Ernest Hemingway Biography In his public persona Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway Biography • • • In his public persona, Hemingway presented himself as hyper-masculine figure. Had 4 different wives; works as a journalist for much of his life Locations that he spent many years living: Paris, Key West, Cuba, and Midwest WWI: He enlisted in the Italian army as an ambulance driver. He is 18. He got severely injured, comes back and works as journalist Moves to Paris, moves back, has lots of adventures Goes to Spain and reports on Spanish Civil War. Spends day hanging out and drinking with Spanish rebels who were fighting an oppressive, fascist regime and watching bull fights. Too old to serve in WWII when that came around but goes as a reporter. And no one told him to go to Africa and hunt lions and elephants. He just did it. And no one told him to get on another plane after his first plane on safari crashed, but he did that, too. And no one told him to survive when that plane crashed, but he did that, too. Suffers from many medical issues (depression, genetic disorder, diabetes, effects of alcoholism) and severe injuries (car and plane crashes). He committed suicide in 1961.
Hemingway’s Style: Similar to anything we’ve seen? § Critic Sheldon Norman Grebstein listed these characteristics: "first, short and simple sentence constructions, with heavy use of parallelism, which convey the effect of control, terseness, and blunt honesty; second, purged diction which above all eschews the use of bookish, latinate [Latin based words], or abstract words and thus achieves the effect of being heard or spoken or transcribed from reality rather than appearing as a construct of the imagination (in brief, verisimilitude [appearing real]); and third, skillful use of repetition and a kind of verbal counterpoint, which operate either by pairing or juxtaposing opposites, or else by running the same word or phrase through a series of shifting meanings and inflections. "
“On Bullfighting” Ernest Hemingway It was spring in Paris and everything looked just a little too beautiful. Mike and I decided to go to Spain. Strater drew us a fine map of Spain on the back of a menu of the Strix restaurant. On the same menu he wrote the name of a restaurant in Madrid where the specialty is young suckling pig roasted, the name of the hotel on the Via San Jerónimo where the bullfighters live, and sketched a plan showing where the Grecos are hung in the Prado. Fully equipped with this menu and our old clothes, we started for Spain. Our objective—to see bullfights. We left Paris one morning and got off the train at Madrid the next noon. We saw our first bullfight at 4: 30 that afternoon. It took about two hours to get tickets. We finally got them from scalpers for twenty-five pesetas apiece. The bullring was entirely sold out. We had barrera seats. These, the scalper explained in Spanish and broken French, were the first row of the ringside, directly under the royal box, and immediately opposite where the bulls would come out.
“Hills Like White Elephants” • A conversation between a man and a woman about something very important and life changing • Hemingway uses very stark language: few details, very simple and stripped down language • The miscommunication between the couple shows how language is insufficient.
Hemingway vs. Fitzgerald While they were friends and literary contemporaries, their stylistic choices represent vastly different approaches. Make a chart that compares and contrasts their styles. What stands out about both?
“Soldier’s Home” Modern Day Connection • What do you know about PTSD? • Was this a diagnosis for soldiers returning from WWI? • How could it have made returning to civilian life difficult?
“Champs d’Honneur” Ernest Hemingway Soldiers never do die well; Crosses mark the places— Wooden crosses where they fell, Stuck above their faces. Soldiers pitch and cough and twitch— All the world roars red and black; Soldiers smother in a ditch, Choking through the whole attack. The translation of “champs d’honneur” is field of honor. o What is the tone of the poem? o How does Hemingway seem to feel about war?
“Soldier’s Home” We will read Hemingway's short story together! You will need a separate sheet of paper to answer the packet questions… This will be taken up at the end of the class!
After Quiz: 1. Vocab Unit 6: Choosing the Right Word 16 -25 and the Antonyms activity. 2. Pick up and read “The Hollow Men”. Annotate as instructed. 3. Finished really early? Read Ernest Hemingway’s Biography on page 1094. • • • How is he characterized? What do you think influenced his writing? What made him famous? What historical events was he a part of? Name one interesting fact about him!
Letters to soldiers To help pay tribute to all those overseas and serving this country we are going to write to our soldiers: Guidelines: Letters should be addressed Dear Soldier, Dear hero etc… Please thank them, explain what you learned today, tell them about your holiday plans, etc. in the note ( 4 -5 sentences) Signing: Sign as AK Student, First name only, or anonymously. . . do not give personal details (like full names/address etc. )
• What do you know about PTSD? • How do we treat it? • What can be done for soldiers returning from war? • FRONTLINE (coming home): http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic. html? s=frol 02 sfc 3 q 399&continuous=1 • FRONTLINE (psychological impact): http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic. html? s=frol 02 sfc 4 q 399&continuous=1 • CBS: http: //www. cbsnews. com/news/the-war-within-treating-ptsd/
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