BIOGRAPHY:

Nobel Prize winner Hemingway was the most translated foreign writer into Russian during the Soviet Union. Ernest’s works were published in the magazines “30 Days”, “Abroad”, “International Literature”, etc., and in European countries this gifted man was called “the number one master of the pen.”

CHILDHOOD:

The great writer was born in America, on the southwestern coast of Lake Michigan in 1899, not far from the cultural capital of the Midwest – Chicago, in the provincial town of Oak Park. Ernest was the second child of six children. The boy was raised by parents who were far from literary art, but wealthy: the popular performer Mrs. Grace Hall, who had retired from the stage, and Mr. Clarence Edmont Hemingway, who devoted his life to medicine and natural history.

It is worth saying that Miss Hall was a unique woman. Before her marriage, she delighted many cities in the United States with her sonorous voice, but left the singing field due to intolerance to stage light. After leaving, Hall blamed everyone for her failure, but not herself. Having accepted Hemingway’s marriage proposal, this interesting woman lived with him all her life, devoting her time to raising children.

But even after marriage, Grace remained a strange and eccentric young lady. Ernest was born until he was four years old in girls’ dresses and with bows on his head because Mrs. Hemingway wanted a girl, but the second child was a boy.

In his free time, general practitioner Clarence loved to go hiking, hunting and fishing with his son. When Ernest was 3 years old, he got his own fishing rod. Later, childhood impressions associated with nature will be reflected in Hemingway’s stories.

In his youth, Khem (the writer’s nickname) voraciously read classical literature and composed stories. While at school, Ernest made his debut in a local newspaper as a journalist: he wrote notes about past events, concerts and sports competitions.

Although Ernest attended the local Oak Park school, his works often describe northern Michigan, a picturesque place where he went on summer vacation in 1916. After this trip, Ernie wrote a hunting story, “Sepi Zhingan.”

Among other things, the future laureate in literature had excellent sports training: he was fond of football, swimming and boxing, which played a cruel joke on the talented young man. Due to the injury, Hem was practically blind in his left eye and also damaged his left ear. For this reason, in the future the young man was not accepted into the army for a long time.

Ernie wanted to become a writer, but his parents had other plans for their son’s future. Clarence dreamed that his son would follow in his father’s footsteps and graduate from medical school, and Grace wanted to raise a second Schubert or Beethoven, imposing on her child the music lessons he hated. This mother’s whim affected Khem’s studies, as he missed a whole year of compulsory classes, studying the cello every day. “She thought that I had abilities, but I had no talent,” said the elderly writer in the future. After graduating from high school, Ernest, disobeying his parents, did not go to university, but began to master the art of journalism in the city newspaper Kansas The Kansas City Star. At work, police reporter Hemingway encountered such social phenomena as deviant behavior, dishonor, crime and the corruption of women; he visited crime scenes, fires, and visited various prisons. However, this dangerous profession helped Ernest in literature, because he constantly observed the behavior of people and their everyday dialogues, devoid of metaphorical delights.

Literature:

After participating in military battles in 1919, the classic moved to Canada and returned to journalism. His new employer was the editors of the Toronto Star newspaper, which allowed the gifted young man to write materials on any topic. However, not all of the reporter’s works were published. After a quarrel with his mother, Hemingway took things from his native Oak Park and moved to Chicago. There the writer continued to collaborate with Canadian newspapermen and at the same time published notes in the Co-operative Commonwealth.

In 1821, after his marriage, Ernest Hemingway fulfilled his dream and moved to the city of love – Paris. Later, impressions of France will be reflected in the book of memoirs “A holiday that is always with you.”

There he met Sylvia Beach, the eminent owner of the Shakespeare and Company bookstore, which was located not far from the Seine. This woman had enormous influence in the literary circle, because it was she who published James Joyce’s scandalous novel “Ulysses,” which was banned by censors in the United States.

Hemingway also became friends with the famous writer Gertrude Stein, who was wiser and more experienced than Hem and considered him her student all her life. The extravagant woman disdained the creativity of journalists and insisted that Ernie be involved in literary activities as much as possible.

Triumph came to the master of the pen in the fall of 1926 after the publication of the novel “The Sun Also Rises” (“Fiesta”) about the “lost generation.” The main character Jake Barnes (Hemingway’s prototype) fought for his homeland. But during the war he received a serious injury, which forced him to change his attitude towards life and women. Therefore, his love for Lady Brett Ashley was platonic in nature, and Jake healed his mental wounds with the help of alcohol. In 1929, Hemingway wrote the immortal novel “A Farewell to Arms!”, which to this day is included in the required list of literature for study in schools and higher educational institutions. In 1933, the master composed a collection of short stories, “The Winner Takes Nothing,” and in 1936, Esquire magazine published Hemingway’s famous work “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” which tells about the writer Harry Smith, who is looking for the meaning of life while traveling on safari. Four years later, the war work “For Whom the Bell Tolls” was released. In 1949, Ernest moved to sunny Cuba, where he continued to study literature. In 1952 he wrote the philosophical and religious story “The Old Man and the Sea,” for which he was awarded the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes.

Personal life:

The personal life of Ernest Hemingway was so replete with all sorts of events that a whole book would not be enough to describe the adventures of this great writer. For example, the master was a thrill-seeker: at a young age he could “rein in” a bull by participating in a bullfight, and was also not afraid to be alone with a lion.

It is known that Hem adored the company of women and was amorous: as soon as a girl he knew showed her intelligence and graceful manners, Ernest was immediately amazed by her. Hemingway created for himself the image of a certain Marquis de Sade, talking about how he had many mistresses, ladies of easy virtue and black concubines. Whether this is fiction or not, biographical facts say that Ernest really had many chosen ones: he loved everyone, but called each subsequent marriage a huge mistake.

