Ernest Hemingway was an American writer who won the Pulitzer Prize
(1953) and the Nobel Prize in Literature (1954) for his novel The Old
Man and the Sea, which was made into a 1958 film
Der alte Mann und das Meer (1958).
He was born into the hands of his physician father. He was the second
of six children of Dr. Clarence Hemingway and Grace Hemingway (the
daughter of English immigrants). His father's interests in history and
literature, as well as his outdoorsy hobbies (fishing and hunting),
became a lifestyle for Ernest. His mother was a domineering type who
wanted a daughter, not a son, and dressed Ernest as a girl and called
him Ernestine. She also had a habit of abusing his quiet father, who
suffered from diabetes, and Dr. Hemingway eventually committed suicide.
Ernest later described the community in his hometown as one having
"wide lawns and narrow minds".
In 1916 Hemingway graduated from high school and began his writing
career as a reporter for The Kansas City Star. There he adopted his
minimalist style by following the Star's style guide: "Use short
sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be
positive, not negative." Six months later he joined the Ambulance Corps
in WWI and worked as an ambulance driver on the Italian front, picking
up human remains. In July 1918 he was seriously wounded by a mortar
shell, which left shrapnel in both of his legs causing him much pain
and requiring several surgeries. He was awarded the Silver Medal. Back
in America, he continued his writing career working for Toronto Star .
At that time he met Hadley Richardson and the two married in 1921.
In 1921, he became a Toronto Star reporter in Paris. There he published
his first books, called "Three Stories and Ten Poems" (1923), and "In
Our Time" (1924). In Paris he met
Gertrude Stein, who introduced him to the
circle that she called the "Lost Generation".
F. Scott Fitzgerald,
Thornton Wilder,
Sherwood Anderson and
Ezra Pound were stimulating Hemingway's
talent. At that time he wrote "The Sun Also Rises" (1926), "A Farewell
to Arms" (1929), and a dazzling collection of Forty-Nine stories.
Hemingway also regarded the Russian writers
Lev Tolstoy,
Fyodor Dostoevsky,
Ivan Turgenev and
Anton Chekhov as important influences, and
met Pablo Picasso and other artists
through Gertrude Stein. "A Moveable Feast" (1964) is his classic memoir
of Paris after WWI.
Hemingway participated in the Spanish Civil War and took part in the
D-Day landings during the invasion of France during World War II, in
which he not only reported the action but took part in it. In one
instance he threw three hand grenades into a bunker, killing several SS
officers. He was decorated with the Bronze Star for his action. His
military experiences were emulated in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1940)
and in several other stories. He settled near Havana, Cuba, where he
wrote his best known work, "The Old Man and the Sea" (1953), for which
he won a Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature. This was
adapted as the film
Der alte Mann und das Meer (1958),
for which Spencer Tracy was
nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actor, and
Dimitri Tiomkin received an Oscar for
Best Musical Score.
War wounds, two plane crashes, four marriages and several affairs took
their toll on Hemingway's hereditary predispositions and contributed to
his declining health. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and
insomnia in his later years. His mental condition was exacerbated by
chronic alcoholism, diabetes and liver failure. After an unsuccessful
treatment with electro-convulsive therapy, he suffered severe amnesia
and his physical condition worsened. The memory loss obstructed his
writing and everyday life. He committed suicide in 1961. Posthumous
publications revealed a considerable body of his hidden writings, that
was edited by his fourth wife, Mary, and also by his son Patrick
Hemingway.
