Intro:

As the Great World War came to an end, a flood of fictional writers emerged with the war as their primary topic. Amongst these writers was American novelist, Ernest Hemingway (“Modernism”). Through his own unique stylistic choices and personal experience during World War I, Hemingway wrote his novels based on his idea that, “The writer’s job is to tell the truth.” In the sincerity of his writing, readers had the capability to clearly understand the reality of war and its hostility.

The Concept of Modernism:

Previous to World War I, Victorian writers found war to be a heroic topic of beautiful tragedy. After the horrors of the Great World War, however, writers found war to be a subject of the deterioration of man rather than a romantic concept. As a post-war writer, Ernest Hemingway became one of the first American writers to associate himself with what came to be known as the Modernist movement. In literature, Modernism broke the traditional rules of Victorian writing to present a story in a realistic setting (“Modernism”). Hemmingway’s first response to this movement was through the novel, A Farewell to Arms.

Hemingway’s Style of Writing:

Under the influence of Modernism, Hemingway developed a unique style of writing that shaped him into a legacy of American literature. In doing so, he presents his novels through simple sentences and abstract language to convey the surface of his ideas in a direct manner (“Earnest M. Hemingway”). The narrations revealing his fictional work also expresses emotion in a non-sentimental way by ranging from first-person to a dissociated third-person (“Love and War in the Pages of Mr. Hemingway”). The blunt and nearly desensitized prospective of Hemingway’s stories reflects a negative association of war though traumatic experiences which, in turn, causes a calloused character who has lost hope.

The Lost Generation:

Several American writers, including Ernest Hemingway, who wrote of the post-war tragedy, became known as “The Lost Generation.” These novelists depicted the aftermath of psychological trauma in response to the war. In A Farewell to Arms, Frederic Henry negatively copes with his disturbing experience during war through alcohol. “Wine is a grand thing. It makes you forget all the bad” (Hemingway 168). Hemingway’s portrayal of addiction reflects the “lost faith in traditional ideas” due to the war (“The Lost Generation”).

Conclusion:

Earnest Hemingway’s writing style and themes ultimately describe the calamities of war and those whom it affects. Hemingway once said, “Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, it is not a crime.” Hemmingway’s condemnation of war and its negative consequences are reflected heavily in nearly all aspects of his war fiction and continue to inspire readers and writers today.

Works Cited
"Ernest M. Hemingway." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 2014. Web. 20 Jan. 2015. .

Hutchison, Percy. "Love and War in the Pages of Mr. Hemingway." Books. The New York Times, 29 Sept. 1929. Web. 20 Jan. 2014. .

O'Connor, Kate. "Lost Generation." Great Writers Inspire. University of Oxford, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. .

Putnam, Thomas. "Hemingway on War and Its Aftermath." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, 2006. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. .

Rahm, Josh. "Modernism." Literature Periods & Movements. The Literature Network, 2011. Web. 20 Jan. 2015. .