Paper Summary:

In order to understand exactly why the "Great War" continues to play such a major role in Western literature and culture, this paper examines the connections between American writer Ernest Hemingway and several of his short stories. Through an analysis of "Soldier's Story" and "A Very Short Story", the paper looks at how they relate and emphasize how the "Great War" affected his narratives and themes and those of many other "Lost Generation" writers that followed him.

From the Paper:

"Similarly, Hemingway's "A Very Short Story," written before "Soldier's Story," relates the tale of Nick Adams, one of Hemingway's most enduring literary characters and obviously drawn from Hemingway himself. Basically, this story concerns another returning war veteran (Adams) "who gets a Dear John letter from his wartime girlfriend back in Italy" which compels him to contract gonorrhea "from a shop girl in a taxicab." As a literary work, this story "is coldly ironic" (Waldmeir, Internet), much like "Soldier's Story," and illustrates the frustration and indifference of men like Nick Adams upon realizing that they have changed drastically because of the war, while their hometowns, parents and friends who stayed behind have not changed at all, except in age and physical appearance. The power of this realization can be compared to a epiphany in which a person suddenly "sees the light" and begins to understand the realities of a particular situation. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Anthem for Doomed Youth." Brigham Young University. Internet. 1998. Retrieved from http://lib.byu.edu/~english/WW1/newmain.html.
• "Ernest Hemingway Biography: World War I." The Hemingway Resource Center. Internet. 4 December 2006. Retrieved from http://lostgeneration.com/ww1.htm.
• Putnam, Thomas. "Hemingway on War and Its Aftermath." The National Archives. Internet. Spring 2006. Vol. 38 no. 1. Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/ publications/prologue/2006.hemingway.html.
• "Soldier's Home." Study World. Internet. 2006. Retrieved from http://www.studyworld. com/newsite/ReportEssay/Literature/Novel%5CSoldiers_Home.htm.
• Waldmeir, Joseph. "Why We Celebrate Hemingway." NorthQuest. Internet. 1999. Retrieved from http://www.northquest.com/hemingway/100/waldmeir.htm.

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