Decrypting The Hemingway Cypher

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Davis Tuggle Landreneau AP English Language & Composition September 22, 2011 Decrypting the Hemingway Cypher Ernest Hemingway uses unparalleled technique and style to capture his audience in ways never done before. Hemingway was born July 2nd, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. He is a very famous author and journalist. It is quite obvious that Hemingway’s private life influences his writing a great deal. This is most noticeable in In Our Time and “Observations on the Style of Ernest Hemingway” by Harry Levin. Hemingway uses specific style and tone to communicate concealed messages; he uses practical and concrete symbolism to convey ideas that must be analyzed, and the Ice-berg method of belaboring messages that are hidden deep within the text. Ernest Hemingway has a skillset that is specific to his style and tone, which give the words of his stories meaning deeper than ever before. Harry Levin writes “Observations on the Style of Ernest Hemingway”, in which he says “Consider his [Hemingway’s] restricted choice of adjectives, and the heavy load of subjective implication carried by such uncertain monosyllables as ‘fine’ and ‘nice’.” (Levin 75). Levin is describing the way Hemingway uses his words to set a tone, instead of using words such as: beautiful, lovely, or stunning. Hemingway is showing that what he is describing is certainly not immaculate, however this does not mean that it is insignificant. One may suggest that these small words were not intended to describe the object, but evaluate it. Hemingway isn’t a writer to describe the beauty of something in depth with extravagant and superfluous adjectives. This is an example of Hemingway using small words to be concise. To add, In Our Time written by Ernest Hemingway has several short stories one of which is particularly germane pertaining to the subject of his style and tone; “Cat in The Rain”. In the

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