Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist and short story writer whose works, drawn from his wide range of experiences in World War I, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II, are characterized by terse minimalism and understatement; they exerted a significant influence on the development of twentieth century fiction. Hemingway's protagonists are typically stoic male individuals, often interpreted as projections of his own character, who must master "grace under pressure". Many of his works, like The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea, are now considered classics in the canon of American literature.

Key West

Following the advice of John Dos Passos, Hemingway moved to Key West, Florida where he established his first American home. From his old stone house—a wedding present from Pauline's uncle—Hemingway fished in the Dry Tortugas waters, went to the famous bar Sloppy Joe's, and traveled ocassionally to Spain, gathering material for Death in the Afternoon and Winner Take Nothing.

Related Topics:
John Dos Passos - Key West, Florida - Fished - Dry Tortugas - Sloppy Joe's - Spain - Death in the Afternoon - Winner Take Nothing

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Death In The Afternoon a book about bullfighting, was published in 1932. Hemingway had become a bullfighting aficionado after seeing the Pamplona fiesta of 1925, fictionalized in The Sun Also Rises. In Death in the Afternoon, Hemingway extensively discussed the metaphysics of bullfighting: the ritualized, almost religious practice. In his writings on Spain he was influenced by the Spanish master Pío Baroja (when Hemingway won the Nobel Prize, he traveled to see Baroja, then on his death bed, specifically to tell him that he thought Baroja deserved the prize more than him).

Related Topics:
Death In The Afternoon - Bullfighting - 1932 - Pamplona - 1925 - The Sun Also Rises - Pío Baroja

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A safari in the fall of 1932 led him to Mombasa, Nairobi, and Machakos in the Mua Hills. 1935 saw the publication of Green Hills of Africa, a narrative about hunting Kudu. The Snows of Kilimanjaro and The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber were the fictionalized results of his African experiences.

Related Topics:
Safari - 1932 - Mombasa - Nairobi - Machakos - Mua Hills - 1935 - The Snows of Kilimanjaro - The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some health problems characterized this period of Hemingway's life: an anthrax infection, a cut eyeball, a gash in his forehead, grippe, toothache, hemorrhoids; kidney trouble from fishing in Spain, torn groin muscle, finger gashed to the bone in an accident with a punching ball, lacerations (to arms, legs, and face) from a ride on a runaway horse through a deep Wyoming forest, and a broken arm from a car accident.

Related Topics:
Anthrax - Grippe - Toothache - Hemorrhoids - Kidney - Spain - Wyoming - Car accident

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~