Runninghead: Hemingway's Short Stories

Hemingway's Short Stories

Introduction

In classic literature and especially short stories, the art of setting and character placement was explored in depth by the most famous authors. One of the most influential in this respect has been Ernest Hemingway. Since short stories require an author to be able to present a solid plot and characterization within a confined manifestation, it is not a particularly easy task but Hemingway has been able to do an admirable job of presenting some of the most moving and honest works in his short stories. In this paper, I will be analyzing from among his short stories, Indian Camp, Black A S S at the Crossroads, A Very Short Story, Hills like White Elephants and A Clean Well-Lighted Room.

Discussion

In The Indian Camp, the author is able to portray Nick Adams, a young boy who accompanies his father and uncle to an Indian American camp that exists on the other side of the lake. Throughout the book, the setting is that of woods and the interior of a shady American Indian camp. Although Nick seems to want to explore the different culture and is brimming with curiosity and wonder, he is later witness to horrifying and violent events that seem to age Nick. Not only this, there are several psychological impacts explored in a subtle manner in the story. Nick, who seems to enjoy the attentions of his father at the beginning, pulls away from him on the journey home. There have been many interpretations of the book and many critics believed it to be autobiographical, since the author's own father was a Doctor who also took him on adventures through the Michigan Woods, but the characters in the book differ in that Nick is able to learn very early on about the realities of life. The concepts of life and death, pain, tolerance, endurance, suffering and suicide are explored, which may seem somewhat serious and morbid for a story about a child discovering the wonders of a different culture. However, the author is able to pull off the story admirably, with a solid grounding for each event that takes place in the book. The setting and behavior of the characters is consistent and very interesting from a third point perspective.

In “A Very Short Story”, Hemingway deals with the complexities of love and the disintegration one feels when a couple drifts apart. The story is centered on an Italian girl named Luz who is having an affair with a soldier. It is signified that the setting for this story is World War I, and the soldier is never named. There is a certain authenticity to the first point perspective that is used to depict the soldier. Luz and the soldier communicate via letters after he is shipped off to war. Luz, who works in a hospital, writes religiously to the soldier but suddenly stops writing after a while. When the soldier returns, the gritty truth is discovered; Luz has moved on to a major from ...