicago . He was educated in the public schools and began to write in high school , where he was active and outstanding, but the parts of his boyhood that mattered most were summers spent with his family on Walloon Lake in upper Michigan . On graduation from high school in 1917, impatient for a less-sheltered environment , he did not enter college but went to Kansas City, where he was employed as a reporter for the Star .

Hemingway was repeatedly rejected for military service because of a defective eye, but he managed to enter World War I as an ambulance driver for the American Red Cross . On July 8, 1918, not yet 19 years old, he was injured on the Austro-Italian front at Fossalta di Piave. Decorated for heroism and hospitalized in Milan, he fell in love with a Red Cross nurse, Agnes von Kurowsky, who declined to marry him. These were experiences he was never to forget.

After recuperating at home, Hemingway renewed his efforts at writing, for a while worked at odd jobs in Chicago, and sailed for France as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star . Advised and encouraged by other American writers in Paris— F. Scott Fitzgerald , Gertrude Stein , Ezra Pound —he began to see his nonjournalistic work appear in print there, and in 1925 his first important book, a collection of stories called In Our Time , was published in New York City; it was originally released in Paris in 1924.

In 1926 he published The Sun Also Rises , a novel with which he scored his first solid success. A pessimistic but sparkling book, it deals with a group of aimless expatriates in France and Spain—members of the postwar Lost Generation , a phrase that Hemingway scorned while making it famous. This work also introduced him to the limelight, which he both craved and resented for the rest of his life. Hemingway’s The Torrents of Spring , a parody of the American writer Sherwood Anderson ’s book Dark Laughter , also appeared in 1926.

At least in the public view, however, the novel A Farewell to Arms (1929) overshadowed such works. Reaching back to his experience as a young soldier in Italy, Hemingway developed a grim but lyrical novel of great power , fusing love story with war story. While serving with the Italian ambulance service during World War I, the American lieutenant Frederic Henry falls in love with the English nurse Catherine Barkley, who tends him during his recuperation after being wounded . She becomes pregnant by him, but he must return to his post. Henry deserts during the Italians’ disastrous retreat after the Battle of Caporetto , and the reunited couple flee Italy by crossing the border into Switzerland. There, however, Catherine and her baby die during childbirth, and Henry is left desolate at the loss of the great love of his life.

Hemingway’s love of Spain and his passion for bullfighting resulted in Death in the Afternoon (1932), a learned study of a spectacle he saw more as tragic ceremony than as sport. Similarly, a safari he took in 1933–34 in the big-game region of Tanganyika resulted in Green Hills of Africa (1935), an account of big-game hunting. Mostly for the fishing, he purchased a house in Key West , Florida, and bought his own fishing boat. A minor novel of 1937 called To Have and Have Not is about a Caribbean desperado and is set against a background of lower-class violence and upper-class decadence in Key West during the Great Depression .

By now Spain was in the midst of civil war. Still deeply attached to that country, Hemingway made four trips there, once more a correspondent. He raised money for the Republicans in their struggle against the Nationalists under General Francisco Franco , and he wrote a play called The Fifth Column (1938), which is set in besieged Madrid. As in many of his books, the protagonist of the play is based on the author. Following his last visit to the Spanish war, he purchased Finca Vigía (“Lookout Farm”), an unpretentious estate outside Havana , Cuba , and went to cover another war—the Japanese invasion of China.

The harvest of Hemingway’s considerable experience of Spain in war and peace was the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), a substantial and impressive work that some critics consider his finest novel, in preference to A Farewell to Arms . It was also the most successful of all his books as measured in sales. Set during the Spanish Civil War , it tells of Robert Jordan, an American volunteer who is sent to join a guerrilla band behind the Nationalist lines in the Guadarrama Mountains. Most of the novel concerns Jordan’s relations with the varied personalities of the band, including the girl Maria, with whom he falls in love. Through dialogue , flashbacks, and stories, Hemingway offers telling and vivid profiles of the Spanish character and unsparingly depicts the cruelty and inhumanity stirred up by the civil war. Jordan’s mission is to blow up a strategic bridge near Segovia in order to aid a coming Republican attack, which he realizes is doomed to fail. In an atmosphere of impending disaster, he blows up the bridge but is wounded and makes his retreating comrades leave him behind, where he prepares a last-minute resistance to his Nationalist pursuers.

All of his life Hemingway was fascinated by war—in A Farewell to Arms he focused on its pointlessness, in For Whom the Bell Tolls on the comradeship it creates—and, as World War II progressed, he made his way to London as a journalist. He flew several missions with the Royal Air Force and crossed the English Channel with American troops on D-Day (June 6, 1944). Attaching himself to the 22nd Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division, he saw a good deal of action in Normandy and in the Battle of the Bulge . He also participated in the liberation of Paris, and, although ostensibly a journalist, he impressed professional soldiers not only as a man of courage in battle but also as a real expert in military matters, guerrilla activities, and intelligence collection.

Following the war in Europe, Hemingway returned to his home in Cuba and began to work seriously again. He also traveled widely, and, on a trip to Africa, he was injured in a plane crash. Soon after (in 1953), he received the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for The Old Man and the Sea (1952), a short heroic novel about an old Cuban fisherman who, after an extended struggle, hooks and boats a giant marlin only to have it eaten by voracious sharks during the long voyage home. This book, which played a role in gaining for Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, was as enthusiastically praised as his previous novel, Across the River and into the Trees (1950), the story of a professional army officer who dies while on leave in Venice , had been damned.

By 1960 Hemingway had left Cuba and settled in Ketchum, Idaho . (He expressed his belief in what he called the “historical necessity” of the Cuban Revolution; his attitude toward its leader, Fidel Castro , who had taken power in 1959, varied.) He tried to lead his life and do his work as before. For a while he succeeded, but, anxiety-ridden and depressed, he was twice hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he received electroshock treatments . Two days after his return to the house in Ketchum, he took his life with a shotgun. Hemingway had been married four times: to Hadley Richardson in 1921 (divorced 1927), Pauline Pfeiffer in 1927 (divorced 1940), Martha Gellhorn in 1940 (divorced 1945), and Mary Welsh in 1946. He had fathered three sons: John Hadley Nicanor (“Bumby”), with Hadley, born in 1923; Patrick, with Pauline, in 1928; and Gregory, also with Pauline, in 1931.

Hemingway left behind a substantial amount of manuscript, some of which has been published. A Moveable Feast , an entertaining memoir of his years in Paris (1921–26) before he was famous, was issued in 1964. Islands in the Stream , three closely related novellas growing directly out of his peacetime memories of the Caribbean island of Bimini, of Havana during World War II, and of searching for U-boats off Cuba, appeared in 1970.

Hemingway’s characters plainly embody his own values and view of life. The main characters of The Sun Also Rises , A Farewell to Arms , and For Whom the Bell Tolls are young men whose strength and self-confidence nevertheless coexist with a sensitivity that leaves them deeply scarred by their wartime experiences. War was for Hemingway a potent symbol of the world, which he viewed as complex, filled with moral ambiguities , and offering almost unavoidable pain, hurt, and destruction. To survive in such a world, and perhaps emerge victorious, one must conduct oneself with honour, courage, endurance, and dignity, a set of principles known as “the Hemingway code.” To behave well in the lonely, losing battle with life is to show “grace under pressure” and constitutes in itself a kind of victory, a theme clearly established in The Old Man and the Sea .

Hemingway’s prose style was probably the most widely imitated of any in the 20th century. He wished to strip his own use of language of inessentials, ridding it of all traces of verbosity, embellishment, and sentimentality. In striving to be as objective and honest as possible, Hemingway hit upon the device of describing a series of actions by using short, simple sentences from which all comment or emotional rhetoric has been eliminated. These sentences are composed largely of nouns and verbs, have few adjectives and adverbs, and rely on repetition and rhythm for much of their effect. The resulting terse, concentrated prose is concrete and unemotional yet is often resonant and capable of conveying great irony through understatement. Hemingway’s use of dialogue was similarly fresh, simple, and natural-sounding. The influence of this style was felt worldwide wherever novels were written, particularly from the 1930s through the ’50s.

A consummately contradictory man, Hemingway achieved a fame surpassed by few, if any, American authors of the 20th century. The virile nature of his writing, which attempted to re-create the exact physical sensations he experienced in wartime, big-game hunting, and bullfighting, in fact masked an aesthetic sensibility of great delicacy. He was a celebrity long before he reached middle age , but his popularity continues to be validated by serious critical opinion.

Biography Online

Ernest Hemingway Biography

Hemingway lived through the major conflicts of Europe during the first half of the Twentieth-Century. His war experiences led to powerful accounts, which described the horrors of modern war. Two major books include; A Farewell to Arms (1929) – about the First World War, and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) – about the Spanish Civil War. Many of his books are considered classics of American literature.

Hemingway was born in 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois. After leaving school, he worked as a journalist for the Kansas City City Star. He later writing was influenced by the style guide of the paper. “Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative.”

Hemingway, 1918

However, after a few months of work, in 1918 he enlisted with the Red Cross to volunteer as an ambulance driver in the First World War. He was sent to the Italian front where he saw the horrors of the trench war. In July 1918, he was seriously wounded from mortar fire, but, despite his injuries and coming under machine-gun fire – still managed to carry two Italian comrades to safety. He was awarded the Italian Silver Medal for this act of bravery.

Whilst recuperating from his injuries he fell in love with a Red Cross nurse, Agnes von Kurowsky, but she rejected his offer of marriage. This rejection left a powerful emotional scar. A decade later, in 1929 Hemingway would write a semi-autobiographical novel, – A Farwell to Arms based on his war experiences . The main character in the book is an ambulance driver who becomes disillusioned with the war and then elopes with a Spanish girl to Switzerland.

Hemingway returned home to the US, but fell out with his mother. Hemingway disliked the moralising tone of his outwardly religious mother, who accused Hemingway of living based on ‘lazy loafing and pleasure seeking,’ Hemingway’s free spirit rebelled against his mother’s more religious, moralistic approach and he walked away from his family and was never reconciled.

In 1921 he married Hadley Richardson, the first of four wives, he moved to Chicago and then Paris, where he spent much of the inter-war years. He worked as a correspondent for the Toronto Star and became acquainted with many modernist writers, such as James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound who lived in Paris at the time. In 1926, he published a successful novel “The Sun Also Rises,” which was based on a generation of American socialites who drifted around Europe. For his part, Hemingway enjoyed the atmosphere and intellectual curiosity of Paris in the ‘roaring twenties.’

