Universality in Literature

Literature is great because of its universality. It is powerful enough to supersede the narrow interests of a class in favor of humanity as a whole. lt does not deal with the specific society of a specific community, but with the society of man as a whole. For this reason literature that appealed to the people through the spoken word has a greater appeal than which appeals through the written word—which may not reach all men. “The recited epics of

Homer, the acted plays of Shakespeare, the chanted songs of Chandidas have a more universal appeal than our modern poets and novelists who express only segments of social life and direct their appeal to particular social classes. Poetry that expresses intensely individual standpoints, novels that depict manners of a class or community, and deal with highly specialized problems cannot surely be of the same level as are Tulsidas’s or Krittidas‘s Ramayana which had and still have a mass appeal.”

Universality in literature connotes the appeal to the widest human interests and the simplest emotions. Though we speak of national and race literatures, like the Greek or Teutonic, and each has certain superficial marks arising out of the peculiarities of its own people. It is nevertheless true that good literature knows no nationality, nor any bounds save those of humanity. It is occupied chiefly with elementary passions and emotions,——love and hate, joy and sorrow, fear and Faith which are an essential part of our human nature; and the more it reflects these emotions, the surely does it awaken response in men of every race. Every father must respond to the parable the prodigal son; wherever men are heroic, they will acknowledge the mastery of Homer: wherever man thinks on the strange phenomenon of evil in the world, he will find his own thoughts in the Book of Job whatever place men love their children; their hearts must be stirred by the tragic sorrow of Oedipus and King Lear. All these are but shining examples of the law that only as a book or little song appeals to universal human interest does it become permanent. The restricted appeal of modern literature resulted from the dependence of writers on the patronage of great men. Necessarily such writers had to produce work that would appeal to their patrons primarily. As a result became limited.

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But compensation was offered by the delicacy and refinement of their work. The contrast between these writers and the popular writers may be seen in the contrast between Chaucer and balladists. Chaucer is the perfect artist; his insight into life is also profound; but he lacks spontaneity, the range, the popular appeal of the ballad-writers. “Such also is the difference between Bharatchandra of Bengal and the anonymous poets of the Mymensingh ballads. Modern writers depending on the patronage of an educated and well-to-do public, have developed a flair for expressing feelings and situations that are subtle and complex in language that verges on the idiosyncratic. Wordsworth realized this when he made the revolutionary statement that poetry, should use language of common speech. The more literature is freed from its class limitations and becomes the expression of the thoughts and feelings of the common man, the community of working people, the more it will tend to conform to the Wordsworthian doctrine.

lt must be noted that literature contains the universal and the particular which are combined together. According to Aristotle, literature indicates the universal element, i.e., what is true for all times and ages and the particular, i.e. what is true of the men, events, customs, culture, and manners of an age. To quote John Bailey: “lt must be at once individual life and universal. If Homer contained nothing but what was abstractedly or universally true, he would be dull. He must have, as he has many things which surprise, amuse, even perhaps, disgust us who live in so different an age and country. He must have things which are peculiar to the Greeks of his day, and even things peculiar to himself alone among the Greeks.

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Without that, he would not have individuality or even nationality; and without individuality and nationality there is no life in literature …. But if he were only Homer or only Greek, he would be something worse than dull he would be dead for us, because there would be link between us; dead, because the life of poetry needs an immortal and universal element without which its lease of life is a very short one. A poet cannot carry himself and his own age and their idiosyncrasies and peculiarities unless he provides them with the elixir of immortality which is universal truth.” In other words, literature is manifestation of life as handled by the writer’s personality. His distinctive imagination, his slant of outlook, his feelings, and the character of his experience constitute the medium through which his reading of life is communicated to the reader.

But his feelings and thoughts and fusion of elements extracted from the chaos of life have deeper and paramount significance for all. According to Middleton Murry, “the highest style is . . . a combination of the maximum of personality with the minimum of impersonality 1 on the one hand, it is a concentration of peculiar and personal emotion, on the other, it is a complete projection of this personal emotion into the created thing …. ‘There is no antithesis between personal and impersonal art.” That is why Aristotle said; “Poetry is more philosophical than history.” What he meant was that literature is the mixture of the personal and universal. The whole effort of a sincere man is to build his personal impression into universal pattern.

All My Sons

In All My Sons, Arthur Miller has depicted the American Dreams by exposing some fundamental tragedies in the lives of his protagonists. According to modern concept of tragedy, the protagonists should be accountable for their deeds while facing any kind of moral dilemma, they make some wrong decisions and choices for themselves which lead them on the verge of worst kind of tragedy. Such critical thinking is also observed in several TV programs, movies and other media sources where American dream is exaggerated to attract masses to move to America but they have to encounter bitter realities of life (All My Sons Summary, 2010).

What are the American Dreams; these are to grow up with heaps of wealth and precious properties! There are different interpretations of the American Dreams but it is the common gist of it. But at the end of this play, All My Sons, the American Dreams are depicted contrarily where it is described how someone lives happily even after growing up, owing lots of property and becoming prosperous financially. Joe Keller had become prosperous and auspicious in his life financially but his life turned into a tragic life as the story moves towards a conclusive end, Arthur Miller wants to convey two contradictory viewpoints in his play, All My Sons, the American dream is bogus dream which is depicted only in very few and certain people’s life but most of them suffer from some panic situations in life in spite of having money (All My Sons Summary, 2010).

Arthur Miller has evoked some fundamental questions in his play, All My Sons what are the individualistic social obligation, personal responsibility and dissimilarity between personal and public matters. In the play, All My Sons, Keller performs his specific actions during the war, he is depicted an individual who is accountable for himself and his family rather than for society. Miller evaluates Keller’s discriminatory worldview which affirms his belief; there is no value of crimes which are committed for sake of the family (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010). The main reason of conflicts which arises in the mind of Keller, who believes that Keller is not wrong in his proclaims, there is nothing more valuable than the family rather than whole world where Keller lives, “To cut yourself off from your relationships with society at large is to invite tragedy of a nature both public (regarding the pilots) and private (regarding the suicides)” (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).

Miller wants to show that it is not necessary to enhance some carefulness for others being a family member, it is most important to develop an individual’s responsibilities to the family versus society at large. The family is also depicted as unit within the society and it is distorted or damaged by the individualistic actions. Though All My Sons is related with the past but this past helps to shape present and future of the individuals. It is inescapable to ignore or forget crimes. The characters speak such words or dialogues in the pay which disclose the different secrets about the current history of the Keller family. Arthur Miller displays how such past secrets of life have influenced the lives of his characters in the play who keep themselves in past always (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).

Arthur Miller has manipulated the flow of the story in the most technical manner that revelation of all secrets of the characters in play occurs on the same day. Such revelations are inevitable, causing the fatal consequences due to Denial and self-deception. The questions are raised how we deceive ourselves and others? We choose things to spotlight on life but we also need to refute some certain things for upgrading our living standards? What are impacts of denial upon the psyche of family and certain society? Keller family history displays what factors causes distortion and confrontation in the life. These factors include Larry’s death and Keller’s sense of liability for the consignment of defective parts. In the whole play, the mother denies first while she has to accept it and same case is with Keller himself. Such acts of denial and self-deception are rooted in both characters who live in a state of self-deception, avoiding one of the realities of life willingly in order to keep up the functional life-style of family (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).

Chris is also characterized as an idealist who remains angry against the wartime profiteering. Some people views that he is a man of scruples setting apart from the social networks. Chris thinks to abandon all such scrupulous brooding who sends his father to jail. How idealism are not sustainable in the practical world which is very complex. Miller wants to stress upon the values of ideals or dreams by depicting such characters in his play how such ideals are sacrificed according to the current circumstances (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).

Keller gives solid arguments during wartime how all his actions are so defensible in maintaining good business practice. He always asserts himself as an ill-mannered and uneducated person, boastfully taking pride in his financial success without any business education. But gradually his well-flourished business is victimized of downfalls. Here Miller takes this failure in comparison with loftiest politics and awkward system of capitalism which enhance the value of materialistic pursuits rather than the moral sense. The dramatist raises the question how rules of good business are exempted from moral and ethical norms & laws of the certain society (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).

Every character is delineated with different kinds of self-blames, Joe Keller doesn’t miss any chance to blame anybody and everyone for crimes of wartime and the main cause of his partner’s imprisonment. When he has to encounter with truths of life, he finds faults in business practice and US army and everyone he may have contacts. When he admits such blames after self-recognition process, Larry had taken to his heart all such shameful blames and Keller commits suicide in fits of despairs (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).

Chris feels culpable himself for the ongoing of the war and materialistic pursuits but when the crimes are disclosed, he shifts his blame to his father side, blaming his father for his incapability to imprison his jails. You may observe such several instances of deflected blame in this play; very human impulse is reflected to demonstrate the actual relationships and powerful role of characters which maintains self-respect and family honor (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).

Miller reveals how such individualistic flaws can be interpreted with the economic progress and business success in terms of American dream. Keller has sacrifices all other parts of the American dream for just materialistic pursuits or financial growth only. He has given up the main role of his life as head of family, the basic human nature how he has made sacrifices of Steve and Larry. Miller points out the basic flaws of capitalist system which has no concerns with cultural as well as social morals. Miller criticizes such system of capitalism which encourages just greed for profiteering shares in the business stakes holders who may want to sacrifice the human life and happiness. So American dreams are so attractive apparently but there is too much hollowness inwardly which splits up the social networks in fits of despair and anger. But media and broadcasting sources have interpreted the American dreams in very attractive manner which shatter down the people so badly that they are forced to kill themselves (American Dream, 2010).

There is need to recover the full American dream of vigorous communities with prosperous families whether or not capitalism would lead economic system on right direction of progress and happiness. Only economic prosperity and mobility is very detrimental as man can’t enjoy life joyfully with just financial progress, there should be some social order which controls any kind of chaotic state of mind of individuals within the society to lead a peaceful and blissful life (American Dream, 2010). Is the American Dream can be depicted as nightmare by Arthur miller who portrays the picture of a typical American family life after world war second. All characters are displayed with complacency and prosperity due to thriving business but at end of the play Keller shoots himself to complete the nightmare! The Americans are suffering from such tragic and panic situations which come on their way in the pursuit of the financial progress and prosperity. The people have become so materialistic and morally vacant that they don’t have any scruples in their hearts while committing crimes with the self-deception and denial approaches how they think that they are doing rightfully rather than confessing their crimes (American Dream, 2010).

The media plays vital role in idealizing America via different attractive advertisements on TV channels and heroes of movies how American is shining so brightly and everyone is entangled by such attractive commercial ads which invite the people to come to America. In All my Sons , Arthur Miller has delineated an ideal family characters which seems externally very good and complacent but inwardly there is nothing good, having many dark aspects of American life which seems very charming in media portrayals. The American dream idealizes the particular life-style of people in America which relates with potential and rights rather than morals or means (American Dream, 2010).

In different TV dramas and shows, we observe how people are living an idealized life-style without knowing how it has been achieved via fair or unfair means. For instance the main character of Dr. Huxtable in Cosby Show is depicted how he has good standard of living, apparently good relationships with his family and friends but he never seems to be a good and responsible doctor, he always tries to take advantage of his patients via his deceitful nature. Media disseminate the ideals of American life-style and happiness to indulge the masses to work hard for achieving successful status as publicized by big multinational corporations (American Dream, 2010).

You may observe American dream as depicted by some TV shows and plays like the Cosby Show, Married with Children and Family Ties, all these depicts the same attitudes, hollow aptitudes and confused state of minds, full of despair and despondency as it is shown by all characters of All My Sons. “Real people with real feelings are potentially harmful to the American Dream which, really, encourages selfishness because of the emphasis on individual achievement. It does not explicitly say that one should not trample on others while striving for happiness” (American Dream, 2010).

