Hemingway and Modernishm Essay Sample

Modernists were writers that broke off from many traditional criterions of composing during the station World War I clip period of the Lost Generation. “T. S. Eliot stated that. the familial manner of telling a literary work. which assumed a comparatively consistent and stable societal order. could non harmonize with the ‘immense view of futility and lawlessness which is modern-day history. ’ Major plants of modernist fiction. so. overthrow the basic conventions of earlier prose fiction by interrupting up the narrative continuity. going from the standard ways of stand foring characters. and go againsting traditional sentence structure and coherency of narrative linguistic communication by the usage of watercourse of consciousness and other advanced manners of narration” ( Abrams A Glossary of Literary Footings ) . In The Sun Besides Rises. Ernest Hemingway uses subject. construction. manner. symbols and metaphors to “break up the narrative continuity. ” “depart from standard ways of stand foring characters. ” “violate the traditional sentence structure and coherency of narrative linguistic communication. ” and represents an “immense view of futility and lawlessness. ” Because Hemingway uses these methods to interrupt away from traditional criterions. he is hence a modernist.

One of the facets of modernism is “departing from standard ways of stand foring characters. ” In The Sun Besides Rises. Hemingway breaks off from the standard representations of characters. most drastically seen in the character of Lady Brett Ashley. First away. this adult female has a man’s name. ab initio proposing that she is non a ‘normal’ lady. Brett besides has traits that are non by and large feminine. but instead masculine. For illustration. Brett is highly independent. and she tends to hold a great trade of power over every adult male she meets. She is ever the dominant 1 in her relationships. and ne’er commits to any one adult male. instead she prefers independency. She is pull stringsing and causes tenseness between other work forces. much like traditional male characters. Unlike traditional female functions. she is non submissive or ladylike. instead she goes after what she wants ; Brett is the chaser. non the 1 to wait around for what she desires. One illustration of this can be found in chapter XVI. when Brett is squealing to Jake that she needs to hold Romero. a immature Spanish toreador. She says to Jake. “I’m a toast. I’m mad about the Romero male child. I’m in love with him. I think…I’ve got to make something. I’ve got to make something I truly want to. I’ve lost my ego regard. ” “What do you desire me to make? ” ( Jake )

“Come on. ” Brett said. “Let’s spell and happen him. ”… “Ask him to come over and hold a drink. ” ( Brett )
“Not yet. He’ll come over. ” ( Jake )
“I can’t expression at him. ”
“He’s Nice to look at. ” I said.
“I’ve ever done merely what I wanted. ” ( Brett )
“I know. ” ( Hemingway. 183-184 )

This is a perfect illustration of how Hemingway “departs from standard ways of stand foring characters. ” in that Brett is displayed as a adult female who acts unlike a traditional female character. In this case. Brett is more concerned with acquiring Romero. the 19 twelvemonth old Spanish toreador. than she is about anything else. She admits that she ever gets what she wants. giving readers textual cogent evidence that Hemingway is so a modernist. as his manner of stand foring the chief female in this novel is more masculine than feminine. a representation that is clearly non traditional.

Another feature of modernists is that they “violate the traditional sentence structure and coherency of narrative linguistic communication. ” The full manner of Hemingway’s novel represents the ‘iceberg theory of minimal art. ’ Hemingway demonstrates this minimalist theory in that he merely gives readers the “tip of the iceberg” . so to talk. Alternatively of depicting characters or events in a elaborate. complex mode. Hemingway gives off as small information as possible in words. but underneath the surface of this minimum manner of composing ballads an full iceberg of significance and deepness. For case. Hemingway’s character. Jake. was wounded in World War 1. His lesion unluckily rendered him impotent. However. one must read between the lines to even come to the decision that his lesion has to make with his inability to reproduce. Hemingway gives really small to no information refering to the beginning of his lesion or the existent lesion itself. Alternatively. the full novel uses black wit to cite his sexual inability. The best illustration can be found on the last page of the novel. when Brett says to Jake. “Oh Jake. ” Brett said. “We could hold had such a blasted good clip together. ” Ahead was a mounted police officer in khaki directing traffic. He raised his wand. The auto slowed all of a sudden pressing Brett against me. “Yes. ” I said. “Isn’t it reasonably to believe so? ” ( Hemingway. 247 )

These four lines may look fiddling upon their first reading. However. Hemingway packed these last four lines with significance. utilizing the iceberg theory of minimal art. and “violating the traditional sentence structure and coherency of narrative linguistic communication. ” Unlike other writers of the period. like Charles Dickens for illustration. Hemingway does non compose long complex sentences that verbally province their actual significance. but instead he writes in short sentences and duologue without textually saying the significance. but leting room for the reader to chew over. In the illustration above. the elevation of the wand represents a phallic symbol. stressing Jake’s powerlessness until the last words of the novel. These last words carry so much weight and significance. despite their minimalist construction. turn outing the iceberg theory and the misdemeanor of coherency of the linguistic communication. Another illustration of the misdemeanor of traditional sentence structure can be found when Jake goes to the cathedral to pray.