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”

– Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

In 1932, he wrote a non-fiction book “The Dance of Death” which was a sympathetic look at the Spanish custom of bullfighting. Hemingway pondered the question of whether it was justified to torment and kill an animal for sport. Hemingway was fascinated by the heroic, yet barbaric act which appealed to the Latin machismo and to Hemingway was not a sport but art and “the only art in which the artist is in danger of death.”

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Hemingway in Spain

In 1937, he went to Spain to cover the Spanish Civil war. He advocated international support for the Popular Front – who were fighting the fascist regime led by Franco. He later wrote a book – For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), which captures the struggles and brutality of the Spanish civil war. During the Second World War, he continued to work as a foreign correspondent. He was present at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris.

Literary recognition

After the Second World War, Hemingway bought a home in Finca Vigia (“Lookout Farm”), in Cuba. Here in Cuba, he wrote “The Old Man and the Sea” (1952) – story about an elderly fisherman and devout Catholic, Spencer Tracy. The novel was praised by critics and he awarded the Pulitzer Prize. (1953)

In 1954, Hemingway was involved in two plane crashes which left him severely injured and in pain for the rest of his life.  After the crash, Hemingway was bed-ridden for a couple of years. Towards the end of the year, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (1954). His citation for the Nobel Prize was

“his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea, and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style.”

For many years, Hemingway had sought the Nobel Prize, but when he was notified of the award, he humbly suggested other writers may have deserved it more. He was concerned that news of his near-death, may have affected the sympathies of the jury

Then in 1960, Fidel Castro’s rise to power in Cuba forced him to return to the US – he returned to Ketchum, Idaho. The last years were very difficult for Hemingway, he suffered from great physical pain, his mental clarity diminished, he struggled to write and he suffered from increasing depression. He tried electric shock therapy but to no avail. In 1961, at the age of 62, he killed himself with a shotgun.

Writing style of Hemingway

Hemingway’s style had some similarities to other modernist writers. It was a reaction against the more elaborate, turgid style of the nineteenth century. Hemingway’s writing was direct and minimalist – often leaving things unstated, but at the same time profoundly moving for bringing the reader into the heart of the story and experience.

“All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer.”

– Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway termed his style the Iceberg theory.

“If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.”

—Ernest Hemingway in Death in the Afternoon

Hemingway said the facts float above the water, but the structure is kept out of sight. Behind the minimalist prose is a great effort, but the result is simplicity, immediacy and clarity.

He was married four times.

“There are events which are so great that if a writer has participated in them his obligation is to write truly rather than assume the presumption of altering them with invention.”

– Ernest Hemingway – Preface to The Great Crusade (1940) by Gustav Regler

Religious views of Hemingway

Hemingway was born and raised in a strict Protestant tradition. After he married his second wife, he converted to Catholicism. Although he was not always observant in attending mass, he was fascinated by Catholic rites, and would frequently visit churches on his own and light a candle. In his writings, he was also interested in the idea of pilgrimage, to Catholic sites.

After his serious injury in July 1918, he was baptized by an Italian priest and given the last rites. Hemingway also describes a spiritual experience during his serious injury. He says he felt that his

“soul or something coming right out of my body, like you’d pull a silk handkerchief out of a pocket by one corner. It flew around and then came back and went in again and I wasn’t dead anymore.” ( link )

Selected list of works by Hemingway

• Indian Camp (1926)
• The Sun Also Rises (1926)
• A Farewell to Arms (1929)
• The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (1935)
• For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)
• The Old Man and the Sea (1951)
• A Moveable Feast (1964, posthumous)
• True at First Light (1999)

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan .  “Ernest Hemingway Biography ”, Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net. Last updated 13 March 2020. Published 11th Feb 2013.

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World War I

Becoming a writer, life in paris, getting published, back to the u.s., the spanish civil war, world war ii, the pulitzer and nobel prizes, decline and death.

• B.A., English Literature, University of Houston

Ernest Hemingway (July 21, 1899–July 2, 1961) is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Best known for his novels and short stories, he was also an accomplished journalist and war correspondent. Hemingway's trademark prose style—simple and spare—influenced a generation of writers.

Fast Facts: Ernest Hemingway

• Known For : Journalist and member of the Lost Generation group of writers who won the Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize in Literature
• Born : July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois
• Parents : Grace Hall Hemingway and Clarence ("Ed") Edmonds Hemingway
• Died : July 2, 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho
• Education : Oak Park High School
• Published Works : The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, Death in the Afternoon, For Whom the Bell Tolls, the Old Man and the Sea, A Moveable Feast
• Spouse(s) : Hadley Richardson (m. 1921–1927), Pauline Pfeiffer (1927–1939), Martha Gellhorn (1940–1945), Mary Welsh (1946–1961)
• Children : With Hadley Richardson: John Hadley Nicanor Hemingway ("Jack" 1923–2000); with Pauline Pfeiffer: Patrick (b. 1928), Gregory ("Gig" 1931–2001)

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois, the second child born to Grace Hall Hemingway and Clarence ("Ed") Edmonds Hemingway. Ed was a general medical practitioner and Grace a would-be opera singer turned music teacher.

Hemingway's parents reportedly had an unconventional arrangement, in which Grace, an ardent feminist, would agree to marry Ed only if he could assure her she would not be responsible for the housework or cooking. Ed acquiesced; in addition to his busy medical practice, he ran the household, managed the servants, and even cooked meals when the need arose.

Ernest Hemingway grew up with four sisters; his much-longed-for brother did not arrive until Ernest was 15 years old. Young Ernest enjoyed family vacations at a cottage in northern Michigan where he developed a love of the outdoors and learned hunting and fishing from his father. His mother, who insisted that all of her children learn to play an instrument, instilled in him an appreciation of the arts.

In high school, Hemingway co-edited the school newspaper and competed on the football and swim teams. Fond of impromptu boxing matches with his friends, Hemingway also played cello in the school orchestra. He graduated from Oak Park High School in 1917.

Hired by the Kansas City Star in 1917 as a reporter covering the police beat, Hemingway—obligated to adhere to the newspaper's style guidelines—began to develop the succinct, simple style of writing that would become his trademark. That style was a dramatic departure from the ornate prose that dominated literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

After six months in Kansas City, Hemingway longed for adventure. Ineligible for military service due to poor eyesight, he volunteered in 1918 as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross in Europe. In July of that year, while on duty in Italy, Hemingway was severely injured by an exploding mortar shell. His legs were peppered by more than 200 shell fragments, a painful and debilitating injury that required several surgeries.

As the first American to have survived being wounded in Italy in World War I , Hemingway was awarded a medal from the Italian government.

While recovering from his wounds at a hospital in Milan, Hemingway met and fell in love with Agnes von Kurowsky, a nurse with the American Red Cross . He and Agnes made plans to marry once he had earned enough money.

After the war ended in November 1918, Hemingway returned to the United States to look for a job, but the wedding was not to be. Hemingway received a letter from Agnes in March 1919, breaking off the relationship. Devastated, he became depressed and rarely left the house.

Hemingway spent a year at his parents' home, recovering from wounds both physical and emotional. In early 1920, mostly recovered and eager to be employed, Hemingway got a job in Toronto helping a woman care for her disabled son. There he met the features editor of the Toronto Star Weekly , which hired him as a feature writer.

In fall of that year, he moved to Chicago and became a writer for  The Cooperative Commonwealth , a monthly magazine, while still working for the Star .

Hemingway, however, longed to write fiction. He began submitting short stories to magazines, but they were repeatedly rejected. Soon, however, Hemingway had reason for hope. Through mutual friends, Hemingway met novelist Sherwood Anderson, who was impressed by Hemingway's short stories and encouraged him to pursue a career in writing.

Hemingway also met the woman who would become his first wife: Hadley Richardson. A native of St. Louis, Richardson had come to Chicago to visit friends after the death of her mother. She managed to support herself with a small trust fund left to her by her mother. The pair married in September 1921.

Sherwood Anderson, just back from a trip to Europe, urged the newly married couple to move to Paris, where he believed a writer's talent could flourish. He furnished the Hemingways with letters of introduction to American expatriate poet Ezra Pound and modernist writer Gertrude Stein . They set sail from New York in December 1921.

The Hemingways found an inexpensive apartment in a working-class district in Paris. They lived on Hadley's inheritance and Hemingway's income from the Toronto Star Weekly , which employed him as a foreign correspondent. Hemingway also rented out a small hotel room to use as his workplace.

There, in a burst of productivity, Hemingway filled one notebook after another with stories, poems, and accounts of his childhood trips to Michigan.

Hemingway finally garnered an invitation to the salon of Gertrude Stein, with whom he later developed a deep friendship. Stein's home in Paris had become a meeting place for various artists and writers of the era, with Stein acting as a mentor to several prominent writers.

Stein promoted the simplification of both prose and poetry as a backlash to the elaborate style of writing seen in past decades. Hemingway took her suggestions to heart and later credited Stein for having taught him valuable lessons that influenced his writing style.

Hemingway and Stein belonged to the group of American expatriate writers in 1920s Paris who came to be known as the " Lost Generation ." These writers had become disillusioned with traditional American values following World War I; their work often reflected their sense of futility and despair. Other writers in this group included F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and John Dos Passos.

In December 1922, Hemingway endured what might be considered a writer's worst nightmare. His wife, traveling by train to meet him for a holiday, lost a valise filled with a large portion of his recent work, including carbon copies. The papers were never found.

In 1923, several of Hemingway's poems and stories were accepted for publication in two American literary magazines, Poetry and The Little Review . In the summer of that year, Hemingway's first book, "Three Stories and Ten Poems," was published by an American-owned Paris publishing house.

On a trip to Spain in the summer of 1923, Hemingway witnessed his first bullfight. He wrote of bullfighting in the Star , seeming to condemn the sport and romanticize it at the same time. On another excursion to Spain, Hemingway covered the traditional "running of the bulls" at Pamplona, during which young men—courting death or, at the very least, injury—ran through town pursued by a throng of angry bulls.

The Hemingways returned to Toronto for the birth of their son. John Hadley Hemingway (nicknamed "Bumby") was born October 10, 1923. They returned to Paris in January 1924, where Hemingway continued to work on a new collection of short stories, later published in the book "In Our Time."