In nutshell, media depicts the American Dream externally without discussing the main sources of happiness and prosperity. But reality is entirely different; most of people has to use such unfair means which remains them more unscrupulous to attain successful and luxurious status of life. This may result into panic situations for the people how they are suffering, it is not portrayed in media, “Other vision’s and goals not in line with the mainstream American Dream are potentially troublesome to economic progress” (American Dream, 2010).



Works Cited

[1]. American Dream, 2010, retrieved from: http://www.sacredswans.com/AmericanDream.pdf

[2].Miller,2010, All my Sons by Arther Miller, retrieved from: http://pdfdatabase.com/download/all-my-sons-pdf-1438948-html

[3]. All My Sons Summary, 2010, retrieved from: http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/2/13/211719/251

[4].All My Sons Study Guide, 2010, written by Arthur Miller, retrieved from http://www.gradesaver.com/all-my-sons/study-guide/major-themes/

Cubism in Hemingway’s the Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) has gained immense popularity due to his innovative and creative writings, a marvelous American fiction of 20th century. Hemingway has portrayed the realistic picture of the modern man’s wretched life how the modern man is disillusioned and disintegrated due to the shattered old values. It is dilemma of modern man that he has become a mechanically a machine like man by indulging himself into his materialistic pursuits. Ernest Hemingway’s prose style is very simple, unconventional and genuine, depicting the problems of postwar era, death, violence and degeneration of old values in his novels (Balakrishnan, 2003).

The themes of his novels range from moral, social, psychological and ethical degradation to horror, futility and fear of human existence, showing the frustration, demoralization and degeneration of human spirits. He is a realist prose-writer who portrays a true picture of reality on the canvas of life with exclusive pictorial quality (Balakrishnan, 2003).

Hemingway has been immortalized by the individuality of his style. Short and solid sentences, delightful dialogues, and a painstaking hunt for an apt word or phrase to express the exact truth, are the distinguishing features of his style (Balakrishnan, 2003).

It is unjustifiable statement about Hemingway that his writings are devoid of high seriousness but Hemingway is a philosophical writer, interpreting his famous `Iceberg theory’: ‘The dignity of the movement of an iceberg is due to only one eighth of it being above the water’ (Balakrishnan, 2003). His novels reveal the symbolic implications of his art, very true nature of human life how he represents human life in his fiction-writing. He aims to show the dramatic value of human life in this vast universe where supernatural elements influence man’s life (Balakrishnan, 2003).

As with them, a moral awareness springs from his awareness of the larger life of the universe. Compared with the larger life of the universe, the individual is a puny thing, a tragic thing. But in this larger life of the universe, the individual has his place of glory (Balakrishnan, 2003).

Hemingway gives the very idea of futility of human existence in this cosmic world by exposing the themes of death, violence, darkness and predicament of human life. Hemingway presents metaphysical philosophy about the nature of human existence in this universe by delineating his protagonists as alienated and disintegrated individuals who struggle with the odds of life with endurance, bravery and courage. He portrays his heroes, who are wounded emotionally or physically. His all protagonists are depicted in terms of code of courage, fortitude and loneliness who have to fight a losing battle in this world of irrational devastation (Balakrishnan, 2003).

If we observe the novels of Hemingway critically, it is noteworthy that all his novels are panorama of general drama of human pain by posing symbolic questions about life. Hemingway gives symbolic presentation of predicaments in man’s life how a man has to carry on his perpetual struggle for overcoming the supernatural forces which restrain man’s free will power. In nutshell, Hemingway gives an excellent picturesque of human life which ends in death, combating with odds of life perpetually. It is futile to fight a battle for man who is reduced to a pathetic figure by some hostile forces (Balakrishnan, 2003).

However, what matters is the way man faces the crisis and endures the pain inflicted upon him by the hostile powers that be, be it his own physical limitation or the hostility of society or the indifference of unfeeling nature (Balakrishnan, 2003).

