Ernest Hemmingway

Essay by conroy5620 June 2007

download word file, 3 pages 5.0

Minimalist Writing Style of Ernest HemmingwayErnest Hemmingway was the catalyst for the expansions in literature during his time period. Ernest Hemmingway’s original writing style set a new precedence for writers everywhere.

Ernest Hemmingway created a writing style aimed at the common man, who likes to be entertained while reading a story but is not bored with numerous superfluous details. Instead of writing sentences about how beautiful a mountain range was or how much carnage was on the battlefield, Hemmingway was able to portray the picture to the reader by using simple, cut to the chase sentences. What set him a part was his ability to use as little amount of details and still get the reader to picture in their own minds what Hemmingway is trying to portray.

This tactic allows the reader to create their own story in their head while reading his novels. If an author tells the reader exactly what a character looks like, what their wearing or other features, then there is no connection between the reader’s imagination and the story.

With Ernest Hemmingway’s style, the reader is able to feel that connection because the picture in their head is partly of their own creation; therefore, it becomes more believable. By creating a more believable story then the underlying content of the book is more easily conveyed to the reader, which is the purpose of writing these stories in the first place.

Ernest Hemmingway once said that "I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven eighths of it under water for every part that shows."This quote shows the intellectual incite that Ernest Hemmingway possesses. The belief is that you don’t show the reader the entire story. You leave the bottom half of the “ice burg” for the...