Hemingway: The Relevance of Biography to Interpretation Essay

Even a cursory examination of the literature addressing Hemingways writing and his breeding dissolve seem overwhelming. The purpose of this write report, however, is to demonstrate that well-nigh of Hemingways writing tidy sum be best understood through reference to his receive life experiences. This is not meant to conjure that the schoolbook does not at times exit some(prenominal) internal textual attest regarding the meaning of the piece as a whole, for it intimately certainly does, but that extraneous biographic evidence must also be considered and weighed when encountering Hemingways work.In this paper it provide be evokeed that an examination of the external evidence, as it relates to Hemingways profess life experiences, is explodeicularly relevant to any visualizeation of ten-spot Indians or Hills equivalent etiolate Elephants and that in these short stories a reconciliation of the external biographical evidence with the internal textual evidence may ref orm financial aid in fancying the stories themselves.Significant Biographical Characteristics Machismo and G send awayer transactionIn arrangement to better understand Hemingways writing it is necessity to know approximately the homo himself and some of the major events and experiences which shaped his melodic theme process. With reference to the short stories specifically addressed in this paper at that place ar two biographical characteristics which seem to aid in efforts to interpret meaning or to otherwise try to make sense of the text. The start-off biographical characteristic is much referred to as Hemingways extremely masculine lifestyle or what some scholars give referred to as his macho orientation.It is well-established among scholars and historians, for instance, that Hemingway well enjoyed rigorous physical activities and pursuits it has been noted that Hemingway was kn sustain for his highly developed skills in such existencely fields as hunting, fishin g, boxing and sailing. ( Harry Sylvester, who utilize to box with Hemingway frequently, once told me that Hemingway was the strongest man he had ever kn take. ) (McCaffery 12). He was, in short, an independent-minded writer whom enjoyed physical exertion, challenging himself through a variety of pursuits, and outside activities.darn some scholars, such as McCaffery, decl ar beholded Hemingways virility in a positive light at that place are some whom make up beted him in a less flattering light indeed, as a leading Hemingway scholar has expressed out Others discover his masculinity as negative machismo. They consider him the worst example of a sexist, racist, homophobic man, and often refuse to read or t individually Hemingway, or make apologies when they do. (Moddelmog 2). Whether issue or hated, in that locationfore, scholars seem to agree on his manliness and his abrasively macho view of life.For purposes of comment, this informs us that though a gifted writer, and an artist, Hemingway was not the sort of gifted that was confined to a library or a desk at station quite the contrary, unlike many other writers, he actually did be intimate in many respects the very type of life which he wrote about. His were not speculative musings, or romantic idealizations, but reflections and comments on situations and characters with which he was intimately familiar. Any attempt to understand or interpret his written work, therefore, must to some extant take note of Hemingways own life experiences and philosophical mind- coterie..The second biographical characteristic which can aid in the version of Hemingways text much specifically, with respect to Ten Indians and Hills like snow-covered Elephants, involves his personal experiences with women and how he dealt with gender issues such as races and fatherhood in his writings. Hemingway, to put it mildly, experienced the company of many women and seemed close forever to have troublesome or difficult relati ons with the inverse sex. He cacoethesd women and yet he seemed to struggle to understand them in reference to his own lifestyle and psychology.Referring to Hills like White Elephants, virtuoso researcher has observed that the subtle and dramatic dialogue in Hills Like White Elephants reveals a clear, sensitive portrait of two strong personalities caught in a pattern of miscommunication due to gender-linked langu get along with patterns (Smiley 92) another researcher, referring to Hemingways writing more(prenominal) generally, has argued that he must be understood as a clement macrocosm whom was never quite comfortable about his own failed or failing marital and/or extramarital relations. (Spilka 299).Gender communication or the lack thereof, particularly that dealing with romantic relationships, is pervasive in Hemingways writing and can to some degree be related to his own life. In sum, external biographical evidence is extraordinarily relevant when attempting to interpret H emingways writing and it must be considered alongside the internal textual evidence of each written piece of work. Ten Indians An initial and sounding reading of Hemingways Ten Indians suggests a quite a common eyepatch in which a young boy fall in love, in which he is subsequently betrayed, and in which innocence is lost or small(a) in the process.In the instant story, the protagonist is prick Adams and he falls in love with a young Indian young woman whom he apparently adores and whom he trusts scents the same as he does the twist is that she has been spy with another boy and that Nick is obligate to confront the treachery. The betrayal, however, is not easy predicted it is not easily predicted because Hemingway creates a pleasant setting and a smart family atmosphere within which to develop his more depressing plot. Indeed, the protagonistNick Adams returns home to his father after spending a happy twenty-five percent of July with his friends the Garners. Over a lat e meal of cold chicken and huckleberry pie the father, who make a big shadow on the kitchen wall, informs Nick that his Indian miss Prudence Mitchell spent her Fourth of July threshing around in the forest with one Frank Washburn (Carter 103) Everyone had seemed quite happy. The Fourth of July is a joyous junction for friends and family, and young Nick Adams is in love.Although scholars have debated Hemingways intentions, because of different conclusions find in preliminary and final examination drafts of the manuscript, it is true that In the final part of the published story, Nick goes into his room after the