Ernest Hemingway is a profound writer who not only won the Nobel Prize, but also inspired American writers who followed him to embrace minimalist forms of expression. Just as Hemingway began writing, other authors also adopted his style, and many books were published with the same type of diction and syntax. Using the iceberg principle (simple text with a deeper meaning), manipulating syntax, and incorporating real-life experiences into his writing, Hemingway creates text to reveal purpose and meaning. Within the stories of In Our Time, his manipulations of suggestion and syntax take a variety of forms, all of which attest to the power of a literary method that seems simple, but is actually only deceptively simple. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayHemingway uses short, concise sentences to express his meaning. He used the iceberg principle that only a small amount of information is obtained when real information is unavailable or hidden. Only one-tenth of an iceberg's mass is visible on the outside, while about nine-tenths of it is not visible in the depths of the water, hence the term "iceberg". Almost all of Hemingway's stories in In Our Time use this principle; however, the short story "Indian Camp" shows this more. This quote, in particular, “'We should take a look at the proud father. It is usually they who suffer most in these little matters,'” (Hemingway 18) illustrates the use of the principle because if you skipped this little detail, you would miss the entire plot of the story. Even the Kansas City Star's “Rules of Writing” – which Hemingway claims he followed – state: “Use short sentences. . . Eliminate every superfluous word.” (lesson notes). This helped shape his style and influence the deeper meaning behind the simple yet rhetorical language. Carlos Baker's "The Way it Was" also indicates that Hemingway used this principle: "And this positive charge, which when released plays not above, but below verbal surfaces, is a phase of the underside of Hemingway's illustrious achievement in prose". .” (Baker 19). This implies that the meaning of the story requires thinking about the topic; as the true meaning is beneath the words on the card. Furthermore, Harry Levin does not fail to mention in his essay “Observations on the Style of Ernest Hemingway,” Hemingway's use of simple language to establish purpose and meaning: “Hemingway believes that a brief spontaneous profanity is more honest than all those grandiloquent slogans. . .” (Levin 7). Instead of trying to sound so clever and whimsical, Levin suggests that Hemingway uses simplistic phrases to enhance his text and produce importance and purpose. Hemingway applies the iceberg principle throughout his writing to create text, emitting meaning. Even in his Nobel Prize speech, Hemingway informs his audience of his simple language: “Things may not be immediately discernible in what a man writes. . . but in the end they are quite clear. (lesson notes) In other words, a writer will not tell the reader the meaning of his work because otherwise it would serve no purpose. For example, an author might simply state, “treat others the way you would like to be treated,” but a person learns by example and is interested in real-life situations, which is what Hemingway essentially does. Hemingway manipulates syntax to express purpose and meaning. Without using vulgar vocabulary, Hemingway still manages to.
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