Hemingway returned to Spain to work on his upcoming novel set in Spain: "The Sun Also Rises." The book was published in 1926, to mostly good reviews.

Yet Hemingway's marriage was in turmoil. He had begun an affair in 1925 with American journalist Pauline Pfeiffer, who worked for the Paris Vogue . The Hemingways divorced in January 1927; Pfeiffer and Hemingway married in May of that year. Hadley later remarried and returned to Chicago with Bumby in 1934.

In 1928, Hemingway and his second wife returned to the United States to live. In June 1928, Pauline gave birth to son Patrick in Kansas City. A second son, Gregory, would be born in 1931. The Hemingways rented a house in Key West, Florida, where Hemingway worked on his latest book, "A Farewell to Arms," based upon his World War I experiences.

In December 1928, Hemingway received shocking news—his father, despondent over mounting health and financial problems, had shot himself to death. Hemingway, who'd had a strained relationship with his parents, reconciled with his mother after his father's suicide and helped support her financially.

In May 1928, Scribner's Magazine published its first installment of "A Farewell to Arms." It was well-received; however, the second and third installments, deemed profane and sexually explicit, were banned from newsstands in Boston. Such criticism only served to boost sales when the entire book was published in September 1929.

The early 1930s proved to be a productive (if not always successful) time for Hemingway. Fascinated by bullfighting, he traveled to Spain to do research for the non-fiction book, "Death in the Afternoon." It was published in 1932 to generally poor reviews and was followed by several less-than-successful short story collections.

Ever the adventurer, Hemingway traveled to Africa on a shooting safari in November 1933. Although the trip was somewhat disastrous—Hemingway clashed with his companions and later became ill with dysentery—it provided him with ample material for a short story, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," as well as a non-fiction book, "Green Hills of Africa."

While Hemingway was on a hunting and fishing trip in the United States in the summer of 1936, the Spanish Civil War began. A supporter of the loyalist (anti-Fascist) forces, Hemingway donated money for ambulances. He also signed on as a journalist to cover the conflict for a group of American newspapers and became involved in making a documentary. While in Spain, Hemingway began an affair with Martha Gellhorn, an American journalist and documentarian.

Weary of her husband's adulterous ways, Pauline took her sons and left Key West in December 1939. Only months after she divorced Hemingway, he married Martha Gellhorn in November 1940.

Hemingway and Gellhorn rented a farmhouse in Cuba just outside of Havana, where both could work on their writing. Traveling between Cuba and Key West, Hemingway wrote one of his most popular novels: "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

A fictionalized account of the Spanish Civil War, the book was published in October 1940 and became a bestseller. Despite being named the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1941, the book did not win because the president of Columbia University (which bestowed the award) vetoed the decision.

As Martha's reputation as a journalist grew, she earned assignments around the globe, leaving Hemingway resentful of her long absences. But soon, they would both be globetrotting. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941, both Hemingway and Gellhorn signed on as war correspondents.

Hemingway was allowed on board a troop transport ship, from which he was able to watch the D-day invasion of Normandy in June 1944.

While in London during the war, Hemingway began an affair with the woman who would become his fourth wife—journalist Mary Welsh. Gellhorn learned of the affair and divorced Hemingway in 1945. He and Welsh married in 1946. They alternated between homes in Cuba and Idaho.

In January 1951, Hemingway began writing a book that would become one of his most celebrated works: " The Old Man and the Sea ." A bestseller, the novella also won Hemingway his long-awaited Pulitzer Prize in 1953.

The Hemingways traveled extensively but were often the victims of bad luck. They were involved in two plane crashes in Africa during one trip in 1953. Hemingway was severely injured, sustaining internal and head injuries as well as burns. Some newspapers erroneously reported that he had died in the second crash.

In 1954, Hemingway was awarded the career-topping Nobel Prize for literature.

In January 1959, the Hemingways moved from Cuba to Ketchum, Idaho. Hemingway, now nearly 60 years old, had suffered for several years with high blood pressure and the effects of years of heavy drinking. He had also become moody and depressed and appeared to be deteriorating mentally.

In November 1960, Hemingway was admitted to the Mayo Clinic for treatment of his physical and mental symptoms. He received electroshock therapy for his depression and was sent home after a two-month stay. Hemingway became further depressed when he realized he was unable to write after the treatments.

After three suicide attempts, Hemingway was readmitted to the Mayo Clinic and given more shock treatments. Although his wife protested, he convinced his doctors he was well enough to go home. Only days after being discharged from the hospital, Hemingway shot himself in the head in his Ketchum home early on the morning of July 2, 1961. He died instantly.

A larger-than-life figure, Hemingway thrived on high adventure, from safaris and bullfights to wartime journalism and adulterous affairs, communicating that to his readers in an immediately recognizable spare, staccato format. Hemingway is among the most prominent and influential of the "Lost Generation" of expatriate writers who lived in Paris in the 1920s.

Known affectionately as "Papa Hemingway," he was awarded both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize in literature, and several of his books were made into movies. 

• Dearborn, Mary V. "Ernest Hemingway: A Biography." New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.
• Hemingway, Ernest. "Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition." New York: Simon and Schuster, 2014.
• Henderson, Paul. "Hemingway's Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost, 1934–1961." New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.
• Hutchisson, James M. "Ernest Hemingway: A New Life." University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2016.
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ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Bon vivant and globetrotter

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on 21 July in Oak Park, Illinois, the second of the five children of Clarence Edmond and Grace Hall Hemingway.

Ernest volunteered to be a medical orderly for the Red Cross on the Italian front. He was wounded in Fossalta and, after treatment in a field hospital, was sent to a hospital in Milan, where he met Agnes von Kurowsky.

Hemingway returned to Oak Park and went to work for the Toronto Star. Another assignment as a journalist took him to Chicago. Here the most important people he met were Hadley Richardson and Sherwood Anderson, with whom he developed a deep friendship.

Hadley and Hemingway married in Horton Bay. In December they travelled to France together, were he was working as the Toronto Star’s correspondent. He travelled extensively, both for the newspaper and privately, visiting Switzerland, Spain, Italy and the Middle East.

His first trip to Spain, where he visited Pamplona. Hemingway’s first son – John Hadley Nicanor (Bumby) – was born.

He published “Three Stories and Ten Poems”. Hemingway met Pauline Pfeiffer for the first time and got to know Scott Fitzgerald, with whom he formed a friendship that lasted through the years. Hemingway published “In Our Time”.

Hadley and Hemingway divorced and he married Pauline. “Men without Women” was published in the same year.

Both returned to Key West in the USA and his second son Patrick was born. In December, Hemingway’s father Clarence took his own life. “A Farewell to Arms” was published in the same year.

Hemingway bought the house 907 Whitehead Street in Key West and set off on another journey to Spain. The book “Death in the Afternoon” was published. His third son Gregory was born.

Hemingway travelled to Africa for the first time with Pauline and went on a safari.

Hemingway met Martha Gellhorn in Sloppy Joe’s in Key West. He started to raise funds to support the Spanish Republic. “Snows of Kilimanjaro” was published.

Hemingway worked on the play “The Fifth Column”.

Hemingway spent time in Cuba and started work on the novel “For Whom the Bell tolls”.

Hemingway divorced Pauline and married Martha Gellhorn in Wyoming. He purchased Finca Vigía.

Hemingway went to London for Collier’s. There he met Mary Welsh. Bumby was reported missing.

Hemingway returned to Cuba with his sons Patrick and Gregory. His son Bumby, who had been reported missing, returned from prisoner of war camp. In October Hemingway began his trilogy “The Land”, “The Sea” and “The Air”, which later became the four novels “Across the River and into the Trees”, “The Old Man and the Sea”, “Islands in the Stream” and “The Garden of Eden”. Divorce from Martha Gellhorn in December.

In March, Hemingway married Mary Welsh in Havanna.

He started work on the novel “The Garden of Eden”. He met Adriana Ivancich while travelling in Italy with his wife Mary.

Stays in Venice and Paris – as he was travelling through, he stopped in Heidelberg and drank Tyrolean wine in what was then the Deutscher Kaiser and is now Hemingway’s. Exhilarated, he returned to Cuba and started work on “The Garden of Eden” and the middle section of “Islands in the Stream”.

What is probably his most famous novel – “The Old Man and the Sea” – appeared in LIFE. Five million copies were sold within 48 hours. He received the Pulitzer Prize.

Hemingway survived two plane crashes in Africa. Work started on “True at First Light”. He was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Revolution on Cuba. Purchased the house in Ketchum, Idaho and travelled to Spain for LIFE, where he saw the bullfights at Ordónez and Dominguín for “The Dangerous Summer”.

He started to suffer from severe depression on Cuba. During his stay in Spain he became paranoid that he was being followed. Return to New York and Ketchum. The bouts of depression became worse and, as a result, he was given electric shock therapy for the first time.

Hemingway was discharged from the Mayo Clinic. He tried to commit suicide again and was once more given electric shock treatment.

On 2 July, Ernest Hemingway shot himself with a double-barrelled shotgun at his house in Ketchum. He was buried on 5 July, deeply mourned by the public.

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Ernest Hemingway

Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway is seen as one of the great American 20th century novelists, and is known for works like 'A Farewell to Arms' and 'The Old Man and the Sea.'

(1899-1961)

Who Was Ernest Hemingway?

Ernest Hemingway served in World War I and worked in journalism before publishing his story collection In Our Time . He was renowned for novels like The Sun Also Rises , A Farewell to Arms , For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea , which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. In 1954, Hemingway won the Nobel Prize. He committed suicide on July 2, 1961, in Ketchum, Idaho.

Early Life and Career

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Cicero (now in Oak Park), Illinois. Clarence and Grace Hemingway raised their son in this conservative suburb of Chicago, but the family also spent a great deal of time in northern Michigan, where they had a cabin. It was there that the future sportsman learned to hunt, fish and appreciate the outdoors.

In high school, Hemingway worked on his school newspaper, Trapeze and Tabula , writing primarily about sports. Immediately after graduation, the budding journalist went to work for the Kansas City Star , gaining experience that would later influence his distinctively stripped-down prose style.

He once said, "On the Star you were forced to learn to write a simple declarative sentence. This is useful to anyone. Newspaper work will not harm a young writer and could help him if he gets out of it in time."

Military Experience

In 1918, Hemingway went overseas to serve in World War I as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army. For his service, he was awarded the Italian Silver Medal of Bravery, but soon sustained injuries that landed him in a hospital in Milan.

