Hemmingway’s Literary Influences As one of America’s greatest writers, Ernest Hemmingway recounted his personal life experiences to create his novels. Hemmingway lead an interesting life, filled with romance, travel, and adventure. It was this lifestyle that provided him with much of the material that he used to write his greatest novels. Writing was more of a story telling exercise for Hemmingway, because he had firsthand experience at most of what he wrote about. Hemmingway was also influenced by many of the people he met throughout his life, including women, authors, and news journalists. Hemmingway was born in his family’s home in Oak Park, Illinois on July 18, 1899. It was here that he was raised with the conservative Midwestern values of strong religion, hard work, and self-determination. His father taught him to fish and hunt along the shores and in the forest around Lake Michigan. His love of the outdoors was cultivated here, and would influence his writing later in life. Hemmingway’s mother was very creative, with a special talent for singing. Although Ernest never took to music, he inherited his mother’s creativity. (Online ref #1) The first writing influence in Hemmingway’s life came from his first job, as a reporter at the Kansas City Star newspaper. The Star’s style and usage book advocated using short sentences, active verbs, authenticity, clarity, smoothness, and writing in a positive tone. This left an impression on Hemmingway that can be seen in all of his writing. He called them “the best rules I ever learned in the business of writing” and, based upon his work, never forgot them. (Online ref. #2) While working at The Star, Hemmingway made the next major decision in his life, joining the Red Cross to help in the war effort in Europe. (Online Ref #3) Experiencing war first hand made a huge impact on Hemmingway. His role as an ambulance driver exposed him to the har...
