Hemingways Personal Life and its Influence on his Short Story, Hills L

Hemingway's Personal Life and its Influence on his Short Story "Hills Like White Elephants" "Hills like White Elephants" is not the normal story where you have a beginning, middle and end. Hemingway gave just enough information so that readers could draw their own conclusions. The entire story encompasses a conversation between two lovers and leaves the reader with more questions than answers. Ernest Hemingway was a brilliant writer. People that study Hemingway's works try to gain insight and draw natural conclusions about Hemingway and his life. Hemingway led a difficult life full of martial affairs and misfortune. Some of these experiences have set the foundation for Hemingway's greatest works. This essay will analyze the influence that Hemingway's separation from Pauline and divorce from Hadley had on "Hills like White Elephants." Before authoring "Hills like White Elephants," Hemingway had been residing in Paris with his wife Hadley and son, Bumby. During their stay in Paris, Hadley and Ernest Hemingway met a woman named Pauline Pfeiffer. Pauline was more of a friend to Hadley than Hemingway was. Pauline did not think much of Hemingway at first, she thought he was lazy and a no-doer. Later Pauline and Hemingway fell in love and had an affair. Once Hadley knew of their affair, Hemingway requested a divorce. Hadley agreed under one condition, Hemingway and Pfeiffer had to separate for 100 days. After the 100 days if they were still in love, then Hadley would grant the divorce (Baker 174). This separation period left an indelible effect on Hemingway's life and works. During this separation, Hemingway began a collection of short stories titled "Men without Women." Hemingway explained, "The title was an indication that all... ...writing this story to fully understand it. This story supplies the reader with insight into Hemingway's personality and controversial theme. Works Cited Baker, Carlos Heard. Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.1969. Benedictus, Luke. "Those Literary Lushes." The Age Company Ltd. August 2002. 23 Feb. 2003. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/08/13/1029113928191.html Scribner, Charles III. 2000 Cable News Network. 15 Feb. 2003. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/books/1999/hemingway/stories/biography/part1/index.html. Stanford, Judith A. Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays, and Essays. New York: McGraw-Hill.2003. Webster, Deanna. [Education Coordinator] Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center. 15 Feb. 2003. http://hemingway.astate.edu/paulinebio.html.