There he met a nurse named Agnes von Kurowsky, who soon accepted his proposal of marriage, but later left him for another man. This devastated the young writer but provided fodder for his works "A Very Short Story" and, more famously, A Farewell to Arms .

Still nursing his injury and recovering from the brutalities of war at the young age of 20, he returned to the United States and spent time in northern Michigan before taking a job at the Toronto Star .

It was in Chicago that Hemingway met Hadley Richardson, the woman who would become his first wife. The couple married and quickly moved to Paris, where Hemingway worked as a foreign correspondent for the Star .

Life in Europe

In Paris, Hemingway soon became a key part of what Gertrude Stein would famously call "The Lost Generation." With Stein as his mentor, Hemingway made the acquaintance of many of the great writers and artists of his generation, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald , Ezra Pound , Pablo Picasso and James Joyce . In 1923, Hemingway and Hadley had a son, John Hadley Nicanor Hemingway. By this time, the writer had also begun frequenting the famous Festival of San Fermin in Pamplona, Spain.

In 1925, the couple, joining a group of British and American expatriates, took a trip to the festival that would later provide the basis of Hemingway's first novel, The Sun Also Rises . The novel is widely considered Hemingway's greatest work, artfully examining the postwar disillusionment of his generation.

Soon after the publication of The Sun Also Rises , Hemingway and Hadley divorced, due in part to his affair with a woman named Pauline Pfeiffer, who would become Hemingway's second wife shortly after his divorce from Hadley was finalized. The author continued to work on his book of short stories, Men Without Women.

Critical Acclaim

Soon, Pauline became pregnant and the couple decided to move back to America. After the birth of their son Patrick Hemingway in 1928, they settled in Key West, Florida, but summered in Wyoming. During this time, Hemingway finished his celebrated World War I novel A Farewell to Arms , securing his lasting place in the literary canon.

When he wasn't writing, Hemingway spent much of the 1930s chasing adventure: big-game hunting in Africa, bullfighting in Spain and deep-sea fishing in Florida. While reporting on the Spanish Civil War in 1937, Hemingway met a fellow war correspondent named Martha Gellhorn (soon to become wife number three) and gathered material for his next novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls , which would eventually be nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

Almost predictably, his marriage to Pfeiffer deteriorated and the couple divorced. Gellhorn and Hemingway married soon after and purchased a farm near Havana, Cuba, which would serve as their winter residence.

When the United States entered World War II in 1941, Hemingway served as a correspondent and was present at several of the war's key moments, including the D-Day landing. Toward the end of the war, Hemingway met another war correspondent, Mary Welsh, whom he would later marry after divorcing Gellhorn.

In 1951, Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea , which would become perhaps his most famous book, finally winning him the Pulitzer Prize he had long been denied.

Personal Struggles and Suicide

The author continued his forays into Africa and sustained several injuries during his adventures, even surviving multiple plane crashes.

In 1954, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Even at this peak of his literary career, though, the burly Hemingway's body and mind were beginning to betray him. Recovering from various old injuries in Cuba, Hemingway suffered from depression and was treated for numerous conditions such as high blood pressure and liver disease.

He wrote A Moveable Feast , a memoir of his years in Paris, and retired permanently to Idaho. There he continued to battle with deteriorating mental and physical health.

Early on the morning of July 2, 1961, Hemingway committed suicide in his Ketchum home.

Hemingway left behind an impressive body of work and an iconic style that still influences writers today. His personality and constant pursuit of adventure loomed almost as large as his creative talent.

When asked by George Plimpton about the function of his art, Hemingway proved once again to be a master of the "one true sentence": "From things that have happened and from things as they exist and from all things that you know and all those you cannot know, you make something through your invention that is not a representation but a whole new thing truer than anything true and alive, and you make it alive, and if you make it well enough, you give it immortality."

In August 2018, a 62-year-old short story by Hemingway, "A Room on the Garden Side," was published for the first time in The Strand Magazine . Set in Paris shortly after the liberation of the city from Nazi forces in 1944, the story was one of five composed by the writer in 1956 about his World War II experiences. It became the second story from the series to earn posthumous publication, following "Black Ass at the Crossroads."

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Ernest Hemingway
• Birth Year: 1899
• Birth date: July 21, 1899
• Birth State: Illinois
• Birth City: Cicero (now in Oak Park)
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Nobel Prize winner Ernest Hemingway is seen as one of the great American 20th century novelists, and is known for works like 'A Farewell to Arms' and 'The Old Man and the Sea.'
• Writing and Publishing
• Astrological Sign: Cancer
• Oak Park and River Forest High School
• Death Year: 1961
• Death date: July 2, 1961
• Death State: Idaho
• Death City: Ketchum
• Death Country: United States

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Ernest Hemingway Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/writer/ernest-hemingway
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E Television Networks
• Last Updated: May 7, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• Never confuse movement with action.
• There is no friend as loyal as a book.
• Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
• Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. It will teach you to keep your mouth shut.
• An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with fools.
• The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.
• Write drunk, edit sober.
• All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer.
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• It's good to have an end to journey to; but in the end it's the journey that matters.
• Never that think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.

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• Ernest Hemingway - Facts

Ernest Hemingway

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Ernest Miller Hemingway The Nobel Prize in Literature 1954

Born: 21 July 1899, Oak Park, IL, USA

Died: 2 July 1961, Ketchum, ID, USA

Residence at the time of the award: USA

Prize motivation: “for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea, and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style”

Language: English

Prize share: 1/1

Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois. When he was 17, he began his career as a writer at a newspaper office in Kansas City. After the United States entered World War I, he joined a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. After his return to the US, he became a reporter for American newspapers and was soon sent back to Europe. He covered many historic events such as the Spanish Civil War and World War II, including the liberation of Paris. In 1954, he survived two airplane accidents that caused severe pain for the rest of his life.

Between 1925 and 1929, Hemingway wrote some of his major works, such as In Our Time (1924), The Sun Also Rises (1926), and A Farewell to Arms (1929). His succinct and lucid prose had a powerful influence on 20th century fiction. Hemingway’s works explore love, war, wilderness, and loss. The theme of emasculation is also prevalent in his works, most notably in The Sun Also Rises. In 1952, he published The Old Man and the Sea, a work that was praised by the Swedish Academy when awarding the Nobel Prize.

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GALLERIES > Arts and Culture > Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway

A Biography of Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway was a critically acclaimed American writer known for his profound and straightforward writing style that revolutionized American literature. His early years were shaped by his love for the outdoors, as he spent his summers exploring northern Michigan. These experiences would later influence his works, where themes of adventure and the connection between humans and the natural world feature prominently. Hemingway’s life played out during a tumultuous time in history, and his experiences and writings reflected the tumultuous history of his time.

Hemingway’s personal experiences were a critical foundation of his works. His time as an ambulance driver during World War I influenced his views on life and death and inspired his novel A Farewell to Arms . His involvement in the Spanish Civil War as a correspondent enriched his understanding of the human condition, and the power of informed writing was influential for the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls . Hemingway’s literary career took flight in the 1920s when he was living in an expatriate community in Paris. Surrounded by writers and artists, this transformative time in life gave him a front-row seat to diverse and intellectual influences, which played a vital role in his writing.

DID YOU KNOW?

Hemingway's literary career took flight in the 1920s when he was living in an expatriate community in Paris.

Ernest Hemingway’s legacy as a writer is an inspiration to past, present and future generations. Hemingway’s history is a crucial part of the literary world, as his personal experiences heavily influenced his work. His narratives are trademarked by the direct and emotional impact that resonates deeply with readers. He was known for his matter-of-fact use of words, which omitted details, encouraging readers to infer and actively engage with his narratives. This approach, often referred to as the “Hemingway style,” became his trademark and revolutionized the art of storytelling. Ernest Hemingway’s biography showcases the life and work of a literary giant whose impact on American literature and culture is immeasurable.

10 Unknown Facts About Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway served in World War I and was honored with the Italian Silver Medal of Valor and a Bronze Star for his bravery and heroism.

Throughout his life, Hemingway was noted for courage, and his works reflected his own experience of war. He was accused and later cleared of war crimes during his time as an ambulance driver during World War I.

Gertrude Stein acted as godmother to Ernest Hemingway’s son, Jack.

The famed American novelist and Nobel Prize winner is believed to have been a spy for the Soviet intelligence agency. According to reports, Hemingway was asked to report on any political developments he observed during his travels, although it’s unclear how successful he was in this role.

Ernest Hemingway’s remarkable literary masterpiece emerged as a result of his accidental abandonment of personal belongings at the esteemed Ritz Hotel in Paris.

It is highly probable that the well-known narrative surrounding the “Baby Shoes” story is fictitious.

Ernest Hemingway narrowly escaped death in consecutive airplane accidents.

Each of Ernest Hemingway’s four spouses received the heartfelt dedication of a book from the esteemed author.

The Key West residence of Ernest Hemingway boasts a urinal that was obtained from his beloved local bar.

Ernest Hemingway was an avid fisherman and hunter.

Early Life of Ernest Hemingway

On July 21, 1899, in a suburb of Chicago, Ernest Hemingway was born into a home of well-educated and cultured individuals who valued the arts and literature. Ernest was the second child of Clarence and Grace Hall Hemingway. Clarence was a physician and Grace was a music teacher. In addition to being raised in a home supportive of the arts, Hemingway also developed a passion for the outdoors and all that nature has to enjoy. Ernest Hemingway’s early summers were spent in northern Michigan where he could explore his interests in fishing, hunting and camping. These childhood experiences not only influenced his career but also became integral to his writing.

Ernest Hemingway began perfecting his writing talent from an early age. In his teen years at Oak Park and River Forest High School, Hemingway excelled in English and journalism. In fact, Hemingway’s talent is documented in his high school newspaper and magazines. Staying true to his passions, Ernest Hemingway was also on the football team and competed in track and field. Hemingway graduated in 1917 and briefly worked at The Kansas City Star as a reporter. It was in this role that he began developing his infamous writing style using a technique called the “iceberg” theory.

Ernest Hemingway was on the football team and competed in track and field.

