This attitude entails facing one’s certain death with dignity. Hand-in-glove with the theme of death is another Hemingway favorite: fatalistic heroism or heroic fatalism. Clearly evocative of death are the stories in which Hemingway describes actual deaths: the war experiences of “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “In Another Country ” the suicides of “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” and “Fathers and Sons ” and the accidents of “The Capital of the World” and “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.” DeathĪlso a near-constant presence in Hemingway’s stories is the theme of death, either in the form of death itself, the knowledge of the inevitability of death, or the futility of fleeing death. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Jig looks to the beauty of the Ebro River valley for guidance as to whether or not she should get an abortion, and in “Old Man at the Bridge,” the old man’s gaggle of doves is the only symbol of hope in an otherwise depressing situation. In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the middle-aged waiter points out that one of his café’s most desirable features is the shadows of leaves on the tables. In “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” the protagonist Harry looks to a frozen leopard on the summit of the mountain as an example of how to attain immortality. In other Hemingway stories, nature is simply a benevolent influence on the characters. Lastly, in “ Fathers and Sons,” Nick describes with admiration his father’s ability to see and shoot game and describes with gratitude his father’s transfer of hunting and fishing knowledge to him. In “A Day’s Wait,” Nick Adams goes hunting in order to teach his sick son self-reliance. In “Up in Michigan,” Jim Gilmore is marked as masculine and therefore desirable to Liz Coates because he goes on a deer hunt. For example, in “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” the title character comes into his own by shooting buffalo. In many Hemingway stories, the ability to conquer nature by hunting and killing animals is the test of masculinity. In addition, Hemingway’s characters look to majestic landscapes and other manifestations of natural beauty for hope, inspiration, and even guidance during difficult or challenging times. He was a lifelong outdoorsman, an avid hunter, fisherman, camper and boater, and he believed that overcoming natural obstacles using only one’s intelligence and skills made one a better person. Hemingway was a great believer in the power of nature, both in terms of its beauty and its challenges, to improve one’s quality of life. It is often the only thing in the text, animate or inanimate, that is described in a positive or laudatory fashion. Nature, in the form of beautiful landscapes and wholesome surroundings, is a constant presence in Hemingway’s short fiction.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |