Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway; a man praised for his wonderful contributions to American literature; a man haunted from birth; a man with a distinct, unique yet memorable style of writing; a man that experienced many losses throughout his lifetime. This man, although born with a talent for writing, had a troubled life.

From the beginning, Hemingway's mother dressed him as a girl. Although this was particularly (and weirdly) normal for that time, his mother, Grace, took it a bit too far. She always wanted twin girls. Instead she got Marcelline (Hemingway's older sister) and then about a year-and-a-half later, Ernest. Instead of embracing the fact that she had a son, Grace insisted on dressing him up in Marcelline's old clothes. This persisted until Hemingway was about 6 years old. Ultimately, his mother's actions, caused Ernest to perpetuate his masculinity later in life, as seen in his stories. The only way that Ernest could express his masculinity as a young child was when his father took him camping or fishing.

To make up for lost time in expressing his masculinity during his childhood, Ernest enlisted in the army to fight the war in Europe. To his dismay he got rejected because his vision wasn't so great. Nevertheless, Hemingway really wanted to participate in this war any way possible. In the end he joined the Red Cross in Italy. Later he got injured on the Italian front and had to stay in a hospital in Milan. These series of events sparked Hemingway's inspiration for his short-story titled, "In Another Country".

Other events in Hemingway's life that proved his masculinity, include (1) his constant fascination with bull-fighting, which led him to spend time in Spain, observing the running of the bulls in Pamplona, (2) his passion for fishing that led him to the Key West in Florida, as well as Cuba, (3) his journey to Africa to experience a safari, which led to big-game hunting, (5) his alcoholism later in life and lastly (6) his constant habit of jumping around from one women to the next once he got bored. Hemingway was a control-freak, that had to be dominant, the ultimate alpha-male. He once dated Martha, an independent women that put her work in front of Hemingway. This caused Ernest to dump her because she wan't giving him  enough attention. He then met Mary, a very submissive women, that would cater to his needs. In the end, Hemingway married a total of 5 women and had affairs with countless others. 

Hemingway was an extraordinary writer. His influence is still felt to this day. However he fought with many internal demons day after day. In the end, these demons led him to take his own life.