After his brief role at The Kansas City Star , Hemingway enlisted in the Red Cross. In 1918, Hemingway served as an ambulance driver in Italy for the Red Cross during World War I. Wounded in action, he spent several months recovering at a hospital in Milan. Hemingway’s third novel A Farewell to Arms was inspired by his time on the battlefield in Italy, as it left an abstruse mark on his life and writing. After recovering from his battle injuries, Hemingway returned home to Chicago. Back to the world of literature and journalism, Ernest Hemingway picked up a job as a journalist and began writing his first fictional story. Published in 1925, “The Big Two-Hearted River” is a two-part fictional tale that is the first to showcase Hemingway’s appreciation for the outdoors.

Later that year, Ernest Hemingway moved to Paris and joined a community of expatriates, where he met F. Scott Fitzgerald who soon became his friend, confidant and mentor. The community of expatriates was made up of writers and artists who were living there at the time. While he was in Paris, Hemingway wrote some of his most famous works, including The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast . Overall, Ernest Hemingway’s early life was marked by a love of nature, a passion for writing and a sense of adventure. These experiences would shape his writing and make him one of the most important American writers of the 20th century.

Ernest Hemingway’s Nobel Prize in Literature

One of the most prestigious awards in the literary world is the Nobel Prize in Literature. Since its inception in 1901, one author has been awarded this honor for contributing phenomenal publications in the realm of literature each calendar year. In 1945, Ernest Hemingway was awarded this esteemed accolade for his enduring contributions to literature and the significance his work has had on the world. The Nobel Prize for Literature not only recognized Hemingway’s individual accomplishments but also celebrated his profound influence on subsequent generations of writers.

Ernest Hemingway revolutionized modern storytelling with his innate ability to capture the human experience both in authenticity and depth. Leaving an indelible mark in the literary domain, Hemingway’s unique style, deemed “Hemingway style,” captivates and interacts with readers using his minimalistic and profound expression. His use of precise, vivid descriptions thread through his narrative helping to place readers in the story’s atmosphere. In his narratives, Hemingway used the “iceberg” theory to keep his readers engaged. By providing the details needed to set the scene, and leaving room to read between the lines, this unique approach allows readers to actively engage with the text, encouraging them to fill in the gaps and interpret the underlying emotions and meaning. His trademark themes are love, loss and vulnerability, all found in war, significance and human connection. Much of Hemingway’s inspiration came from his own experiences with travel and war and can be found in some of his most renowned classics: A Farewell to Arms , The Sun Also Rises , and For Whom the Bell Tolls .

The Nobel Prize’s bestowal to Ernest Hemingway is a testament to his legacy and his influence in shaping storytelling as we know it today. As a revolutionary of modern prose and one of the most iconic authors of the 20th century, Hemingway’s works will continue to be celebrated and studied for generations to come.

Hemingway's unique style is deemed "Hemingway style."

The top 11 ernest hemingway books.

The Torrents of Spring (1926)

The Sun Also Rises (1926)

A Farewell to Arms (1929)

Winner Take Nothing (1933)

To Have and Have Not (1937)

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)

Across the River and Into the Trees (1950)

The Old Man and the Sea (1952)

A Moveable Feast (1964)

Islands in the Stream (1970)

The Dangerous Summer (1985)

Ernest Hemingway's Main Accomplishments

Ernest Hemingway began perfecting his writing talent from an early age. Hemingway’s talent is documented as early as his teen years when he began making appearances in his high school newspaper, where he shared his passion for storytelling. Later working as a journalist for newspapers, Hemingway gained incalculable experience that curated his writing style — concise and impactful.

In recognition of his courageous actions in World War I, Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Italian Silver Medal of Bravery (Medaglia d’Argento al Valor Militare). This honor is bestowed on individuals who display exceptional acts of valor or heroism on the battlefield. Hemingway earned this prestigious military decoration by braving perilous conditions on the front lines to rescue wounded soldiers when he served as an ambulance driver for the American Red Cross in Italy.

Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises” played a critical part in establishing his writing career. This piece was noted as a groundbreaking novel in the Modernist movement when it was published in 1926 and marked Hemingway’s distinct writing style in American literature. Key features of The Sun Also Rises are its thematic explorations and the narrative style Hemingway used to convey the emotions and human complexities of expatriates seeking meaning and purpose post-World War I, in a world of cultural disruption.

In 1929, “A Farewell to Arms” was published, cementing Ernest Hemingway’s reputation as the literary icon of the 20th century. Staying true to the author, this novel contains a passionate narrative with original characterizations and an uncompromising look into the human spirit. A common theme in Hemingway’s novels is characters facing adversity and learning to live in a state of emptiness and fragility. With his minimal approach of short powerful sentences, Hemingway engages with his readers on an emotional level.

In the late 1930s, Ernest Hemingway provided journalistic support to cover the Spanish Civil War. Through this opportunity, Hemingway showcased his dedication to unveiling the truth of significant world events and demonstrated steadfast journalistic integrity. Placing himself among the Republican forces, and stepping up to the front line to serve as a soldier at times, assisted Hemingway’s ability to capture the brutality, raw emotions and sacrifices of war. Covering the Spanish Civil War further shaped Hemingway’s perspectives on war and politics, and influenced his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls . By immersing himself in the devastating conflict, Hemingway was able to communicate the impact that turmoil has on communities and humanity.

Ernest Hemingway’s critically acclaimed novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” published in 1940, is one of many testaments to Hemingway’s ability to connect with readers through powerful and emotional narratives. Hemingway’s trademark writing style is concise and reminiscent while exploring themes of war, love, sacrifice, and the value and complexities of human life. Inspired by his time as a journalist in the Spanish Civil War, Ernest Hemingway continued to use his expertise of vivid and intense storytelling to capture readers and place them into a moment in time. For Whom the Bell Tolls earned Ernest Hemingway the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1941 and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, further justifying his status as one of the greatest figures in American literature.

One of the most prestigious awards in the literary realm is the Nobel Prize for Literature. Hemingway earned this esteemed accolade for his innate ability to capture the human experience both in authenticity and depth. Ernest Hemingway is known for his minimalist writing which is now known as “Hemingway style.” The Hemingway style of writing is to develop a responsive piece with concise and profound language. Hemingway used the “iceberg” method to provide the crucial details allowing readers to become involved in the story with the freedom to construe meanings in his works of love, loss and vulnerability.

The renowned Hemingway style of writing follows a method that leaves room for readers to engage in the text to further immerse themselves in the narrative and draw their own conclusions. This method is called the “iceberg” theory or the theory of omission. Ernest Hemingway is known for his concise and intense composition, which is the tip of the iceberg. The bottom of the iceberg, the part of the glacial mass that isn’t seen, is where Hemingway allows readers to actively participate in the full construction of his narrative. This provides a deeper connection between author and reader, which is what makes his works profound and indelible.

The Story of Ernest Hemingway’s Death

Ernest Hemingway died at the age of 61 on July 21, 1961, at his home in Ketchum, Idaho. His untimely demise caused a great deal of speculation at the time, but now his tragic story sheds light on the struggles he faced in his later years. Hemingway had a history of mental health issues and chronic pain from lingering injuries, and he struggled with depression and alcoholism throughout his life. In addition to the daily challenges he faced, he also lived with trauma due to his service in World War I, documenting the Spanish Civil War and surviving two back-to-back plane crashes in his lifetime. In the months prior to his death, Ernest Hemingway was admitted to the hospital as his mental and physical state severely deteriorated. He endured psychiatric treatment, including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), to relieve his depression. The ECT caused memory and creativity lapses, but he was committed to continuing his work and remaining independent.

Hemingway struggled with depression and alcoholism throughout his life

Hemingway’s lifelong battle with depression, his declining health and his difficulty writing caused a lot of frustration and grievance for him. Hemingway took his own life with a gunshot wound to his head. His premature and tragic death shocked the literary world, leaving a void in America’s literary domain. Hemingway’s friends and colleagues were devastated when the news of this tragedy spread. Ernest Hemingway inspired thousands to create impactful narratives of their own.

Hemingway’s death was deeply complex and intimate. No one can say what led him to this decision, but his lifelong struggles with depression and alcoholism may have been of influence. Although his eventual suicide is part of his life story, it is imperative to remember Hemingway not only for his premature death but for his significant contributions to American literature and his permanent legacy as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.

Since his death, there has been continued admiration and recognition of Hemingway’s life and legacy through the written word, museums and more. Ernest Hemingway’s impact on American literature is unmatched. He is notorious for his writing style, “Hemingway style,” which is recognized by his minimalistic and profound narrative. Hemingway’s work is a significant part of the literary world and continues to be studied and celebrated. Ernest Hemingway’s novels are time-honored literary classics that earned him Pulitzer and Nobel prizes for his innate ability to capture the human connection.

Why did Hemingway kill himself?

Ernest Hemingway endured personal struggles with depression and declining health and faced many challenges in his relationships and writing career.

What characterizes Hemingway’s writing style?

Ernest Hemingway’s writing style is characterized by several distinct elements. He was known for his concise and straightforward prose, using a minimalist approach focusing on capturing the aspect of a scene or a character with succinctness. Hemingway favored short, firm sentences using simple vocabulary, avoiding elaborate descriptions and unnecessary adjectives. His style emphasized directness, allowing readers to interpret details through subtext. Hemingway also incorporated elements of realism and naturalism in his writing, which drew upon inspiration from his own experiences as a journalist, soldier and adventurer. His works often featured themes of masculinity, war, love and the human condition, emphasizing reflection and existential dilemma. Overall, Hemingway’s identifiable writing style has influenced generations of writers.

What is Hemingway’s theory of omission or “iceberg principle?”

Ernest Hemingway’s theory of omission is also referred to as the “iceberg” principle or theory of omission. This writing technique deliberately leaves out certain details to allow the reader to interpret the underlying significance. This theory is much like an iceberg, where only a small portion is visible above water, while the majority remains hidden beneath.

Can you tell me more about the friendship between Hemingway and Fitzgerald?

Hemingway and Fitzgerald first met in the early 1920s in Paris, where they were part of a vibrant expatriate community of writers and artists. They formed a bond based on mutual admiration and shared experiences. Hemingway saw Fitzgerald as a mentor figure and looked up to him for his early success as the author of The Great Gatsby.

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Inside The Devastating Death Of Ernest Hemingway, The Author Whose Work Defined America’s ‘Lost Generation’

Ernest hemingway famously struggled with alcoholism and mental illness for decades before taking his own life in 1961..

Public Domain Ernest Hemingway in Cuba in 1954.

