Synopses & Reviews
At the age of twenty-two, Ernest Hemingway wrote his first short story, "Up in Michigan." Seventeen years and forty-eight titles later, he was the undisputed master of the short-story form and the leading American man of letters. The Short Stories, introduced here with a revealing preface by the author, chronicles Hemingway's development as a writer, from his earliest attempts in the chapbook Three Stories and Ten Poems, published in Paris in 1923, to his more mature accomplishments in Winner Take Nothing. Originally published in 1938 along with The Fifth Column, this collection premiered "The Capital of the World" and "Old Man at the Bridge," which derive from Hemingway's experiences in Spain, as well as "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," which figure among the finest of Hemingway's short fictions.
Synopsis
The definitive short story collection that established Ernest Hemingway's literary reputation, originally published in 1938. Ernest Hemingway is a cultural icon--an archetype of rugged masculinity, a romantic ideal of the intellectual in perpetual exile--but, to his countless readers, Hemingway remains a literary force much greater than his image. Of all of Hemingway's canonical fictions, perhaps none demonstrate so forcefully the power of the author's revolutionary style as his short stories. In classics like "Hills like White Elephants," "The Butterfly in the Tank," and "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," Hemingway shows us great literature compressed to its most potent essentials. We also see, in Hemingway's short fiction, the tales that created the legend: these are stories of men and women in love and in war and on the hunt, stories of a lost generation born into a fractured time.
The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway presents many of Hemingway's most famous classics alongside rare and unpublished material: Hemingway's early drafts and correspondence, his dazzling out-of-print essay on the art of the short story, and two marvelous examples of his earliest work--his first published story, "The Judgment of Manitou," which Hemingway wrote when still a high school student, and a never-before-published story, written when the author was recovering from a war injury in Milan after WWI. This work offers vital insight into the artistic development of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. It is a perfect introduction for a new generation of Hemingway readers, and it belongs in the collection of any true Hemingway fan.
About the Author
Ernest Hemingway ranks as the most famous of twentieth-century American writers; like Mark Twain, Hemingway is one of those rare authors most people know about, whether they have read him or not. The difference is that Twain, with his white suit, ubiquitous cigar, and easy wit, survives in the public imagination as a basically, lovable figure, while the deeply imprinted image of Hemingway as rugged and macho has been much less universally admired, for all his fame. Hemingway has been regarded less as a writer dedicated to his craft than as a man of action who happened to be afflicted with genius. When he won the Nobel Prize in 1954, Time magazine reported the news under Heroes rather than Books and went on to describe the author as "a globe-trotting expert on bullfights, booze, women, wars, big game hunting, deep sea fishing, and courage." Hemingway did in fact address all those subjects in his books, and he acquired his expertise through well-reported acts of participation as well as of observation; by going to all the wars of his time, hunting and fishing for great beasts, marrying four times, occasionally getting into fistfights, drinking too much, and becoming, in the end, a worldwide celebrity recognizable for his signature beard and challenging physical pursuits.
Table of Contents
CONTENTSTHE SHORT HAPPY LIFE OF FRANCIS MACOMBER
THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO
OLD MAN AT THE BRIDGE
UP IN MICHIGAN
ON THE QUAI AT SMYRNA
INDIAN CAMP
THE DOCTOR AND THE DOCTOR'S WIFE
THE END OF SOMETHING
THE THREE-DAY BLOW
THE BATTLER
A VERY SHORT STORY
SOLDIER'S HOME
THE REVOLUTIONIST
MR. AND MRS. ELLIOT
CAT IN THE RAIN
OUT OF SEASON
CROSS-COUNTRY SNOW
MY OLD MAN
BIG TWO-HEARTED RIVER: PART I
BIG TWO-HEARTED RIVER: PART II
THE UNDEFEATED
IN ANOTHER COUNTRY
HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS
THE KILLERS
CHE TI DICE LA PATRIA?
FIFTY GRAND
A SIMPLE ENQUIRY
TEN INDIANS
A CANARY FOR ONE
AN ALPINE IDYLL
A PURSUIT RACE
TODAY IS FRIDAY
BANAL STORY
NOW I LAY ME
AFTER THE STORM
A CLEAN, WELL-LIGHTED PLACE
THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
GOD REST YOU MERRY, GENTLEMEN
THE SEA CHANGE
A WAY YOU'LL NEVER BE
THE MOTHER OF A QUEEN
ONE READER WRITES
HOMAGE TO SWITZERLAND
A DAY'S WAIT
A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DEAD
WINE OF WYOMING
THE GAMBLER, THE NUN, AND THE RADIO
FATHERS AND SONS
Reading Group Guide
Reading Group Guide for The Short Stories Introduction
In 1923 Ernest Hemingway published his first three short stories, "Up in Michigan" (p. 81), "Out of Season" (p. 171), and "My Old Man" (p. 189), in a slim volume entitled Three Stories and Ten Poems. Fifteen years later he published a collection of forty-nine stories, and by then he was the undisputed master of the short story form. Of The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway Clifton Fadiman said in The New Yorker, "I don't see how you can go through this book without being convinced that Hemingway is the best short story writer...using English."
"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"
What are the causes of Francis Macomber's sudden conversion from fear to "the wild unreasonable happiness that he had never known before" (p. 32), what are the implications of his conversion for his and Margot's future, and what are the unanticipated consequences of Margot's killing Francis (p.36-37)?
"The Snows of Kilimanjaro"
How is neglect, the reason for Harry's gangrenous infection, also the cause of a second death for which Harry, the artist, expresses even greater regret (pp 59-60)? What does Harry mean when he says he has "traded" on his talent, and what were the specific temptations to which he admits succumbing at the cost of his artistic integrity?
"Big Two-Hearted River"
Is "Big Two-Hearted River" a story about Nick's testing and controlling his fragile emotions as well as about his setting up camp and catching trout? Why are the "known" and "unknown" so important to Nick, and why does he believe "the fishing would be tragic" in the swamp (p. 231)?
"A Clean Well-Lighted Place"
What does the old waiter reveal when he says he does not like to close up each night "because there may be someone who needs the café" or "a light for the night" (p. 382)? What is the "nothing" or "nada" that he, like the old man, "knew too well" (p. 383), and how could a clean, well-lighted café sometimes lessen "nada's" effect?
"The Killers"
Is "The Killers" "an initiation story"? If so, to what is Nick Adams introduced? After Nick asks killer Max, "What's it all about" (p. 286), "it" appears very often (pp. 286-289), developing meaning incrementally in Nick's growing awareness. What does "it" mean by the time we read George's final line, "Well...you better not think about it" (p. 289)? What is implied by the "wall" to which Ole turns after Nick's warning?
After Reading the Stories
Your group might wish to read other stories from the Hemingway collection which focus upon similar concerns or themes found in the stories listed above. Marital tension and incompatibility are highlighted in "Cat in the Rain," "Out of Season," and with subtle irony in "A Canary for One." Because Nick in "Big Two-Hearted River" is often assumed to be a returning war veteran, "Soldier's Home" serves as an excellent companion piece. "Indian Camp" (p. 89), "The Battler" (p. 127), and "Ten Indians" are Nick Adams "initiation" stories and will complement "The Killers." The importance of the artist's getting the work done, the subject of "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," is a dominant concern throughout Hemingway's fiction and more strongly emphasized in his posthumous novel The Garden of Eden than in any of the other short stories. The very brief story, "The Sea Change" however, (p. 397), should be read first as a stepping stone to that novel.