Ernest Hemingway (Ernest Miller Hemingway): biography and creativity (photo)

Famous throughout the world, the American writer Ernest Hemingway gave the reading part of the world a lot of literary masterpieces. He wrote about what he learned, saw, felt himself. Perhaps, therefore, the works of Ernest Hemingway are so lively, rich and exciting. The basis of his novels and stories was life itself, in all its diversity. Simplicity of presentation, brevity of formulations and variety of illusions in Hemingway's works have brought new colors to the literature of the 20th century and enriched it. In this article, we will try to shed light on the facets of his creative life, hidden from the reader's eyes.

Childhood and adolescence

Ernest Hemingway (photo provided by various periods of the writer's life) was born at the turn of the century: July 21 in 1899. His parents lived at that time near Chicago, in a small town called Oak Park. Ernest's father - Clarence Edmond Hemingway - worked as a doctor, mother - Grace Hall - devoted her entire life to raising children.

From an early age, his father instilled in Ernest a love of nature, hoping that he will follow in his footsteps - he will study natural science and medicine. Clarence often took his son on a fishing trip, dedicating him to everything he knew himself. By the age of eight, little Ernie knew the names of all the plants, animals, fish, birds that could only be found in the Midwest. The second passion of young Ernest were books - he could spend hours in the home library, studying historical literature and the work of Darwin.

The boy's mother was making plans about her future son-she forcibly forced him to play the cello and sing in the church choir, often even to the detriment of school activities. Ernest Hemingway himself believed that he did not have any vocal abilities, because in every possible way he avoided painful musical tortures.

True happiness was for a young naturalist summer trips to the north of Michigan, where Hemingway had a cottage "Windmere." Walking in quiet, unusually beautiful places near Lake Vallun, next to which was the family house, were a delight for Ernest. Nobody forced him to play and sing, he was completely free from the bustle of domestic affairs. He could take a fishing rod and go for a whole day to the lake, forget about time, walking in the woods or playing with Indian boys from the neighboring village.

Passion for hunting

Ernest had a particularly warm relationship with his grandfather. The boy liked to listen to stories about life from the lips of the old man, many of which he later transferred to his works. In 1911, Grandfather gave Ernie a gun, and his father introduced him to the ancient male occupation - hunting. Since then, the guy has another passion in life, which he will later devote one of his first stories. Most of the work will take the descriptions of the father, whose personality and life has always worried Ernest. For a long time after the tragic death of a parent (Clarence Edmond Hemingway committed suicide in 1928), the writer tried to find an explanation for this, but he did not find it.

Reporter

After school, Ernest did not enter the university as his parents wanted, but moved to Kansas City and got a job as a correspondent for a local newspaper. He was entrusted with the district of the city where the railway station, the main hospital and the police station were located. Often during working hours Ernest had to deal with hired assassins, prostitutes, swindlers, witness fire and other not very pleasant incidents. Each person, with whom the young man confronted fate, he scanned as an x-ray - he watched, tried to understand the true motives of his behavior, caught the gestures, the manner of his conversation. Later, all these experiences and reflections will be the subjects of his literary works.

During the work of the reporter, Ernest Hemingway learned the main thing - accurately, clearly and specifically express his thoughts, not missing a single detail. The developed habit of always being in the center of events and the formed literary style will subsequently become the basis of his creative success. Ernest Hemingway, whose biography is full of paradoxes, was very fond of his work, but left it to voluntarily go to war.

This terrible word "war"

In 1917, the United States announced its entry into the First World War, American newspapers agitated young men to wear military uniforms and go to the battlefield. Ernest with his romantic nature could not remain indifferent and wanted to immediately become part of this event, but met with stiff resistance from parents and doctors (the guy had poor eyesight). Nevertheless, Ernest Hemingway managed to get to the front in 1918, enrolling in the ranks of the Red Cross volunteers. All comers were sent to Milan, where their first task was to clear the territory of the ammunition plant, which was blown up the day before. On the second day, the young Ernest was sent to the front-line detachment in the town of Shio, but even there he failed to witness real military action - playing cards and baseball, which most of the soldiers were engaged in, did not at all resemble the guy's ideas about the war.

Calling for the delivery of food to the soldiers on the ambulance directly on the battlefield, into the trenches, Ernest Hemingway finally achieved his goal. "Farewell to Arms!" Is an autobiographical work in which the writer transmitted all the emotions and observations of that period of his life.