Ernest Hemingway was one of the most celebrated writers of the 20th century. With his novels such as The Sun Also Rises and The Old Man and the Sea still studied in classrooms across America today, Hemingway’s legacy continues to inspire generations of readers. But the controversy surrounding his death lives on as well.

On July 2, 1961, Ernest Hemingway died at his home in Ketchum, Idaho. The New York Times reported that he accidentally shot himself, and Blaine County Sheriff Frank Hewitt initially said that no foul play was suspected.

But just two days prior, Hemingway had been released from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he’d been treated for depression and other mental health struggles. People soon began wondering whether the famed author’s death was truly an accident.

Hemingway’s wife, Mary, later admitted to the press that he had indeed taken his own life. And in the decades following his demise, multiple members of his family died by suicide as well — sparking rumors of a mysterious “Hemingway curse.”

The Volatile Life Of Ernest Hemingway

Although Ernest Hemingway was a prolific author who won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature for his work, he led a life full of tragedy and frequently struggled with his mental health.

According to the Los Angeles Times , Hemingway’s mother, Grace, was a controlling woman who dressed him as a little girl when he was a child. She wanted him to match his older sister because she was disappointed she hadn’t had twins.

Earl Theisen/Getty Images Ernest Hemingway published seven novels and six collections of short stories over the course of his illustrious career.

Meanwhile, his father, Clarence, was manic-depressive and had the tendency to become violent. When Hemingway was 29, Clarence died by suicide. According to Biography , the author blamed his father’s death on his mother.

Hemingway’s third wife, Martha Gellhorn, once wrote, “Deep in Ernest, due to his mother, going back to the indestructible first memories of childhood, was mistrust and fear of women.” She claimed that it was because of Grace that Hemingway had issues with abandonment and infidelity.

When Hemingway was injured while volunteering as an ambulance driver in Italy during World War I, he reportedly fell in love with his nurse and spiraled into a depression when she rejected him.

And when his marriage with his first wife, Hadley Richardson, ended in divorce because Hemingway was unfaithful, he carried his regret and anguish with him for the rest of his life.

Hemingway had just married his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, at the time of his father’s death, and his struggle with mental illness and alcoholism quickly began to worsen. The author wrote in a letter to Pfeiffer’s mother about his father’s suicide, “I’ll probably go the same way.”

Unfortunately, 33 years later, he did.

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Ernest Hemingway’s Lifelong Struggle With Mental Illness

According to the Independent , Ernest Hemingway told a friend after his father’s death, “My life was more or less shot out from under me, and I was drinking much too much entirely through my own fault.”

Despite several doctors telling him to stop drinking because he’d developed liver damage as early as 1937, when he was just 38 years old, Hemingway continued his unhealthy relationship with alcohol.

Archivio Cameraphoto Epoche/Getty Images Ernest Hemingway struggled with alcoholism for decades, straining his marriages and friendships.

Hemingway also had a strange fascination with death, and he gravitated toward gory activities like fishing, hunting, and watching bull fights. He even told actress Ava Gardner in 1954, “I spend a hell of a lot of time killing animals and fish so I won’t kill myself.”

That same year, he survived two plane crashes while hunting in Africa. He suffered serious injuries in the second, including two cracked vertebrae, a fractured skull, and a ruptured liver. The event took a toll on both his physical and mental health, and he continued to drink copious amounts of alcohol while he was bedbound during his recovery.

As the author grew older, his friends and family members noticed that he began acting disoriented and paranoid. He believed the FBI was surveilling him — but he turned out to be right.

According to PBS , the FBI had been tapping Hemingway’s phones and filing reports on him since the 1940s, because they were suspicious about his activities in Cuba.

Hemingway also began struggling to write. He tried to work on a memoir of his time in Paris, but he had a difficult time doing so. And when he was asked to write a short piece for John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, he wept and said, “It just won’t come any more.”

By late 1960, Hemingway’s mental health had deteriorated to the point that his fourth wife, Mary, had him admitted to Mayo Clinic for treatment. She later told The New York Times , “When he went to the Mayo Clinic in November of 1960, his blood pressure was very high. But his real trouble was a serious, very serious breakdown. He was so depressed I cannot even say when he started to feel so depressed.”

Hemingway was released in January 1961, but when Mary found him holding a shotgun just three months later, he was immediately readmitted.

The Death Of Ernest Hemingway And Its Controversial Aftermath

In April 1961, Hemingway boarded a small plane to travel from his home in Idaho to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. According to PBS, when the plane stopped in South Dakota to refuel, Hemingway reportedly tried to walk straight into the propeller — but the pilot cut it off just in time.

During his second two-month stay at the clinic, Hemingway underwent at least 15 rounds of electroconvulsive shock therapy and was prescribed a new drug called Librium. This caused the author to have short-term memory issues without providing much relief for his depression, but he was discharged at the end of June anyway.

When he arrived back in Ketchum, Idaho, he spoke with his longtime friend and local motel owner Chuck Atkinson. After Hemingway’s death, Atkinson told The New York Times , “He seemed to be in good spirits. We didn’t talk about anything in particular.”

Public Domain Ernest Hemingway holding a shotgun in his Cuba home. Circa 1950s.

Yet, the very next morning, just two days after returning home from the Mayo Clinic, Hemingway got out of bed around 7 a.m., put on his favorite robe, found the key to the gun cabinet his wife had tried to hide from him, took out a double-barrelled shotgun he used to hunt birds, and shot himself in the forehead.

The gunshot woke Mary, who rushed downstairs and found Ernest Hemingway dead in the foyer. She called the police and told them that the gun had unexpectedly gone off while Hemingway was cleaning it, and initial reports about his death framed it as a tragic accident.

However, there was controversial speculation that the author had died by suicide from the beginning. He had been a skilled hunter, so he knew how to handle guns, and it was unlikely he would have accidentally discharged one.

Years later, these suspicions were confirmed when Mary told The New York Times , “No, he shot himself. Shot himself. Just that. And nothing else.”

Inside The Devastating “Hemingway Curse”

In the decades following Ernest Hemingway’s suicide, multiple other members of his family took their own lives, as well. According to Biography , his sister Ursula deliberately overdosed on pills in 1966, his brother Leicester shot himself in 1982, and his granddaughter Margaux , a successful supermodel, took a fatal dose of a sedative in 1996.

Another granddaughter of Hemingway’s, Margaux’s sister Mariel, dubbed this string of mental illness and suicides the “Hemingway curse.” And in more recent years, doctors and scientists have tried to pinpoint its exact cause.

Public Domain Ernest Hemingway holds one of his beloved cats, whose descendants can still be seen today at the author’s Key West, Florida home.

In 2006, psychiatrist Dr. Christopher D. Martin published a study in the Psychiatry journal stating that Ernest Hemingway had a genetic predisposition to mental illness from his parents as well as unresolved trauma and anger from his childhood.

Martin analyzed medical records, letters that Hemingway wrote over the years, and interviews by the author and his loved ones before and after his death and determined that he exhibited signs of “bipolar disorder, alcohol dependence, traumatic brain injury, and probably borderline and narcissistic personality traits.”

In 2017, as reported by Biography , another psychiatrist named Andrew Farah argued that Hemingway’s symptoms resembled chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) — the same disease that plagues many football players. The author suffered multiple head injuries throughout his life, and Farah claimed that these could have contributed to his self-destructive behavior.

And yet another theory says that Hemingway suffered from hemochromatosis, a rare genetic disorder that can cause fatigue, memory loss, depression, and diabetes — all of which Hemingway struggled with. His father and brother had diabetes as well, and Leicester Hemingway even reportedly took his own life because he was facing the possibility of losing his legs from the disease.

Regardless of the reason behind Ernest Hemingway’s suicide, the author’s death was a devastating loss to the literary community and to everyone who loved him. Fans still leave bottles of alcohol on his grave in Ketchum, Idaho, and his Florida home is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Key West. Through his lauded works of literature and the descendants of his beloved polydactyl cats, the legacy of “Papa” lives on to this day.

After learning about the devastating death of Ernest Hemingway, go inside the tragic life of Gregory Hemingway , the author’s transgender son. Then, read through these 21 quotes from Hemingway’s famous works .

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• World Biography

Ernest Hemingway Biography

Born: July 21, 1898 Oak Park, Illinois Died: July 2, 1961 Ketchum, Idaho American author

Ernest Hemingway, American Nobel Prize-winning author, was one of the most celebrated and influential literary stylists of the twentieth century. His critical reputation rests solidly upon a small body of exceptional writing, set apart by its style, emotional content, and dramatic intensity of vision.

Childhood in the Midwest

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on July 21, 1898. His father was a country physician who taught his son hunting and fishing; his mother was a religious woman, active in church affairs, who led her son to play the cello and sing in the choir. Hemingway's early years were spent largely in fighting the feminine influence of his mother while feeding off the influence of his father. He spent the summers with his family in the woods of northern Michigan, where he often accompanied his father on professional calls. The discovery of his father's apparent lack of courage, later depicted in the short story "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife," and his suicide several years later left the boy with an emotional scar.

Despite the intense pleasure Hemingway took from outdoor life and his popularity in high school—where he distinguished himself as a scholar and athlete—he ran away from home twice. However, his first real chance for escape came in 1917, when the United States entered World War I (1914–18; a war in which forces clashed for European control). Eager to serve his country in the war, he volunteered for active service in the infantry (foot soldiers) but was rejected because of eye trouble.

Hemingway then enlisted in the Red Cross medical service, driving an ambulance on the Italian front. He was badly wounded in the knee yet carried a wounded man on his back a considerable distance to the aid station. After having over two hundred shell fragments (parts of bullets) removed from his legs and body, Hemingway next enlisted in the Italian infantry, served on the Austrian front until the armistice (truce), and was decorated for bravery by the Italian government. Hemingway soon returned home where he was hailed as a hero.

Learning his trade

In 1923 Hemingway published his first book, Three Stories and Ten Poems. The poems are insignificant, but the stories give strong indication of his emerging genius. With In Our Time (1925) Hemingway drew on his experiences while summering in Michigan to depict the initiation into the world of pain and violence of young Nick Adams, a model for later Hemingway heroes.

Major novels

Hemingway returned to the United States in 1926 with the manuscripts of two novels and several short stories. That May, Scribner's issued Hemingway's second novel, The Sun Also Rises. This novel, the major statement of the "lost generation," describes a group of Americans and Englishmen, all of whom have suffered physically and emotionally during the war.

