Comparing Hemingway and Fitzgerald

Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald were both from the same ‘literary time’ but their works are completely different. Hemingway writes in short, simple sentences mainly about pretty direct and real material, while Fitzgerald writes with very descriptive, articulate language mostly focused on social rank and the desire to be with someone else. Hemingway writes so that the dialog of the story makes the reader understand the message, while Fitzgerald narrates what the characters feel and how they think. Although these two authors are so different in witting style and subject matter, they both have a tendency to end their stories tragically or consumed in sadness. The content of both of these authors was heavily influenced by the time they wrote though, regardless of their differences in content.

Most of Hemingway’s stories on the other hand, are completely void of flowery descriptions and the character’s emotions. He doesn’t often use adjectives in his short sentences, but, with his writing, lots of description seems almost unnecessary. In his story “Indian Camp” he uses minimal description and very easy to understand words that help Hemingway get straight to the point. With the exception of the last paragraph, Hemingway seems to let the dialog tell the story’s message rather than offering an insight into the character’s mind, “The two boats started off in the dark. Nick heard the oarlocks of the other boat quite a way ahead of them in the mist. The Indians rowed with quick choppy strokes. Nick lay back with his father’s arm around him. It was cold on the water. The Indian who was rowing them was working very hard, but the other boat moved further ahead in the mist all the time” (Hemingway p67). Contrasting to Fitzgerald’s very poetic, beautiful writing about women, Hemingway takes a different approach. He doesn’t have beautiful, passionate writing, he has a more unorthodox way of bringing out the message he wants to get across. For example, in ‘A Clean...