First love

In July 1918, a young driver in the attempt to rescue a wounded sniper fell under the bullets of Austrian machine guns. When his half-dead was brought to the hospital, he did not have a living place - the whole body was covered with wounds. After removing twenty-six fragments from the body and treating all the wounds, the doctors sent Ernest to Milan, where he was replaced with a shot calyx on an aluminum prosthesis.

In the Milan hospital Ernest Hemingway (a biography from official sources confirms this) spent more than three months. There he became acquainted with a nurse, into which he fell utterly in love. Their relationship also found a reflection in his novel "Farewell to Arms!".

Homecoming

In January 1919, Ernest returned home to the United States. He was met as a real hero, in all the newspapers one could see his name, the king of Italy awarded the brave American Military Cross and the Medal "For Valor".

During the year, Hemingway heals wounds with his family, and in 1920 moved to Canada, where he continued his correspondent research. The newspaper Toronto Star, in which he worked, gave the reporter freedom - Hemingway was free to write anything, but received only salary for approved and published materials. At this time the writer creates his first serious works - about the war, about forgotten and unwanted veterans, about the stupidity and excesses of power structures.

Paris

In September 1921, Hemingway created a family, his choice was a young pianist Hadley Richardson. Together with his wife, Ernest embodies another dream - moving to Paris, where in the process of careful, conscious study of the foundations of writing hones his literary skills. Life in Paris Hemingway described in the book "A holiday that is always with you", which became famous only after his death.

Ernest had a lot and hard work to provide for himself and his wife, so he weekly sent to the newspaper "Toronto Star" his compositions. The editorial office received from its already freelance correspondent what she wanted - a description of the life of Europeans in details and without embellishment.

In 1923, Ernest Hemingway, whose stories thousands of people have already read, replenishes his experience with new acquaintances and impressions, which he will later pass on to the reader in his works. The writer becomes a frequent visitor in the bookshop of his friend Sylvia Beach. There he takes books for rent, and also gets acquainted with many writers and artists. With some of them (Gertrude Stein, James Joyce) at Hemingway for a long time a warm friendly relationship began.

Confession

The first literary works of the writer, who brought him fame, were written by him in the period from 1926 to 1929. "And the sun goes out," "Men without women," "The winner does not get anything," "Killers", "Snow Kilimanjaro" and, of course, "Farewell to Arms!" Conquered the hearts of American readers. Almost everyone knew about who Ernest Hemingway was. Reviews of his work, although they were contradictory (some considered the writer immensely talented, others - talentless), but they further fueled public interest in works. His books were bought and read even during the economic crisis in the United States.

Life in motion

Ernest often moved from place to place, most of all in life he liked to travel. So, in 1930, he again changed his residence, this time staying in Florida. There he continues to create, fish and hunt. In September 1930, Hemingway falls into a car accident, after which, within six months, he regains his health.

In 1933, an avid hunter went on a long-planned journey to East Africa. There he experienced much: both successful fights with wild animals, and infection with a serious infection, and exhausting long-term treatment. His impressions of that period of his life he recorded in a book called "Green Hills of Africa."

Ernest Hemingway could not stay in one place. The biography of the writer contains information that he could not remain indifferent to the civil war in Spain and went there as soon as this opportunity appeared. There he became a screenwriter of a documentary about the course of the fighting in Madrid called "The Land of Spain".

In 1943 Ernest Hemingway returned to the profession of journalist and went to London to cover the events of World War II. In 1944, the writer participates in combat flights over Germany, leads a detachment of French partisans, bravely fights on the battlefields in Belgium and France.

In 1949, Hemingway moved again - this time to Cuba. There was born his best novel - "The Old Man and the Sea", for which the writer was awarded the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes.

In 1953, Ernest again travels to Africa, where he is in a serious plane crash.

The tragic end of history

In addition to the fact that during the last years of his life the writer suffered from many physical diseases, he experienced a deep depression. He always thought that he was being watched by the FBI agents, that his phone was being listened to, the letters were being read, and bank accounts were regularly checked. For treatment, Ernest Hemingway was sent to a psychiatric clinic, where he was forcibly thirteen sessions of electroconvulsive therapy. This led to the writer's loss of memory and could no longer create, which further exacerbated his condition.

A few days after discharge from the clinic, Ernest Hemingway shot himself in a gun at his home in Ketchum. 50 years after his death, it became known that the persecution mania was not at all groundless - the writer was really closely watched.

The great writer Ernest Hemingway, whose quotes are now known by heart by millions of people around the globe, lived a difficult but bright and rich life. His wise words and works will remain forever in the hearts and souls of readers.