conversation with his father, gets undressed, and climbs into bed, lying with his hardiness in the pillow and thinking, My hearts low-down. If I feel this way my heart must be broken (Nolan n. p. ). Thus, the story would appear to be a familiar one of trust, betrayal, and heartache.Further and more careful readings of the text, however, suggest deeper and, possibly, mo re metaphorical intentions by Hemingway. If from a superficial point of view the story appears to characterize the fallen world of young love whence from a more careful examination of the text, reference to the aforementioned biographical characteristics and the relevant pedantic literature the story may also be said to characterize the fallen world of a mans sense of orderly nature itself.This notion of metaphor, that the text sets forth a young boys broken heart to map out a larger type of destruction, is persuasive given the context in which Hemingway set the story and given the way in which the destruction of the wild is at the same time presented in the text. As an initial matter, it is important to understand that Ten Indians was one of many short stories written by Hemingway which detailed and explored the coming of eon of Nick Adams.Some scholars have suggested that the protagonist, Nick Adams, was in many ways a personal reflection of Hemingways own coming of age stor y and that he was an autobiographical figure for Hemingway in certain respects. Indeed, there are several interesting connections in the midst of Hemingways personal archives and the people and places created in the short story, Ten Indians. First, although Hemingway was born in Illinois, it is normally understood that he considered his spiritual home to be in Michigan. This welkin served as the setting for this particular short story.Second, he relied upon the local Indians of the legitimatem to create some of his important characters in fact, he drew upon his real life observations of the Ottawa and Ojibwa Indian tribes. Indeed, the Indians and their country had a pro fix mental picture on Hemingways imagination. From his start-off attempts at fiction and in his afterwards Nick Adams stories, he would draw upon his experiences at Walloon Lake, using Indian characters and state of nature settings. (Nagel 108) Together, these real life experiences helped Hemingway to create both the setting and many of the chief(prenominal) characters for his short stories.In addition to providing inspiration for his setting and characters, there was a deeper conflict which Hemingways real-life experiences contributed to his writing design in Ten Indians more specifically, drawing upon Indian tribes whose lives had fail fundamentally changed through close clashing and interaction with a different American culture, Hemingway was able to cleverly outline a metaphorical illustration of innocence lost through the betrayal of Nick Adams by the Indian girl. Nicks innocence, it can be argued, has been destroyed in much the same way as the Indian natural state.Hemingway lamented the modernization which infringed on the forests of northern Michigan and the parallels between the destruction of the wilderness and the destruction of Nick Adams heart are striking. These parallels have been noted by one scholar whom has suggested that Hemingway shows the wilderness being destr oyed and, with the loss of the trees, the end of the Indian way of life. This fallen world is the setting of Ten Indians, a story that centers on the adolescent Nick Adamss first shame in love as he learns that his Indian girlfriend, Prudence Mitchell, has been untrusty (Nagel 108-109)When examining the text of Ten Indians, therefore, it is important to note these important parallels, Hemingways love of nature and his view of mans place in nature. literally speaking, Hemingway drew on a familiar and beloved setting and live much of the story with the type of Indian characters that were well-known to him. Figuratively speaking, or metaphorically speaking, Hemingway managed to link the fallen world of the pristine natural wilderness with the fallen world of a young mans broken heart. It is against this contextual framework that any summary of Ten Indians must proceed.This is not meant to suggest that either fallen world was the predominant theme to be sure, both the text and the s cholarly literature would seem to demonstrate that Hemingway found both the destruction of the wilderness and the destruction of a first love as betrayals that would inevitable shatter an individuals innocence and scoring another stage in the coming of age of young boys. A young boy, reconciling the external evidence with the internal evidence, cogency be better advised enjoying the beauty of the forests than the beauty of insincere wiles of young girls.Hills like White Elephants Although a comparatively short story, Hemingways Hills like White Elephants is full of tension and moral dilemma more specifically, the text appears to suggest that the man and the adult female are debating whether the woman should have an abortion and what the implications go forth be depending on whether the abortion is done or not done. What is most striking, from a textual analysis, is the contrast between the rather relaxed atmosphere or setting and the deeply personal nature of the discussion.On the one hand, for instance, the man and the woman are relaxing at a discipline station, deglutition alcohol, and waiting for a train. This would seem to imply a happy couple, an expect journey, and a relationship that entrust endure at least until the train arrives. These contextual clues, however, are sharply betrayed by the underlying discussion regarding whether the woman, trip the light fantastic, result undergo an operation to have an abortion. One might anticipate some form of closure, some final decision arrived at by the chief(prenominal) characters, but instead Hemingway leaves the contributor grasping for answers as the story comes to a conclusion.He leaves them grasping for answers because rather than stating what decision has been made, and whether the American and dance will actually ever see each other again, Hemingway finishes his story without a definitive declaration in either respect. With respect to the operation for the abortion, the woman states that she is willing to have the operation the American man, however, doubts her sincerity. The subscriber is therefore forced to wonder, as the American wonders, whether the woman is agreeing or temporarily attempting to placate her render and lover.With respect to the relationship itself, the reader desiring a firm and resolute rehearsal is left grasping for straws. This is because, rather than departing on the train to Madrid together as planned, the American places their bags or luggage at different positions on the platform before rejoining Jig. The story then finishes up with the man being suspicious of the womans true motives and convictions and with the placement of the bags providing a achievable clue that the relationship is doomed.The couple is together and yet the bags are discontinue this is where Hemingway leaves his readers and scholars themselves have grappled with both the meaning of the story and the likely progenys. The scholarly analysis of Hills like White Elephan ts has traditionally tended to focus upon the use of internal textual clues to determine whether Jig intended to have the operation and the fate of the relationship between Jig and the America more recently, however, some scholars have begun to take whether and to what extant the short story may have been influenced or otherwise animate by Hemingways own life.This bifurcated focus has been summed up, analyzed, and synthesized by one leading Hemingway scholar whom has stated the scholarly emphasis then Two recurring themes in analyses of Ernest Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants are the debate over whether or not Jig will mail her pregnancy to term and the search for biographical experiences that may have inspired and influenced the story. (Wyche n. p). This section will examine each of these scholarly inquiries in turn.The traditional scholarly interest has involved an examination of the text for clues in order to determine whether an abortion was actually pursued and the fa te of the couple. A look into of the literature reveals at least four possibilities Three different scenarios have been seriously considered the girl will have the abortion (albeit reluctantly) and sting with the man the girl will have the abortion and leave the man or, the girl will not have the abortion, having won the man over to her point of view.However, there is strong support in the narrative for a ordinal outcome that fits in, with the dark overall prognosis presented in other scholarly interpretations the girl will indeed have the abortion, expecting in this way to stay on with the man, but after the operation has been performed, he will vehemence her. Various verbal and non-verbal indications found in the story support this interpretation of the narrative, as does the very symbolism of the title itself. (Hashmi n. p. )Although an extended analysis of each scenario is beyond the scope of this paper, a rationale for selecting the most plausible outcome based upon the tex t is not. The most persuasive outcome would appear to be the fourth more specifically, a superficial reading of the text suggests that Jig will indeed have an abortion and that the American will repeal her despite her attempt to maintain the relationship. First, the American places their bags in different part of the platform. Analyzed literally, this seems to suggest that he doubts her sincerity regarding the abortion and that he is preparing for a separation.Second, they stand together and Jig tells the American that despite the strain of the abortion decision she remains fine. The man has made the decision to separate the bags whereas Jig would appear to believe that things will work out in such a way as to maintain the relationship. The mans actions represent separation whereas Jigs actions and words represent togetherness. It is therefore plausible to argue that she will pursue togetherness by having the abortion and that the man will pursue separation by encouraging the abor tion and then abandoning or otherwise terminating the relationship.Although never explicitly stating such a conclusion, the fourth scenario is support by the aforementioned textual clues. Other scholars have instead cerebrate on Hemingways own life in order to understand the story in this way, the abortion issue is treated figuratively rather than literally. As one scholar pursuing this biographically-oriented type of analysis explains magic spell the figurative abortion in Hills Like White Elephants can be understood on the basis of internal evidence, the concept of abortion as metaphor invites consideration of a number of biographical influences on the story, (Wyche n.p. ).While such an analysis requires a reconciling of certain parts of the text with information known about Hemingways personal life there are interesting parallels. One illustration involves the fact that Hemingway has been reported to have said that the birth of his first child led to the dissolution of his firs t marriage, that he was at the time too young to have receive a father, and that the references ambivalence toward fatherhood is well-documented (Wyche, n. p. ).Against this larger framework, compare the authors real life with his written work, it may become plausible to argue that the scholarship dealing with the outcomes regarding the abortion and the relationship are in actuality tangential or irrelevant concerns insofar as the author was concerned more precisely, it might be argued that Hemingway was merely incorporating difficult moments from his own coming of age experience without intending to offer concrete conclusions.In the final analysis, while it is both challenging and interesting to explore what Hemingway may have intended as a conclusion, it is perhaps more enlightening to view Hills like White Elephants as a writers reflections about his own past in which firm and absolute conclusions were never intended. Hemingway was placing the reader in his own shoes and askin g what the reader might do, what the reader ought to do, in similar circumstances.Such an interpretation is consistent with the biographical entropy known about Hemingway and makes the story more powerful and personal by forcing the reader to draw his or her own conclusions rather than being force-fed a set of conclusions by the author. Conclusion In conclusion, what makes Hemingway so alluring is that he actually lived the type of life that he wrote about.It is therefore impossible to wholly separate his own life from his writing as one might be able to do with other writers. As a consequence, interpretation must necessarily involve a balancing act in which external biographical evidence is weighed and considered alongside the internal textual evidence. It is this interplay, between real life and fiction, that perhaps makes Hemingway appear larger than life.