Ernest Hemingway’s Transitive Views of Death

초록

This paper aims to illuminate Hemingway’s transitive views of death in his main works. By writing about death, Hemingway paradoxically conjures up the significance of survival and the value of true life, increasing the strong tension of the will to live decently. Based on his experiences in childhood, manhood, and old age, Hemingway’s views of death can be classified into three stages: the denial of death in “Indian Camp” (1924) and “The Killers” (1926), the acceptance of death in A Farewell to Arms (1929), and the sublimation of death in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) and The Old Man and the Sea (1952). “Indian Camp” and “The Killers” in Hemingway's first writing stage show the denial of Hemingway’s early death consciousness. At the second stage, Hemingway displays his idea of indifferent acceptance of death which implies that death cannot be conquered in A Farewell to Arms. At the last stage, Hemingway portrays man’s undefeated noble spirit leading to immortality in For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. At this period, Hemingway shows his belief that humans should overcome the terror of death courageously without self-pity to fulfill a meaningful life, and ultimately achieve human decency by realizing a noble life conquering the fear of death.

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