Prof.dr.

Rodica Mihaila
Curs 3, An III
2011
Instances of Modernism: Hemingway, Dos Passos
Hemingway 1!""#1"$1%
I.--Another instance of modernist experiment (within the traditional short story and noel
form!, different from the aestheticism of " and #. $et, shares with ". a lot:
-%i&e "it'erald, he writes an ethos, not ()st *oo&s .
-+)rns his life into a legend, he , c)lt)re hero , self-mythologi'er , deli*erately
pro(ects his own personality and life as central to his wor&.
-%ost -eneration
-Modernist experiment. .)t: his wor& defines in relation to the newspaper:
"it'.,/.to Hollywood film. H,red)ctionist0 ",aestheticism
-eneral remar&s: H,a realist with moral and ethical preocc)pations
Americanism: importance of experience (moment of tr)th!1his wor& grows in
cl)sters of related experience
II.1.iography
, *orn 2)ly 34 , 4566 - 7a& Par& ( 8hicago s)*)r*! , father-physician , mother - opera
singer
, played foot*all , *oxed 0 fisherman , h)nter ( father9s s)icide in 4635 !
, reporter - :ansas 8ity ;tar
, 4645 -Italy , am*)lance drier ( wo)nded : A "arewell to Arms !0 on the +oronto ;tar
, 4634 - Paris - a foreign correspondent for the ;tar
- he met gertr)de ;tein , <'ra Po)nd , "ord Madox "ord , ;cott
"it'gerald
- the idol image of the self : energy , am*ition , o*serer , seemingly
emotionless , tightly s)ppressed emotionla force , co)rage , strea&s of
cr)elty ( wea&ness incited his saagery! , s)icidal moments and
o)t*)rsts of cr)elty
, 463= - 4
st
*oo& : &hree '(ories and &en Poems , In )ur &ime , &he 'un Also Rises-
a isionary >)ality- reealed an age to itself
, 4636 - A *arewell (o Arms - ( a s)ccess ! , "rederic& Henry and 8atherine .ar&ley
, 46=3 - ;pain - +ea(h in (he Af(ernoon # .)llfighting , h)nting and fishing
, 46=? - &he ,reen Hills of Africa - exploits on a safari
, 46=@ - ;pain , correspondent -coering the 8iil Aar
-&o Ha-e and Ha-e .o(
- ;pain Aar - &he *if(h Play ( *ad play !
, 46=5 - 'nows of /iliman0aro # snow coered mo)ntain ( 46, @4B feet high , the
highest in Africa !0 western s)mmit called C +he Ho)se of -od C.
, 46DB - *or 1hom (he 2ell &olls
3Aorld Aar II - - a press correspondent - heroic exploits
, 46?4- his health deteriorated
,46?3 - &he )ld Man and (he 'ea
4
3 46?= - two crashes of small plants in Africa in()red his *ac& , heay drin&ing
3 46?D - +he #o*el Pri'e - a great p)*lic fig)re
, 46E4 - hospitali'ed for paranoia 0 the day after he was released as c)red , he committed
s)icide
,8l)sters of related experience p.FIIIG= erso
-A. his *oyhood in 7a& Par& Illinois and Michigan woods - loe of sports ( foot*all ,
*oxing! 0 fishing and h)nting 0 father9s loe for o)ter sports
#2. war - 4645 - the Italian front - *adly wo)nded in *oth legs ,
- = months in hospital in Milan A *arewell (o Arms
- (oined the infantry - lie)tenant
- In )ur &ime - collection of stories - stories of initiation - #ic& Adams
- *or 1hom (he 2ell &olls # ;panish war
# C. .)ll-fighting - since 463= , loe for ;pain 4 *ies(a , +ea(h in (he Af(ernoon
- +. .ig -game h)nting ( iolence , to)ghness , tragic intensity! - fictional material after
the first 4B wee& safari in Africa 46==-46=D
- ,reen Hills of Africa - a)to*iographical writing
# 5. ;ea-fishing - 46=D-ret)rned "lorida 0 *o)ght a fishing *oat - the Pilar
&o Ha-e and Ha-e .o( # harry Morgan - the owner of a power*oat ,
sm)ggler of people and li>)or from 8)*a
&he )ld Man and (he 'ea - ;antiago and the merlin
- a para*le of man9s pathetic str)ggle with the hostile )nierse
- a parallel with Mo*y Dic& - witho)t the philosophical implications 0
the eil within o)rseles G destiny
, Insta*ility of his emotional life (parents, wies, homo, paranoia!
, 8rippling wo)nd, physical wo)nd (#ic& Adams, 2a&e, "rederic& Henry, 8antwill! H
, Deterioration of his health. Paranoia (46E4!-s)icide li&e his father in 35. Homosex)al
drie0 hatred of women0 co)rage and cr)elty, lies, trechero)s (Mary Aelsh Hemingway:
IHow It AasJ-?4!
