On the Writing Style of Ernest Hemingway 论海明威的写作风格.doc

On the Writing Style of Ernest HemingwayABSTRACTHemingway，a great stylist and one of the most important writers of the 20th century America， is a representative writer of “the Lost Generation”. His colorful life as a game hunter, fisherman and Nobel Prize winner began in the quiet Oak Park, Illinois, July21, 1899. He acquired his fathers enthusiasm - a love of hunting and fishing, and it is that phase of his childhood which forms important impressions and is reflected later in such stories as The Old Man and The Sea and Big Two Hearted River.His influence is world-wide and his distinctive writing style-the “Iceberg Style” even caused a stylistic revolution in the field of literature all over the worldHemingway always tries his best to avoid using kinds of ways to depict things or piling big words and gorgeous adjectivesOn the contrary，he always adopts direct description and short sentences which are precise，laconic，bright and vividHis writing style only serves his particular characters and theme KEY WORDS: iceberg style， writing style，zero ending，code heroes摘 要 海明威是美国二十世纪最重要的作家之一，写作风格具有独特性。他独具匠心的写作风格冰山理论甚至引起全世界文学领域写作风格的变革。 所谓“ 冰山理论”是海明威把自己的写作比作海上漂浮的冰山，用文字表达出来的东西只是海面上的八分之一，而海面以下的八分之七需要读者细心研读文本，才能体会其中的意蕴。 他总是竭尽全力避免过度描绘，堆积词藻；反而经常采用简洁，简明，明了，清晰的短句力图简单描绘。他还将自己做强者的精神品质融入“硬汉”性格，塑造的“硬汉”人物贯穿他创作的各个时期，并形成了一个可辨认的群体特征。海明威笔下的人物的生存方式，即便是死亡，也具有悠久的魅力，优雅的风度。海明威一生的作品中毫无例外地一直表现了这种惨烈的悲壮，硬汉形象在作品中，体现出悲壮的美感,也蕴涵着海明威一生的写照。关键词： 冰山理论，写作风格，悬念式结尾，硬汉OUTLINEIntroductionThe principle of iceberg, which Hemingway adopts in his literary creation, was the main reason attracting readers and critics. The whole art of the principle is concision and profoundity, or saying what you mean in the fewest and clearest words. This essay mainly clarifies the connotation of the two parts of "iceberg"-the one eighth and the seven eighths ; and the relations between them. It emphatically expounds how the writer uses the symbolism technique and how his language reaches a unique impact. In the last part of it, the author of the essay traces back to the key elements forming the principle and gives a pertinent conclusion on the style.I. An introduction to Hemingway and his writing style1.1 Ernest Hemingway 1.2Writing StyleII. Characteristics of Hemingways writing style2.1About simple2.2About narrative2.3About dialogue2.4About Iceberg Theory2.5About Code HeroConclusion Hemingway's writing style is famous. His sentences only give one small bit of the meaning. The rest is implied. One must go very deep beneath the surface to understand the full meaning of his writing. His lean, economical style of writing is striking: sentence short, uncomplicated, but active; words simple but filled with emotion; few modifiers, and great control of pause with action of the story continuing during the sentences.IntroductionErnest Hemingway is a giant of modern literature. Among twentieth-century American fiction writers, his work is most often compared to that of his contemporaries William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Combined with his outstanding short stories, Hemingways four major novelsThe Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), and The Old Man and the Sea (1952)comprise a contribution to modern fiction that is far more substantial than Fitzgeralds and that approximates Faulkners. As or more important, Hemingways style, with its consistent use of short, concrete, direct prose and of scenes consisting exclusively of dialogue, gives his novels and short stories a distinctive accessibility that is immediately identifiable with the author. Owing to the direct character of both his style and his life-style, there is a tendency to cast Hemingway as a “representative” American writer whose work reflects the bold, forthright and rugged individualism of the American spirit in action. Admittedly，Ernest Hemingway was a great stylist and one of the most important writers of the 20th century AmericaIn 1954 Hemingway received the Swedish Academys Nobel Prize for literature，“for his powerful style-forming mastery of the art of modem narration，as most recently evinced in The Old Man and the Sea”His “Iceberg Style” even caused a stylistic revolution in the field of literature all over the worldSo many critics comment on Hemingways “adventure” or “representative of the Lost Generation”The uniqueness of Hemingways “Iceberg Style” will be emphasized in this essayI. An introduction to Hemingway and his Writing StyleHemingway was unique for his writing style，which he described as “Iceberg Principle” in a Paris Review interview after the publication of The Old Man and the SeaAccording to Hemingway, he “always tries to write on the principle of the icebergThere is seven eights of it underwater for every part that showsAnything you know you can eliminate and it only strengthens your icebergIt is the part that does not show”He advocates that a good writer should catch “the whiteness of the bone”，that is to say，one should try his best to use simple and specific words to express the theme or depict the characters when writing a novel1.1 Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 July 2, 1961) was an American author and journalist. His distinctive writing style, characterized by economy and understatement, influenced 20th-century fiction, as did his life of adventure and public image. He produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Hemingway's fiction was successful because the characters he presented exhibited authenticity that resonated with his audience. Many of his works are classics of American literature. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works during his lifetime; a further three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously. Hemingway was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After leaving high school he worked for a few months as a reporter for The Kansas City Star, before leaving for the Italian front to become an ambulance driver during World War I, which became the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms. He was seriously wounded and returned home within the year. In 1922 Hemingway married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives, and the couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent. During his time there he met and was influenced by modernist writers and artists of the 1920s expatriate community known as the "Lost Generation". His first novel, The Sun Also Rises, was published in 1926. After divorcing Hadley Richardson in 1927 Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer; they divorced following Hemingway's return from covering the Spanish Civil War, after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940, but he left her for Mary Welsh after World War II, during which he was present at D-Day and the liberation of Paris. Shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea in 1952 Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in a plane crash that left him in pain or ill-health for much of the rest of his life. Hemingway had permanent residences in Key West, Florida, and Cuba during the 1930s and 1940s, but in 1959 he moved from Cuba to Ketchum, Idaho, where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961.1.2 Writing StyleNo style could be clearer than Hemingways. There was little chance for confusion through too many words or the use of big words. Hemingways style is short, simple, to-the-point, and has the feel of a newspaper article. His sentences are short, and even the longest sentences have a perceived feeling of division that presents “one thing at a time,” all in an appropriate manner.Hemingways style is simple enough to include declarative, subject-verb-object sentences. He doesnt try to become fancy. Over and over again, Hemingway is content to write with this simple structure. In Big Two-Heart River(Part Two), we see lines such as “He found plenty of good grasshoppers”, “They clung to a wet stem”, and “He stepped into the stream”, “The cord went over his shoulder”, “A trout had taken him.” These keep the story moving because each quickly moves from one to the other. Plus, they enforce his style of getting straight to the point.Narrative also plays a role in Hemingways style. Most of his works are written with an omniscient third person narrator. This allows the readers to visualize more of the characters actions and surroundings in a detailed manner that creates a feeling of active participation on the part of the reader. This would be difficult in first person. However, Hemingway is not above using other narrative styles to enhance his writing. In Big Two-Hearted River(Part Two)there is a sudden switch to first person narrative when Nick exclaims “By God, he was a big one. By God, he was the biggest one I ever heard of.” This switch makes the story ,which already allows to feel as if they are in the story with Nick, even more alive and personal. Nick