As part of your Ernest Hemingway unit, we will be
reading and studying several of his stories.

Use this page to learn about each story, and return to it later as needed.

First, let's look at the author's life and writing style.

Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1899. He didn't stay long, though. At the age of 19, he joined a unit of Italian ambulance drivers in World War I. During his life, Hemingway spent siginificant time in France, Italy, Key West, Cuba, China, and Africa. Two years before his death, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where he would eventually die in the front entrance foyer.

  • Feature 1
  • Feature 2
  • Feature 3
  • Feature 4
  • Feature 5
  • Feature 6

Here are some highlights from Hemingway's life.

Paris, circa 1924; Source: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

Post-war Paris

After being wounded in World War I, Hemingway married Hadley Richardson in 1921. Working as a foreign correspondent, they spent significant time in Paris, where Hemingway joined a group of American ex-patriates and wrote the short story collection In Our Times and the novel, The Sun Also Rises.

Ernest Hemingway with Pauline Pfeiffer and his Children, Bimini, Bahamas, 1935

Florida & Beyond

In 1927, Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer; they spent much of their time in Key West, Florida. During these years, Hemingway deep-sea fished in the Keys, went on safari in the Serengeti, and hunted in Wyoming. He would publish the short story collection Men Without Women and the World War I novel A Farewell to Arms.

Ernest Hemingway with film cameraman, Joris Ivens, and two soldiers during the Spanish Civil War. 1937-1938

The Spanish Civil War

During the later 1930s, Hemingway traveled to Spain to report the Spanish Civil War while his marriage suffered. This was not his first time in Spain; Hemingway's fascination with bull-fighting began in Pamplona in the 1920s. In 1940 he married journalist Martha Gellhorn, a month after publishing his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Ernest Hemingway sitting near a stream and writing, near San Ildefonso, Spain. 1959

The Great War & Cuba

During the early 1940s, Hemingway reported in Europe on World War II, including the D-Day invasion of Normandy. In 1946 he married his forth wife, Mary Welsh, and they moved to Cuba. Here he would write his most famous novel, The Old Man and the Sea. In 1959, they moved to Ketchum, Idaho, where two years later Hemingway took his own life.

Key aspects of Hemingway's writing style.

Journalistic Style

Hemingway is known for his short, blunt sentence structures. His first job was for a newspaper, The Kansas City Star, where he learned their Copy Style manual. Rules like "Use short sentences" and "Be positive, not negative" now make Hemingway's stories his own. Watch this video for more.

Iceberg Principle

Only one-eighth of an iceberg's mass is visible from the air; the rest of the mass is below the sea's surface. To Hemingway, a good writer can cut seven-eigths of his story and the story can still be told. For this reason, Hemingway's stories require readers to read between the lines.

The Hemingway Hero

Because Hemingway's protagonists often share similar qualities, critics refer to the Hemingway hero as one who experiences a moment of truth where the hero faces life or death, shows grace under pressure (fancy phrase for courage) and may end up destroyed but not defeated.

Ready to see the first story?

The next several pages will explore each of the stories in the unit, introducing their characters and settings, along with central questions to consider while reading.