Ernest Hemingway - The Nobel Laureate

Ernest Hemingway  -        The  Nobel  Laureate

The American Author, Ernest Miller Hemingway, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954 for his work “The Old Man and the Sea”.  He was the recipient of Pulitzer Prize for best fiction in 1953 as well.  Ernest Hemingway the legend and a phenomenon stood taller than Statue of Liberty in the American horizon.

        

Hemingway influenced me from my teens and remained a cult figure throughout my life. Hemingway was the most sought after author of the 20th century.  The writer himself was his best creation.   He was an autobiographical author first and then a fiction writer. 

He was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois a Chicago (USA), suburb.  His dad was a doctor and his mom a Painter and Pianist. He was the second of six children borne to them. His dad Dr. Miller Hemingway taught him how to catch fish, hunt, to set up a camp and cook over a fire.

He started his career as a cub reporter for Kansas City Star in 1917. However, in the following year he enlists in Italian army as an American Ambulance Driver.  He worked with Red Cross Society and was badly wounded there and was decorated twice for his services. His work “A Farewell to Arms” captures his life in the Army and nursing his wounds assisted by a nurse with whom he falls in love. A Farewell to Arms was made into a successful motion picture.

He returned to America in 1919 and married in 1921.

He was an excellent novelist, prolific, influential and successful writer of 20^th century.   He lived in the decades of war torn history.  In 1922 he reported on the Greco-Turkish war and two years later resigned from journalism to devote himself to fiction.

Hemingway visited Spain during the Civil War of Spain and described his experiences in the best seller “For whom the Bell Tolls”.  The main character of the novel, Robert Jordan, was his replica in the real life.  Robert Jordan was my much celebrated hero of all times.  Hemingway always found himself in the midst of real action.

He was rough and rugged.  He was passionately involved with bull fighting in Spain, big-game hunting and deep-sea fishing and his works reflected this.   The brawny man Hemingway had a notably masculine style in his writing.  His books had a highly detailed description of war, love and life in general.  He lived his life to the fullest.

For nearly a century, he was praised by his critics and readers alike for his powerful and sparse pros. He is a subject to learn for Literature students.  His direct and deceptively simple style of writing spawned generations of imitators but no equals. He has written 10 Novels, 3 books of short stories, a drama and 4 general books.

His famous Novels are –

•  The Old Man and the Sea
•   The Torrents of Spring
•   Fiesta -   The Sun Also Rises
•  A Farewell to Arms
• To Have and Have Not
•  For Whom the Bells Tolls
• Across the River and Into the Trees
•  Islands in the Stream
• The Garden of Eden
• True at First Light

Short Stories –

• .      Men Without Women
•        Winner Take Nothing
•        The Snows of Kilimanjaro

General  -

•            Death in the Afternoon
•   .        Green Hills of Africa
•            A Moveable Feast
•            The Dangerous Summer

Drama  -

•           The Fifth Column

Hemingway stood out with his different style among his contemporary writers and this was one of his characteristics.  He wrote in an extremely unique, concise style to create an unparalleled masterpiece.   He utilized a notably typical style to write his books for which was highly ostracized by the writer community in his times.  This style entices the readers and creates an emotional attachment.

Hemingway had a deep appreciation for nature.  He loved fishing more than anything in life.  His dream was to become a mountaineer and then a writer.

Hemingway seemed fascinated with the concepts of Life and Death.  Hemingway has said that no person experiences life like the bull fighter.  He dreams of wanting to climb, seeking to scale these giants a dream.

He criticized his dad for committing suicide saying that it is a cowardly act.  However, he too willfully took his life from this world.   He shot himself dead in 1961.

His daughter, Muriel Hemingway is a famous Model and a Hollywood actor today.

He has other children from different marriages as well.

I am a die-hard fan of Ernest Hemingway and most of his works Novels, Short Stories, Drama, other general books and movie cassettes are there in my favorite collections in my Home Library.

Let this brightest star of World Literature remain in the highest echelon.