Comparing F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway
F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, though both evolved from the same literary time and place, created their works in two very dissimilar writing styles which are representative of their subject matter. The two writers were both products of the post-WWI lost generation and first gained notoriety as members of the American expatriate literary community living in Paris during the 1920’s. Despite this underlying fact which influenced much of their material, the works examined in class dramatically differ in style as well as subject matter. As far as style, Fitzgerald definitely takes the award for eloquence with his flowery descriptive language whereas Hemingway’s genius comes from his short, simple sentences. As for subject, Hemingway writes gritty, earthy material while on the other hand Fitzgerald’s writing is centered around social hierarchy and longing to be with another person. Although the works that these two literary masters are so uniquely different, one thing that they have in common are their melancholy and often tragic conclusions.
Best services for writing your paper according to Trustpilot
To explore the two distinct writing styles, one can begin with how the stories do. (That is, how they begin too.) The opening paragraphs of Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” and Hemingway’s “Indian Camp” epitomize the basic difference between their writing styles. “Winter Dreams” begins, “Some of the caddies were poor as sin and lived in one-room houses with a neurasthenic cow in the front yard, but Dexter Green’s father owned the second best grocery-store in Black Bear-the best one was ‘The Hub,’ patronized by the wealthy people from Sherry Island-and Dexter caddied only for pocket-money” (1504). “Indian Camp” starts out, “…
…ite the various differences discussed above, one similitude between the two is that their stories all end in a negative if not tragic tone. In each of the Fitzgerald stories the main character loses what he desires and dreams of obtaining. Not only does this happen to Gatsby, but he is also tragically murdered in a case of mistaken identity. Hemingway’s endings also force the reader to sympathize if not pity the characters whether it be the boy’s naively innocent belief of self-immortality, Nick’s and Marjorie’s break up, Krebs’ emotionally dead stoicism, or the loneliness of the old waiter.
Bibliography:
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Norton Anthology of American Literature. Norton & Co., pp. 1500-1568: 1992.
Hemingway, Ernest. Norton Anthology of American Literature. Norton & Co., pp. 420-486
