Hello Friends,
This blog is my response to the task assigned to us by our teacher Dr. HeenaMa'am Zala, to find some interesting things or general characteristics found in the novels of Ernest Hemingway.
Let's see some interesting facts of both the novels.
Full Title The Old Man and the Sea
Author Ernest Hemingway
Type Of Work Novella
Genre Parable; tragedy
Language English
Time And Place Written 1951, Cuba
Date Of First Publication 1952
Publisher Scribner’s
Narrator The novella is narrated by an anonymous narrator.
Point Of View Sometimes the narrator describes the characters and events objectively, that is, as they would appear to an outside observer. However, the narrator frequently provides details about Santiago’s inner thoughts and dreams.
Tone Despite the narrator’s journalistic, matter-of-fact tone, his reverence for Santiago and his struggle is apparent. The text affirms its hero to a degree unusual even for Hemingway.
Tense Past
Setting (Time) Late 1940s
Setting (Place) A small fishing village near Havana, Cuba; the waters of the Gulf of Mexico
Protagonist Santiago
Major Conflict For three days, Santiago struggles against the greatest fish of his long career.
Rising Action After eighty-four successive days without catching a fish, Santiago promises his former assistant, Manolin, that he will go “far out” into the ocean. The marlin takes the bait, but Santiago is unable to reel him in, which leads to a three-day struggle between the fisherman and the fish.
Climax The marlin circles the skiff while Santiago slowly reels him in. Santiago nearly passes out from exhaustion but gathers enough strength to harpoon the marlin through the heart, causing him to lurch in an almost sexual climax of vitality before dying.
Falling Action Santiago sails back to shore with the marlin tied to his boat. Sharks follow the marlin’s trail of blood and destroy it. Santiago arrives home toting only the fish’s skeletal carcass. The village fishermen respect their formerly ridiculed peer, and Manolin pledges to return to fishing with Santiago. Santiago falls into a deep sleep and dreams of lions.
Themes The honor in struggle, defeat, and death; pride as the source of greatness and determination
Motifs Crucifixion imagery; life from death; the lions on the beach
Symbols The marlin; the shovel-nosed sharks
Foreshadowing Santiago’s insistence that he will sail out farther than ever before foreshadows his destruction; because the marlin is linked to Santiago, the marlin’s death foreshadows Santiago’s own destruction by the sharks.
Full Title For Whom the Bell Tolls
Author Ernest Hemingway
Type Of Work Novel
Genre Tragedy; historical novel; war novel; love story
Language English sprinkled with Spanish words and phrases. Many sections, especially dialogue and interior monologue, are written as though they have been translated word-for-word from Spanish to English and retain the structure and cadence of the Spanish language.
Time And Place Written March 1939–August 1940; Cuba, Key West, Wyoming, and Idaho
Date Of First Publication October 21, 1940
Publisher Scribner’s
Narrator Anonymous third-person
Point Of View The narrative is written in a detached, journalistic style that focuses on what the characters can see, hear, or smell. This description is often restricted to what Robert Jordan can see or hear. On a few occasions, most notably when introducing Pablo confiding to his horse and introducing Karkov’s rescue of Andrés and Gomez in prison, the narrator comments on the unfolding action.
Tone The tone is detached, solemn, and world-weary, especially when the narrative focuses on the perspective of Robert Jordan. There are recurring elements of dramatic irony (resulting from a discrepancy between what the characters know and what we as readers know) as characters fighting for the Republican side express optimism about the outcome of the war.
Tense Immediate past
Setting (Time) Three days during the last week of May 1937, from Saturday afternoon to Tuesday midday; along with lengthy flashbacks to earlier episodes in the lives of different characters
Setting (Place) The Guadarrama mountain range in Spain; several flashbacks are set in a variety of places in Montana and throughout Spain
Protagonist Robert Jordan
Major Conflict As Robert Jordan and a small band of guerrilla fighters prepare to blow up a bridge with their limited resources and manpower, Robert Jordan and Pablo struggle for authority over the small band of guerrillas. Meanwhile, Robert Jordan and Maria cope with the pitfalls of falling in love during wartime.
Rising Action Robert Jordan arrives at Pablo’s camp, convinces the band members to help him fulfill his mission, and falls in love with Maria. He enlists the aid of nearby guerrilla leader El Sordo and clashes with Pablo. Snow falls. A band of Fascists attacks and slaughters El Sordo’s men. Robert Jordan sends a dispatch to General Golz recommending that the Republican offensive be canceled. Pablo leaves the group and steals some of Robert Jordan’s explosives.
Climax Pablo returns. Andrés delivers the dispatch too late, and the Republican offensive is not canceled. Robert Jordan and the guerrilla band blow up the bridge.
Falling Action Four people, including Robert Jordan, die or are fatally wounded. Pablo leads the others away, presumably to safety into the mountains.
Themes The loss of innocence in war; the value of human life; romantic love as salvation
Motifs Rabbits and hares; the forest floor; signs and omens; suicide
Symbols Planes, tanks, and mortars; absinthe
Foreshadowing Robert Jordan’s intuition that Pablo will be a danger to the bridge operation; Pilar’s consternation at what she reads in Robert Jordan’s palm; Agustín’s warning to Robert Jordan to pay attention to his packs; Pilar’s sense of foreboding as she watches Pablo after the men swear allegiance to her; Robert Jordan’s worry about the tracks that El Sordo may have left when the snowstorm stops at night; Pilar’s lengthy description of the smell of death.
☆Last Words of Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway: “Goodnight my kitten.” Spoken to his wife before he killed himself.
Hemingway working on his book For Whom the Bell Tolls at the Sun Valley Lodge, Idaho, in December 1939
☆ Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, journalist, and sportsman. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his adventurous lifestyle and his public image brought him admiration from later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short-story collections, and two nonfiction works. Three of his novels, four short-story collections, and three nonfiction works were published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature.
Hemingway maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida (in the 1930s) and in Cuba (in the 1940s and 1950s). He almost died in 1954 after plane crashes on successive days, with injuries leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho where, in mid-1961, he died by suicide with a shotgun.
1,461 Words.
Works Cited
1. "Ernest Hemingway." - Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 12 May 2001, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway. Accessed 5 June 2021.
2. "For Whom The Bell Tolls: Key Facts." SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/lit/belltolls/facts/.
3. "The Old Man and the Sea: Key Facts." SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/lit/oldman/facts/.