In December 1929 A Farewell to Arms was published. This novel tells the story of a tragic love affair between an American soldier and an English nurse set against the backdrop of war and collapsing world order. It contains a philosophical expression of the Hemingway code that man is basically helpless in a violent age: "The world breaks everyone," reflects the main character, "and afterward many are strong in the broken places. But those that it will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of those you can be sure that it will kill you too, but there will be no special hurry."

Hemingway revealed his passionate interest in bull-fighting in Death in the Afternoon (1932), a humorous and unique nonfiction study. Hemingway's African safari in 1934 provided the material for another nonfiction work, The Green Hills of Africa (1935), as well as two of his finest short stories, "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro."

In 1940 Hemingway published For Whom the Bell Tolls, his most ambitious novel. A wonderfully clear narrative, it is written in less lyrical and more dramatic prose (nonpoetry writing) than his earlier work.

World War II

Following the critical and popular success of For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway lapsed into a literary silence that lasted a full decade and was largely the result of his strenuous, frequently reckless, activities during World War II (1939–45; a war in which France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States fought against Germany, Italy, and Japan). In 1942, as a Collier's correspondent with the Third Army, he witnessed some of the bloodiest battles in Europe. At this time he received the nickname of "Papa" from his admirers, both military and literary.

In 1944 while in London, Hemingway met and soon married Mary Welsh, a Time reporter. His three previous marriages—to Hadley Richardson, mother of one son; to Pauline Pfeiffer, mother of his second and third sons; and to Martha Gelhorn—had all ended in divorce. Following the war, Hemingway and his wife purchased a home, Finca Vigía, near Havana, Cuba.

In 1952 The Old Man and the Sea was published. A novella (short novel) about an extraordinary battle between a tired old Cuban fisherman and a giant marlin, it was immediately hailed as a masterpiece and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. A year later, Hemingway won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Hemingway's declining physical condition and increasingly severe mental problems drastically reduced his literary output in the last years of his life. A journey to Africa planned by the author and his wife in 1954 ended in their plane crash over the Belgian Congo. Hemingway suffered severe burns and internal injuries from which he never fully recovered. Additional strain occurred when the revolutionary Cuban government of Fidel Castro (1926–) forced the Hemingways to leave Finca Vigía.

After only a few months in their new home in Ketchum, Idaho, Hemingway was admitted to the Mayo Clinic to be treated for hypertension (high blood pressure) and depression, and was later treated with electroshock therapy, a radical therapy where an electric current is sent through the body. Made bitter by an illness that humiliated him physically and impaired his writing, he killed himself with a shotgun on July 2, 1961.

Many of Hemingway's unpublished and unfinished works were published after his death. Because of his amazing body of work, and his intense approach to life, Hemingway was arguably one of the most influential American writers of the twentieth century.

For More Information

Baker, Carlos. Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story. New York: Scribner, 1969.

Hotchner, A. E. Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir. New York: Random House, 1966.

Meyers, Jeffrey. Hemingway: A Biography. New York: Harper & Row, 1985.

Plath, James. Remembering Ernest Hemingway. Key West, FL: Ketch & Yawl Press, 1999.

Reynolds, Michael. Hemingway: The Paris Years. New York: Blackwell, 1989.

Voss, Frederick. Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time. Washington, DC: New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.

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Ernest Hemingway

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• Short stories

Ernest Miller Hemingway was one of the greatest American writers in the 20th-century, and his understated literary stylings have influenced writers for decades. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He had published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature. From the beginning of his writing career, Hemingway’s distinctive style occasioned a great deal of comment and controversy.Basically, his style is simple, direct, and unadorned, probably as a result of his early newspaper training.

Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school he reported for a few months for The Kansas City Star, before leaving for the Italian front to enlist with the World War I ambulance drivers. In 1918, he was seriously wounded and returned home.

His wartime experiences formed the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms.According to A Farewell to Arms, although the book ends with a death and a stillbirth, the main character Frederic himself is nevertheless in a sense reborn, becoming a better, deeper person through his months-long involvement with his pregnant lover. In 1921, Hemingway married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives. The couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s “Lost Generation” expatriate community.

The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway’s first novel, was published in 1926. After his 1927 divorce from Hadley Richardson, Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer; they divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War where he had been a journalist, and after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. For Whom the Bell Tolls is a far cry from the kind of fiction with which Hemingway began. It is an ambitious work on a grand and epic scale, and it deals with war and politics directly in a way that is true of none of the other great Hemingway novels.Some readers found it a more conventional, less pathbreaking book than the best of Hemingway’s earlier efforts, but others welcomed the undeniable improvement it represented over the work that had disappointed so many readers and critics in the 1930s. Finally, it seemed, Hemingway was back on track, and some early critics considered it his best book so far. He had become a conspicuous public figure, and his life seemed almost more interesting than his recent prose.

In 1952, The Old Man and the Sea helped win Hemingway the Nobel Prize, which served to confirm his status as one of the most significant writers in the world.The Old Man and the Sea depicts the epic battle between an elderly deep-sea fisherman, Santiago, and a huge and vigorous marlin. His novel seemed to imply an inspiring lesson that a man might be defeated in practical or worldly terms while still triumphing spiritually and as a person. However, some critics felt that both the story and the prose were too sentimental, and some felt that the work was an exercise in self-pity, with Manolin offering Santiago the kind of hero worship that Hemingway himself so obviously desired.Hemingway’s legacy to American literature is his style: writers who came after him emulated it or avoided it. After his reputation was established with the publication of The Sun Also Rises, he became the spokesperson for the post “World War I generation, having established a style to follow.

His books were burned in Berlin in 1933, “as being a monument of modern decadence”. He avoids the adjective whenever possible, but because he is a master at transmitting emotion without the flowery prose of his Victorian novelist predecessors, the effect is far more telling.His parents disavowed his literature as “filth”. Reynolds asserts the legacy is that “he left stories and novels so starkly moving that some have become part of our cultural heritage”.

In a 2004 speech at the John F. Kennedy Library, Russell Banks declared that he, like many male writers of his generation, was influenced by Hemingway’s writing philosophy, style, and public image. MA ller argues that Hemingway “has the highest recognition value of all writers worldwide. Benson believes the details of Hemingway’s life have become a “prime vehicle for exploitation”, resulting in a Hemingway industry.Benson described him as introverted and private as J. D.

Salinger, although Hemingway masked his nature with braggadocio. In fact, during World War , Salinger met and corresponded with Hemingway, whom he acknowledged as an influence. In a letter to Hemingway, Salinger claimed their talks “had given him his only hopeful minutes of the entire war” and jokingly “named himself national chairman of the Hemingway Fan Clubs.

” Hemingway has often been described as a master of dialog, and most readers agree; however, that Hemingway’s one attempt at playwriting was a failure.The minor planet 3656 Hemingway, discovered in 1978 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, was named after Hemingway. The influence is evident with the many restaurants named “Hemingway”; and the proliferation of bars called “Harry’s” (a nod to the bar in “Across the River and Into the Trees”). A line of Hemingway furniture, promoted by Hemingway’s son Jack has pieces such as the “Kilimanjaro” bedside table, and a “Catherine” slip-covered sofa. Montblanc offers a Hemingway fountain pen, and a line of Hemingway safari clothes has been created.

Ray Bradbury wrote “The Kilimanjaro Device,” in which Hemingway is transported to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. The 1993 film “Wrestling Ernest Hemingway,” about the friendship of two retired men in a seaside town in Florida, is named after a story one of the characters (played by Richard Harris) tells about having wrestled Hemingway in the 1930’s. “If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them.The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing. (Ernest Hemingway in “Death in the Afternoon”) The story takes place at a train station in the Ebro River valley of Spain.

This particular day is oppressively hot and dry, and the scenery in the valley is barren and ugly for the most part. The two main characters are a man (referred to only as “the American”) and his female companion, whom he refers to as “Jig”. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” everything is boiled down and condensed.The extreme shortness of this story makes its point all the more powerful. Hemingway’s writing is journalistic and no-nonsense; he reports dialogue cleanly and directly, without any fluffy adjectives or fancy descriptions. This tight economy of words is one of the things that made Hemingway so famous in the 1920s, and his distinctive style is still much admired to this day. While the narration might seem cold and detached, emotion is present “ it’s just below the surface.

The more we explore this story, the more we feel what Jig and the man might be feeling, and the more our own emotions try to come to the surface.

Novels by Ernest Hemingway

A Farewell to Arms

The Old Man and The Sea

The Sun Also Rises

Short stories by ernest hemingway.

• A Very Short Story
• Out of Season
• The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber
• The Snows of Kilimanjaro
• Up in Michigan

Poems by Ernest Hemingway

• Along With Youth
• Champs D’Honneur
• Chapter Heading
• Mitraigliatrice
• Montparnasse
• Oily Weather
• Riparto D’Assalto

Ernest Hemingway

Early life and education, personal life, some important facts of his life, some important works of ernest hemingway, ernest hemingway’s impacts on future literature, famous quotes, related posts:, post navigation.

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• Short Stories
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Ernest Hemingway Biography and Work

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Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist who is widely considered one of the most important and influential writers of the 20th century. His sparse, direct prose style and his focus on themes such as courage, stoicism, and masculinity made him a literary icon of his time, and his works continue to be studied and celebrated today.

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Early Life and Career:

Ernest Hemingway Biography and Work:- Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His father was a doctor, and his mother was a musician. Hemingway attended Oak Park High School, where he developed an interest in writing and journalism. After graduation, he worked for the Kansas City Star newspaper as a reporter and later as a foreign correspondent in Europe during World War I.

In 1921, Hemingway returned to the United States and settled in Chicago, where he worked as a freelance writer. He soon became involved in the city’s literary scene and began publishing his own short stories. In 1925, he published his first major work, the novel “The Sun Also Rises,” which established him as a leading voice of the “Lost Generation,” a group of writers who came of age during World War I and were disillusioned by the post-war world.

Major Works:

Ernest Hemingway Biography and Work:- Hemingway’s early works, such as “The Sun Also Rises” and “A Farewell to Arms,” are characterized by their spare, direct prose style and their focus on themes of courage, honor, and masculinity. In “The Sun Also Rises,” Hemingway explores the lives of expatriate Americans living in Paris and Spain, and their struggles with love, war, and the sense of disillusionment that followed the war. “A Farewell to Arms,” set during World War I, tells the story of an American soldier who falls in love with a nurse and is wounded in battle.