After he prays for a few things. he wonders. “I wondered if there was anything else I might pray for. and I thought I would wish to hold some money. so I prayed that I would do a batch of money. and so I started to believe how I would do it. and thought of doing money reminded me of the count. and I started inquiring approximately where he was. and repenting I hadn’t seen him since that dark in Montmartre. and about something amusing Brett told me about him. and as all the clip I was kneeling with my brow on the wood in forepart of me. and was believing of myself praying. I was a small ashamed. and regretted that I was such a icky Catholic. but realized there was nil I could make about it. at least for a piece. and possibly ne’er. but that anyway it was a expansive faith. and I merely wished I felt spiritual and possibly I would the following clip ; and so I was out in the hot Sun on the stairss of the cathedral. and the indexs and the pollex of my right manus were still damp. and I felt them dry in the Sun. ” ( Hemingway. 97 )

If nil else. this extract from The Sun Besides Rises perfectly proves the “violation of the traditional sentence structure and coherency of narrative linguistic communication. ” This extract. although 12 lines. is merely a individual sentence. It is an illustration of watercourse of consciousness. which is a literary manner that presents a character’s random flow of ideas as they occur. Stream of consciousness does non happen in the plants of writers like Dickens. but instead is a modernist construct.

Wordss of modernist fiction represent an “immense view of futility and lawlessness. ” What better an illustration of futility than a adult male. who is passionately in love with a adult female. yet can non be with her because of his inability to carry through her desires. The one thing Jake wants in life is to be with Brett. yet his war lesion has rendered him impotent. and therefore he is unable to allow Brett her biggest want and he is left experiencing futile. Futility is a major subject presented throughout the full novel. As people in the Lost Generation. the work forces and adult females in The Sun Besides Rises are all seeking for something more to their life. Their lives consist of imbibing. traveling to dinner. socialising with friends. kiping with whomever. imbibing some more. going. and imbibing once more. The inordinate ingestion of intoxicant is one symbol of the hurting these characters are seeking to get away. Their lives are ineffectual. and Jake’s life is the prototype of futility as his one great desire will ne’er be fulfilled. As seen in the 2nd illustration mentioned above. phallic symbols are used throughout the class of the novel to badger Jake’s powerlessness and ineffectual desires.

The symbol of the wand being raised in the last few sentences of the book merely dramatizes the fact that Jake will ne’er accomplish his one want. Brett. proposing that his whole life consists of futility. as do the lives of the other members of the Lost Generation. Almost every one of Hemingway’s characters lives a ineffectual life. with no existent passion or intent. The lone true character we see with a passion or intent is Pedro Romero. the immature Spanish toreador. Romero serves as a foil to Jake and his friends because Romero did non fight in the war. and therefore is non damaged by its annihilating effects. His character merely dramatizes the futility of the others’ lives. Thus. unlike other authors of the clip. Hemingway presents this futility as a major subject in The Sun Besides Rises. seeking to realistically exemplify the ineffectual lives of the members of the Lost Generation. Because he strays from traditional authorship criterions and represents an “immense view of futility and anarchy” . Hemingway is hence a modernist.

To “depart from standard ways of stand foring characters. ” to “violate the traditional sentence structure and coherency of narrative linguistic communication. ” and to stand for an “immense view of futility and anarchy” is to dramatically traverse the boundaries of and interrupt away from traditional authorship criterions. This is precisely what Ernest Hemingway did in his novel. The Sun Besides Rises. Alternatively of following with traditional criterions of authors like Charles Dickens in The Tale of Two Cities. Hemingway represented his characters in unconventional ways and he hence subverted conventions of both work forces and adult females. taking a more realistic position on the members of the Lost Generation. Along with stand foring characters untraditionally. Hemingway cuts the traditional. elaborate. complex sentences of other authors into short duologue and ideas. utilizing the iceberg theory of minimal art. He frequently narrates in thought signifier. in lists. or in conversation. and interrupts the coherency of the narrative linguistic communication. Third. he presents futility as an overbearing subject to the lives of all the members of the Lost Generation. utilizing Jake’s life as the prototype of futile. Because he incorporates all of these elements into his writing of The Sun Besides Rises. Ernest Hemingway is a modernist.