III1+he world of his fiction: iolent nad *r)tal, fail)res, fear and despair (metaphysical
despair1<xistentialist , nada, nothingness. +he power to end)re with dignity, to ma&e
moral choices
IF1+hemes: rec)rrent theme of death1extreme limit of experience: %oe, co)rage,
loneliness, end)rance. 8iteste de la #o*el Pri'e despre loneliness.
F. 8haracter: man alone in the face of nothingness, meaningless world . #o past, no
f)t)re. #o coward. +eaches the lesson of end)rance. ;ome ideal of the self, loyalty to a
code. Fiolence , the threat of nothingness (8onrad! . He stands )nder the shadow of r)inG
the disintegration of the self
FI. #arratie strategies,
-+wo forms of the stories: of initiation ( the yo)th discoers the world ! and of
the test ( the man who thin&s he &nows the secret is set in a cr)cial sit)ation!
Acc)m)lation of *asic str)ct)ral )nites Hmoments of physical perception --corresponding
to moments of tr)th (AhitmanK o*(ectiity dar si limitation,no transcendence!
3
-+he red)ctie principle-plot, --leaing-o)t strategy
FII. ;tyle
His modernis( e67erimen(:
a. at formal leel--Po)nd: IMa&e it #ew J,0
*. *. nothingness, nada ,Aaste %and (existentialist!
- the h)man *eing is alone in a hostile )nierse
- the *)siness of salation is red)ced to end)rance , to finding ways of
coping with dignity
- the drama of confrontation is always directed o)twardly , not inwardly
- oersimplification- red)ced to the Cgrace to end)re99
- no C open roadC , 9 on passage to IndiaC li&e in Ahitman - no
transcendence
4. H. technical or stylistic experiment within the traditional short story and noel
forms. He relates this with the c)ltiation of a set of masc)line al)es, th)s
)pdating the traditional noel in his IHemingway hero.J
3. ;tyle , master of a deli*erately impoerished style, *are, simple syntax, a
tacit)rn style relying on implication, eeryday in oca*)lary . Differs from:
"it' K #a*o&o ,masters of the ornate, romantic, gorgeo)s , poetic,
mainly descriptie prose tradition, oer-*lown style, oer-statement.
He creates sym*olic frames that replaces the stream of conscio)sness
thro)gh interior monolog)e: ex. Lain, cold, m)d
Integrity of small )nits , moments of tr)th - no)n or er*al no)ns , as
e>)ialents of images. +he er* is minimal and the ad(ectie is rep)diated.
<xperience *eing a se>)ence- the style *ecomes a series of simple
declaratie sentences G or com*ined in a compo)nd .
;hort sentences lin&ed *y CandC - no hierarchy of al)es
2o)rnalistic practice - no adornment , an eye for detail , only present - no
past and no f)t)re
=. +echni>)e of %eaing-7)t (no war in "arewell to/!. Led)ctie techni>)es
D. Difference *et. the newspaper story and the news style modernist story: a.
defines the p)*lic realm, the o)ter world of fact (set of shared concerns!0 *.
increasingly personal ,episodic, lin&ed to the priate sphere (personal
memory! ex. 8itesc din In 7)r +ime ("isher!
?. IA machine-age aestheticJ , as in modernist architect)re which challenges
ornament, false materials and historical sim)lation in faor of simple, modern
materials (steel, glass, cement!. "isher: the same aesthetic in H.: narratie
simplicity, tape-recorded dialog)es witho)t comment or description (e'i
"arewell!
E. H. see&s in sit)ation - the root certit)de of life and in sensation - the root of
&nowledge
&H5 AM5RICA.I'M
- in many respects , the world saw in Hemingway a typical American -
his fame rested on this image , no matter whether it was right or wrong
=
- the c)lt of experience , of co)rage
- the pragmatic iew of art- his writing is reass)rance , personal
confirmation , therape)tic - the idea of the artist as a spirit)al leader
M5RI&' 8
- simplicity and nat)ralness
- a master narrator - his stories point sim)ltaneo)sly to the concreteness
and the )niersal and metaphysical aspects of personal experience
- narratie strategy - relies on the str)ct)ral principle of selectie
o*seration of h)man perceptions
- the principle of red)ction - the determina*le and
irred)ci*le comprehension
- concentration on s)*(ect , place , mood
9IMI&A&I).' 4
- incapa*le of dealing with great tracts of experience
- had only one *asic theme. He did not explore ery deeply the dramatic
and the moral implications of his theme
- no real interest in character ( see his loe stories !
- rep)diation of history and anti-intellect)alism ( all his stories end
>)ic&ly . +he loer is li&e in Poe , in loe with death!
- the story has no past and no f)t)re - it is li&e an archetypal moment
o)tside time and society0
- only one hero - the self 0 the others are shadows
- his art is essentially lyric , noy dramatic
- it depends on s)ccess on precision , coherence in str)ct)re , intensity
and p)rity of emotional effect
- Parallel : Poe - H. -*oth aimed at intensity of emotional effect
- tightness of technical control
D