An Analysis of Hemingway’s Writing Style Through A Farewell to Arms

莊元

【Abstract】：The title： “The tough guy of literature” is always used to describe Earnest Hemingway who is not only famous for his “Hemingway hero”， but also for his “the iceberg principle”. The "Iceberg" style of Hemingway is not only a craft of simplification and abstraction， but also a new form of literature proposed by him. This paper analyzes feature of sentences， feature of omission， vivid images and open ending in A Farewell to Arms by discussing the iceberg theory. And we may easily come to a conclusion that hidden emotion and vivid images beneath the simple sentences and words of Hemingways works are very significant. This conclusion is crucial for us to analyze writing styles of Hemingway and appreciate his other novels.

【Key words】： iceberg principle； sentences features； omission principle； vivid images； open ending

We can know Hemingways novels are easily read for their short sentences， simple words and concise structures， but it will take you some time to understand completely. The limited sentences can imply a vast meaning. Hemingways writing style is contrary to Henry James whose sentences is complicated and over-elaborated， there is also a few complex or new words in A Farewell to Arms， but readers can understand the literal meaning of the words and sentences. Example can be found in the last chapter of A Farewell to Arms：

（After Catherines death， in the hospital）

He went down the hall. I went to the door of the room.

“You cant come in now，” one of the nurses said.

“Yes I can，” I said.

“You cant come in yet.”

“You get out，” I said. “The other one， too.”6

Any literary works have a certain meaningful form and vital feeling of writers. Emotion experience in an excellent novel is fused in its sentence. Iceberg principle of Hemingway is a visualization of meaningful images and emotion. One-eighth is the visible surface and seven-eighths is the invisible connotation. Both belong to the same sentences， forming a mix of integrity and magnificence8.

In Hemingways novels， the connotation hidden under the surface image is the emotion， the emotion of writer and readers. He is a master in expressing a significant motif within limited sentences and words， reflecting the profound and fierce emotion by portraying concrete objects. In A Farewell to Arms： “The questioners ‘the battle police had that beautiful detachment and devotion to stem justice of men dealing in death without being in any danger of it.” This calm narration reflects a spontaneous anger and extreme irony， without mentioning any adjectives like “angry” and “ironic”， we can also feel the emotion of the protagonist.

The omission is one of features of the iceberg principle， we all know that Hemingway always omits something he familiar， thus to achieve the precise and concrete style of his works. And once Hemingway said， according to his new theory， he can omit all thing if you know them when he writes something and the parts and words he omits will not cause ambiguity， instead， the omission of words strengthens the themes of his works， it makes readers obtain and feel the intense emotion under the images these simple words offer.

It is a typical case of the application of “Iceberg Principle” in the setting. Hemingway always presented landscape depiction with indifference. In one -eighth of iceberg above the water， Hemingway preferred a terse language to create setting that arouses the readers immediate reflection of the description in the mind11. As what has been discussed in this paper， Hemingway uses images to present his plot to readers. The last part of the first chapter in A Farewell to Arms ended with two sentences： “At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera. But it was cheeked and in the end only seven thousand die of it in the army.”12 Now it is the winter， seven thousand soldiers have fallen down. The endless rain washed away the dust， rotted the bodies， as if they did not exist. Even the beautiful scenery in the countryside brought a sense of sadness. The natural beauty symbolizes the final destruction. The coming of winter and the falling rain ended in catastrophe. The two short and simple sentences offer a prophecy of death and disaster. They present such an image that nothing can escape the sense organ of mankind. Readers are introduced to sense the vivid image under the surface of these simple words， to enter the inner world of the narrator， to feel the emotion under the two sentences.

Another unique feature of Hemingway's "Iceberg theory" is that he usually adopts an open ending to conclude a story， which is different from other writers' well-designed ones. Hemingways ending seems always ends when it reaches the climax which makes the reader feel that the story is still halfway13. It should continue and the writer does finish it deliberately. Hemingway likes to let the readers imagine by themselves. The open ending also named “Zero Ending”， this deliberate avoidance from making judgment and explanation in the end. In fact， different readers have different inspirations and feelings about the endings. And this is the effect Hemingway intends to achieve.

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