Hemingway’s later works, such as “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “The Old Man and the Sea,” continue to explore these themes while also addressing the nature of courage, sacrifice, and the human condition. “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” set during the Spanish Civil War, follows an American volunteer fighting against the Fascists and his relationship with a young woman he meets in the mountains. “The Old Man and the Sea,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953, tells the story of an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles to catch a giant marlin and who embodies the human spirit of endurance and resilience.

Style and Themes:

Ernest Hemingway Biography and Work:- Hemingway’s prose style is characterized by its economy and simplicity. He believed in the power of understatement and the importance of leaving much unsaid. His style is often described as “hard-boiled,” and he is known for his use of short, simple sentences and his avoidance of adjectives and adverbs.

Hemingway’s themes include courage, stoicism, masculinity, and the struggle to find meaning in a chaotic and often brutal world. He was also interested in the nature of war and its impact on individuals and society, as well as the relationship between men and women and the challenges of love and intimacy.

Ernest Hemingway’s legacy is one of immense literary influence and cultural significance. His sparse, direct prose style and his focus on themes of courage, honor, and masculinity have made him a literary icon of his time, and his works continue to be studied and celebrated today.

Ernest Hemingway Biography and Work:- Hemingway’s influence can be seen in the works of countless writers who have been inspired by his style and themes. His impact on American literature and culture is incalculable, and his influence on the wider world of literature and the arts is equally significant.

Themes and Style

Ernest Hemingway’s writing is known for its focus on themes of courage, stoicism, masculinity, and the struggle to find meaning in a chaotic and often brutal world. Hemingway’s characters are often grappling with questions of identity, purpose, and the meaning of life, and his stories frequently explore themes of love, loss, and the human condition.

Ernest Hemingway Biography and Work:- One of Hemingway’s most prominent themes is that of “grace under pressure.” This phrase, which Hemingway used frequently, refers to the idea that a person’s true character is revealed in moments of crisis. Hemingway’s characters are often faced with difficult or dangerous situations, and it is their ability to remain calm, courageous, and focused that sets them apart.

Hemingway was also deeply interested in the nature of war and its impact on individuals and society. Many of his works, including “A Farewell to Arms,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and “The Old Man and the Sea,” address the subject of war and its aftermath, exploring questions of trauma, loss, and the search for meaning in the face of suffering.

Ernest Hemingway’s writing is characterized by its economy and simplicity. He believed in the power of understatement and the importance of leaving much unsaid, and his style is often described as “hard-boiled.”

Hemingway’s prose is known for its short, simple sentences and its avoidance of adjectives and adverbs. He believed that too many adjectives and adverbs diluted the impact of a sentence and that the reader should be able to understand the meaning of a sentence without the need for elaborate description.

Ernest Hemingway Biography and Work:- Hemingway was also known for his use of dialogue, which he used to convey character and meaning. His characters often speak in short, staccato sentences that reveal their personalities and motivations.

In addition to his prose style, Hemingway was also known for his use of symbolism. Many of his works, including “The Old Man and the Sea,” contain symbols that represent larger ideas or themes. In “The Old Man and the Sea,” for example, the giant marlin that the old man catches represents the struggle for life and the human spirit of endurance and resilience.

Ernest Hemingway Biography and Work:- Hemingway’s style has had a significant influence on American literature and culture. His spare, direct prose style and his focus on themes of courage, stoicism, and masculinity have made him a literary icon of his time, and his works continue to be studied and celebrated today.

Ernest Hemingway’s impact on American literature and culture cannot be overstated. Through his writing, he explored themes of courage, stoicism, and the struggle to find meaning in a chaotic world. His style, characterized by its economy and simplicity, has influenced countless writers since his time. Hemingway’s legacy continues to live on today, and his works remain an important part of the literary canon.

Q. What is Ernest Hemingway famous for?

Ans. Ernest Hemingway is famous for his influential writing style, which emphasized economy, simplicity, and understatement. He is also known for his exploration of themes such as masculinity, courage, and the struggle to find meaning in a chaotic world. Some of his most famous works include “The Sun Also Rises,” “A Farewell to Arms,” and “The Old Man and the Sea.”

Q. What was Hemingway’s writing style?

Ans. Hemingway’s writing style is characterized by its economy and simplicity. He believed in the power of understatement and the importance of leaving much unsaid, and his style is often described as “hard-boiled.” Hemingway’s prose is known for its short, simple sentences and its avoidance of adjectives and adverbs.

Q. What are some of Hemingway’s most famous works?

Ans. Some of Hemingway’s most famous works include “The Sun Also Rises,” “A Farewell to Arms,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and “The Old Man and the Sea.” He also wrote many short stories, including “Hills Like White Elephants” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.”

Q. What themes did Hemingway explore in his writing?

Ans. Hemingway’s writing often explored themes such as masculinity, courage, and the struggle to find meaning in a chaotic world. He was also interested in the nature of war and its impact on individuals and society. Many of his works address the subject of war and its aftermath, exploring questions of trauma, loss, and the search for meaning in the face of suffering.

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6 Fascinating Biographies on Ernest Hemingway

Celebrate the life of one of the most iconic American writers to date.

• Photo Credit: National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ernest Hemingway was not only a revolutionary American novelist, but he was also an adventure seeker and world traveler.

Hemingway moved to Paris in 1921, where he worked, partied, and learned from other authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald , Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound. In 1925 his first major piece, In Our Time , was published. In the following year, one of his most famous books, The Sun Also Rises , was released. 

His novel, The Sun Also Rises , took much inspiration from his life while settled in Paris. While it is not the most optimistic book, the story involves a group of American expatriates working in France and Spain,  which reflected Hemingway and his author-friends’ current situations. These famous authors would go on to be considered a group of writers called The Lost Generation .

Throughout the thirties, the novelist drew creativity from his travels to Spain and Africa. His love for bullfighting helped him write Death in the Afternoon , and an African safari resulted in Green Hills of Africa . Hemingway’s global travels fueled his motivation and artistry throughout his entire life and often resulted in some of his most trailblazing work.

During the post-war years, Hemingway wrote some of his other greatest novels and short-stories including For Whom the Bells Toll , A Moveable Feast , and The Old Man and the Sea , which he received a Pulitzer Prize for in 1953. In 1954, Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

While we give a big-picture look at Hemingway’s career, the biographies on this list offer insights into his private life and stories behind the work that captivate us. These biographies come from some of the closest sources to the artist and provide a deeper look into who Hemingway truly was and how it shaped his work.

Related: 10 Moving Biographies and Memoirs

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Papa Hemingway

By A. E. Hotchner

In 1948, journalist A.E. Hotchner traveled to Cuba in hopes of interviewing Hemingway for an article on “The Future of Literature,” for Cosmopolitan magazine. While the article was never published, Hemingway and Hotchner developed a strong friendship that lasted until Hemingway’s death in 1961.

Throughout the years of friendship, the pair caroused through the bars of New York City, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, fished in the waters off of Cuba, and hunted in the Idaho wild. 

Hotchner candidly recites the life of Hemingway down to the details of his daily routine. From hand writing long, descriptive passages, to memories with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein, and finally to Hemingway’s final years and his battle with depression, Hotchner celebrates the life of one of the most iconic literary figures in Papa Hemingway.   

Hunting with Hemingway

By Hilary Hemingway, Jeff Lindsay

Fifteen years after her father’s death, Hilary Hemingway received an intriguing inheritance—an audio cassette recorded by her father Les ,recounting the incredible and unbelievably true hunting stories he shared with his older brother, Ernest Hemingway.

Humorous tales of the Hemingway brothers hunting ferocious crocodiles, dangerous Komodo dragons, and scary ostriches are retold by Hilary. However, along with these fun memories is Les’s seriousness in defending his brother’s reputation and life.

Hilary brings us into the larger-than-life bond between Ernest and Les and shares her own story with making peace with the Hemingway legacy.

Hemingway’s Boat

By Paul Hendrickson

Focusing on the Hemingway’s life in the years of 1934-1961, Paul Hendrickson explores the highs and lows from Hemingway’s peak as the monarch of American letters until his suicide. During this time, one thing remained constant in Hemingway’s life: his beloved boat Pilar. 

Hendrickson dives into unpublished work, interviews with Hemingway’s sons, and undiscovered truths of the novelist’s life to bring a fresh understanding of the great American writer fifty years after his death.

Ernest Hemingway

By Mary V. Dearborn

Mary V. Dearborn’s biography on Hemingway was the first in many aspects. The first to use never-used-before material, the first to be written by a woman, and the first full biography of Hemingway in over fifteen years.

Published in 2017, Dearborn’s biography of Hemingway explores the complexity of his personality, his work, and his life. His seven novels and six short-story collections have changed the art of fiction and literature and continue to influence it today.

Dearborn also examines Hemingway’s personality and character on a deeper level as it was the same demons inspiring his revolutionary work that ultimately were leading him to his death in 1961.

Related: 12 Brilliant Female Authors You’ve Never Heard Of

The Young Hemingway

By Michael Reynolds

Michael Reynolds breaks down Hemingway’s life into five pivotal parts through his Hemingway Collection, from his early life to his final years. The Young Hemingway is the first biography in the series focusing on Hemingway’s upbringing, the foundation his writing will be built on, and his experience during World War I.

Going through the formidable years of his life, Reynolds reveals Hemingway’s father’s own self-destructive battle with depression , his mother’s fierce sense of spiritualism and independence, and Agnes Von Kurowsky—the first woman Hemingway fell in love with.

Ernest’s Way

By Cristen Hemingway James

Hemingway’s great granddaughter Cristen Hemingway James takes us around the world to the different places the great American novelist lived, drank, fought, ran with the bulls, and wrote his most famous work. Ernest Hemingway thrived on exploring new places, creating excitement, and interacting with influential artists of the twentieth century.

In Ernest’s Way, an intimate look into Hemingway’s life is created with essential insights and information on the many places around the world he lived. This biography is the first to give a comprehensive guide to the author’s exhilarating adventures and how each place shaped his writing.

Cristen not only brings us a deeper glimpse into Hemingway’s life and work, but she also brings each of these places to life and takes us on our own Hemingway-inspired adventure.

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Featured image: National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

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Ernest Hemingway

1899–1961 American Journalist, Novelist and Writer

Early Life and Career

Military experience, life in europe, critical acclaim, personal struggles and suicides.