Ernest’s first lover was the lovely nurse Agnes von Kurowski, who treated the writer in the hospital for his wounds during the First World War. It was this light-eyed beauty who became the prototype of Catherine Barkley from the novel “A Farewell to Arms!” Agnes was seven years older than her chosen one and had maternal feelings for him, calling him “baby” in her letters. The young people thought to legitimize their relationship with a wedding, but their plans were not destined to come true, since the flighty girl fell in love with a noble lieutenant. The second chosen one of the literary genius was a certain red-haired pianist Elizabeth Hadley Richardson, who was 8 years older than the writer. She may not have been a beauty like Agnes, but this woman supported Ernest in every possible way in his activities and even gave him a typewriter. After the wedding, the newlyweds moved to Paris, where at first they lived from hand to mouth. Elizabeth gave birth to Hema’s first child, John Hadley Nicanor (“Bumby”).

In France, Ernest often visited restaurants where he enjoyed coffee in the company of his friends. Among his acquaintances was the socialite Lady Duff Twisden, who had high self-esteem and did not disdain strong words. Despite such provocative behavior, Duff enjoyed the attention of men, and Ernest was no exception. However, at that time the young writer did not dare to cheat on his wife. Twisden was later “recast” as Brett Ashley from The Sun Also Rises.

In 1927, Ernest began to become involved with Pauline Pfeiffer, Elisabeth’s friend. Paulina did not value her friendship with the writer’s wife, but on the contrary, she did everything to win someone else’s man. Pfeiffer was pretty and worked for the fashion magazine Vogue. Later, Ernest will say that a divorce from Richardson will be the greatest sin of his entire life: he loved Paulina, but was not truly happy with her. From his second marriage, Hemingway had two children – Patrick and Gregory. The laureate’s third wife was the famous US correspondent Martha Gellhorn. The adventurous blonde loved hunting and was not afraid of difficulties: she often covered important political news happening in the country and did dangerous journalistic work. Having achieved a divorce from Paulina in 1940, Ernest proposes to Martha.

However, soon the newlyweds’ relationship “came apart at the seams,” since Gellhorn was too independent, and Hemingway loved to dominate women. Hemingway’s fourth betrothed was journalist Mary Welsh. This radiant blonde supported Ernest’s talent throughout the marriage, and also helped with publishing efforts, becoming her husband’s personal secretary. In 1947 in Vienna, the 48-year-old writer falls in love with Adriana Ivancic, a girl who is 30 years younger than him. Hemingway was attracted to the white-skinned aristocrat, but Ivancic treated the author of the stories like a father, maintaining friendly relations. Mary knew about her husband’s hobby, but she acted calmly and wisely as a woman, knowing that the fire that arose in Hemingway’s chest could not be extinguished by any means.

Death:

Fate constantly tested Ernest’s resilience: Hemingway survived five accidents and seven catastrophes, and was treated for bruises, fractures and a concussion. He also managed to recover from anthrax, skin cancer and malaria. Shortly before his death, Ernest suffered from hypertension and diabetes, but for a “cure” he was placed in a Mayo psychiatric clinic. The writer’s condition only worsened, and he also suffered from manic paranoia about being watched. These thoughts drove Hemingway crazy: it seemed to him that every room wherever he was was equipped with bugs, and vigilant FBI agents were on his heels everywhere.

The clinic doctors treated the master in the “classical way”, resorting to electroconvulsive therapy. After 13 sessions, therapists made it impossible for Hemingway to write because his vivid memories had been erased by electric shock. The treatment did not help, Ernest plunged deeper into depression and obsessive thoughts, talking about suicide. Returning to Ketchum on July 2, 1961, after being discharged, Ernest, thrown “to the margins of life,” shot himself with a gun.

Interesting Facts:

One dat Ernest made a bet with his friends that he would write the most laconic and touching work in the world. The literary genius managed to win the bet by writing six words on paper:

Ernest was terribly afraid of public speaking, and especially hated giving autographs. But one persistent fan, dreaming of the coveted signature, pursued the writer for 3 months. As a result, Hemingway gave up and wrote the following message:

Before Ernest, Mary Welsh had a husband who did not want to agree to a divorce. So one day an enraged Hemingway put his photo in the toilet and started shooting with a gun. As a result of this spontaneous act, 4 rooms in an expensive hotel were flooded.

Hemingway Quotes:

While sober, make all your drunken promises come true – this will teach you to keep your mouth shut.
Travel only with those you love.
If you can provide even a small service in life, you shouldn’t shy away from it.
Don’t judge a person just by his friends. Remember that Judas had perfect friends.
Look at pictures with an open mind, read books honestly and live as you live.
The best way to know if you can trust someone is to trust them.
Of all the animals, only man knows how to laugh, although he has the least reason for this.
All people are divided into two categories: those with whom it is easy, and just as easy without them, and those with whom it is difficult, but impossible without them.

Bibliography:

“Three Stories and Ten Poems” (1923);
“In Our Time” (1925);
“The Sun Also Rises (Fiesta)” (1926);
“A Farewell to Arms!” (1929);
“Death in the Afternoon” (1932);
“The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (1936);
“To Have and Have Not” (1937);
“For Whom the Bell Tolls” (1940);
“Across the River, in the Shade of the Trees” (1950);
“The Old Man and the Sea” (1952);
“Hemingway, Wild Time” (1962);
“Islands in the Ocean” (1970);
“Garden of Eden” (1986);
“A Collection of Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway” (1987);