Captivating+Stories,+and+a+Sudden+Suicide

Hemingway's Suicide By:Elizabeth McManus

A man who truly seemed to sit atop the world; he had money, friends, seemingly immense power, and an undeniable genius, so what drove him to such a final act? Why did Ernest Hemingway choose such a violent end? Ernest Hemingway played the parts within his books: avid gamesmen, proficient boxer, and soldier. What happens when the man can no longer outshine his novels (Gregory Hemingway pg.13-16)?

Ernest Hemingway awoke one morning, went to his kitchen, put his double barreled shotgun to his head, pulled the trigger, tripped the barrels, and sent a massive explosion into his skull (Grauer pg.1). The remains of the legend of Hemingway remain shrouded in questions, the storyteller’s own lies, and the public's view of their great hero. After his suicide, many who once revered the classic novelist found themselves questioning how great he really was. Did he really carry a fellow soldier out of a trench after being shot himself, did he liberate a Parisian hotel, or was he just eternally trying to prove his masculinity and please his mother in these acts whether they actually occurred or not (Grauer pg.6)?

Many attribute this suicide to the acts of the mother (Grauer pg.4). Ernest Hemingway suffered severe depression that many believe to be caused by the emotional toll and scarring that his mother had caused him (Grauer pg.4). From the time he was born, his mother was doing damage. She desired twins so she would have them by masquerading Ernest, a newborn, and her 18-month-old daughter (Grauer pg.4). Some of the time the two would have long, girl- like -hair, and be dressed in matching little girl's dresses, while other times their hair would be cropped short, as a boy's, and they would be dressed in matching overalls (Grauer pg.4). This mother was determined that she would have her twins and did not give up the act until they were six. Even though she wanted her son to be a girl sometimes, she always took pride in her son’s masculinity; all the while she encouraged him to be feminine to match his sister (Grauer pg.4). Many scholars attribute Hemingway’s depression, and eventual death to his mother's eccentric tendencies.

Alcoholism and a deep depression, which Hemingway referred to as the "Black Ass", plagued him (Barr pg.1). He was committed to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he received shock therapy, a crude, primitive, but at the time state of the art way, to combat depression (Lombardi pg.1). Hemingway’s family has been plagued with random acts of suicide. Hemingway’s father, brother, two sisters, and his granddaughter all committed suicide (Barr pg.1). Suicide is such a legacy in the Hemingway family that Ernest’s eldest son, John, is quoted as saying, “My brothers and I are determined to see just how long a Hemingway can live” (Grauer pg.4).

Before Hemingway committed the final act he experienced extreme paranoia (Grauer pg.8). He believed that his friends were trying to kill him, that the FBI was after him, and he was on the verge of poverty (Grauer pg.8). This state of mind undeniably contributed to the decision of pulling the trigger.

Some individuals pondered that Hemingway chose to end his life rather than live without his genius, or writing ability (Barr pg.2). This seems inaccurate due to the fact that his career just had a major bounce back. Across the River and Into the Trees, indisputably Hemingway’s worst novel among critics, was published prior to The Old Man and the Sea (Barr pg.2). The Old Man and the Sea was a major hit that resurrected Hemingway's career from the grave to remain in good standing even after he died (Barr pg.2). Also there were many books in the works that Hemingway had yet to finish that had much promise. In fact after these works that were published after his death were among his best sellers (Barr pg.2). Some speculate that Hemingway thought the novels were terrible, and therefore viewed himself as washed up and committed suicide (Barr pg.2).

Another contributing factor could have been the public’s view of Hemingway. “ON the other hand, relatively early in his career he became a public fool, a conscious ‘character’ an under nourished scavenger on his former self” was the opinion Stanley Kauffman held (Modern American Literature pg.65). Along the course of Hemingway's writing career he seems to have lost himself within his characters. He wrote his books on his experiences, whether they were pure fiction, or fact based didn’t seem to matter (Grauer pg.6). Hemingway always had to show the public that he could do what his characters could, but in his twilight years was it really possible to maintain the image of an American hero? Some think that possibly the frustration of no longer being able to maintain his image could have contributed to his death (Gregory Hemingway pg.13-16).

No matter how Hemingway’s life is viewed, great storyteller, hero, or both, he will never be forgotten. Yes, he committed what some view as an unforgivable act and others view as a desperate escape, this does not outshine a lifetime of accomplishments and achievements. Many tried to write Hemingway off as nothing more than a hack and to criticize him in death, but so what if his stories did not come from where he claimed, he engrossed the public and captivated them with rustic, ordinary, and relatively unextraordinary heroes. His life became a myth, and yes the pain engulfed him, the very pain he attributed the success of most of his works to, and this pain cradled his very soul until he lost it, and ended it, but what he made us as readers feel is independent to the acts and his source. In essence these stories did come from Hemingway’s life, they came from the pain and struggles that he dealt with daily, the very pain that unraveled him (Barr pg.2).

Bibliography Barr, Gonzalo.// Ernest Hemingway Dies By Suicide July 2, 1961. // Gonzalo Barr. 2010. Web. 30 May 2010. http://www.gonzalobarr.com/blog/?p=1307

Grauer, Neil A//. // // Remembering Papa. // Cigar Aficionado. 2010. Web. 30 May 2010. []

Hemingway, Gregory H. // Papa A Persnonal MemoirI. // Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976. page 13-16. Print.

Kauffmen, Stanley. // Ernest Hemingway //. Detroit: St. James Press, 1999. page 65. Print.

Lombardi, Esther. // Ernest Hemingway. // About.com. The New York Times Company, 2010. Web. 30 May 2010. __h__ [|ttp://classiclit.about.com/od/hemingwayernest/p/aa_ehemingway.htm]