Ernest Miller Hemingway; one of the most renowned author and journalist of this era, was born on the 21st of July 1899 in Oak Park, Chicago, USA. Born to a simple family, Hemingway worked his way from a reporter for The Kansas City Star then a volunteer for an ambulance unit in World War-I, a journalist in Chicago to a Nobel prize awarded writer who inspired wide range of authors and writers. An institute in himself Hemingway was awarded Nobel Prize for his contribution to literature in 1954.
His writing style became an inspiration for many crime and pulp fiction novels. He wrote in a very distinctive minimalist way. Writing short stories, Hemingway knew how to get the most from the least. With his tightly written prose, he was a master of narration and a brilliant writer. He was not in favor of using emotions. He believed it was easy and useless to do so. Instead he formed sculptures to portray the ‘original feeling’.
His first books include ‘Three stories and Ten Poems’ (1923), ‘In Our Time’ (1924) and ‘The Torrents of Spring’ although his first serious novel and without a doubt the reason of his establishing fame was ‘The Sun also Rises’ (1926) which was later recognized as his greatest work piece. Other major works include ‘Death in the Afternoon’, The Green Hills of Africa’ and ‘To Have and Have Not’.
Though a successful writer, Hemingway never disowned his past. He shared his life experiences on various occasions. He remembered his mother dressing him up as a little girl and the sorry incident of his father taking his own life in 1928. He used his life experiences as inspirations for many of his books. When the United States entered the First World War, Ernest Hemingway volunteered to work in an ambulance unit in the Italian army. His first duty was to visit an explosion site where his unit had to salvage the remains of female workers. He described this unpleasant incident in his book ‘Death in the Afternoon’. Another book ‘A farewell to Arms’ was inspired by a love affair he had with a nurse during his stay at the hospital.
After returning home from the war, Hemingway became a reporter for the American and Canadian newspapers. He was then sent to Europe to cover happenings such as the Greece Revolution. In 1921, he moved to Paris where he worked as an article writer for the ‘Toronto Star’.
Hemingway received the Nobel Prize in 1954. Although he always thought this was given to him in pity due to his obituary notices. Hemingway started going into depression with the deaths of some of his close friends. He was also seriously injured in two successive plane crashes. He received third degree burns while at a fishing expedition shortly after his recovery from the plane crash. Hemingway went through a lot of hurt and depression during the 1950s till his death. Later the doctors believed he had a genetic disease in which a person is prone to suicide due to inherent depression. During his last years his behavior is said to resemble his father’s before he had committed suicide. In 1961 Ernest Hemingway committed suicide.
Hemingway’ distinct influence on literature can be witnessed in continuous tributes and recognitions that followed his demise.