The ultimate triumph depends upon the ways of struggling how individuals assert their dignified status in this cosmic world by facing pains and failures with courage and strong will power. Man has free will power to establish his own ideals and values by indulging into the persistent combat against oppressive forces in three dimensions like biological, social and environmental obstacles in this universe. Charles Child Walcutt comments about Hemingway’s fiction writings in these words:

The conflict between the individual needs and social demands is matched by the contest between feeling man and unfeeling universe, and between the spirit of the individual and his biological limitations (Balakrishnan, 2003).

Cubism is an abstract art of exposing the intellectual vision of modern life, an industrial and materialistic society. Cubism is the pure and artistic technique to give pictorial quality to the landscape of the artists’ mind rather than the external world. Cubism is the embodiment of the modern environment, landscape and materials of everyday life (When Cubism Met the Decorative Arts in France). As Legar explains:

A modern man registers a hundred times more sensory impressions than an eighteenth-century artist. . . . The compressions of the modern picture, its variety, its breaking up of forms, are the result of all this (When Cubism Met the Decorative Arts in France).

Cubism is the excellent art movement which leaves deep impacts upon the mind in order to produce new visual consciousness. The cubists have presented the viewpoints more understandable in the post-war era when war was proved to be catalytic to generate elements of modern consciousness (When Cubism Met the Decorative Arts in France).

In the beginning of 20th century, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway present their innovative and creative visions about the modern life in graphical manner. Both Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway has earned great fame for the particular artistic qualities as Picasso’ unique and original style of painting while Hemingway’s revolutionary prose-style, abstract ideas, terse but simple style of writing, ambiguous stories which evoke the intuitive and imaginative powers of the readers (Picasso and Hemingway – 20th Century Innovators, 2009).

Hemingway is inspired by Picasso’ new style of painting, known as cubism and the deep impacts of Picasso’ artistic style, cubism can be seen in his writing works, particularly in his famous novel, The Sun Also Rises. Picasso and Hemingway depict the moral human drama of modern life in their artistic works. Hemingway portrays the exotic world with all colors in order to expose the inherent response of the individuals towards the real life, both artists expose the futility of war and its destructive influences upon humanity (Picasso and Hemingway – 20th Century Innovators, 2009).

In The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway presents his war experiences by portraying the uncertain world of lost generation who indulge in merry-making and pastimes like fishing trips, bullfighting, passing time in nightclubs and cafes. All main characters of the novel, The Sun Also Rises like Jake; Brett’s fiancé, Mike Campbell, Brett, Count Mippipopolous are true depiction of the lost generation who lead life of uncertainty and ambiguity (About The Sun Also Rises, 2010). In the novel, everything is painted as reaction to the dilemma of the war how the major characters of the novel are affected physically and psychologically, engaging them in incredible consumption of alcohol and continuous travelling from place to place. Hemingway paints the life of those characters in vague manner to reveal the very truth of life how these characters are leading life without any proper destination. All these characters reveals the devastating influences of Great War upon their minds and souls, if they are not post generation of war, they would act in different way (The Sun Also Rises, 2002).

In the novel, The Sun Also Rises, Jake Barnes and Brett Ashley are attracted by each other sexually but their sexual desire is too much intense. But Jake is unable to consummate his desire of love-making due to the wounded physique in war. But in spite of being injured, he can’t control his passionate desire of sexual intercourse, though he has lost his penis, yet he has deep emotions for Brett. He wants to satisfy her sexually after developing this deep relationship but Jake is incapable to do so (About The Sun Also Rises, 2010). Jake’s agony interprets the mechanization of industrialized society where life is much happier and better but after World War II, life has become more terrible for the individuals. The lives of Jake and Brett are true mirror to the lives of people after the Great War. The Sun Also Rises is one of the greatest novels ever written by Hemingway due to its unique literary devices like realism, impressionism and cubism to elaborate the stories of love and war more perfectly (About The Sun Also Rises, 2010).

Hemingway portrays how World War has destabilized the conventional concepts of faith, justice and morality. The people are unable to rely upon each other traditionally, they are lost generation who have undergone the bitter experiences of War, leading aimless and meaningless life as they are morally and psychologically lost people (The Sun Also Rises, 2002). The lives of Jack and Brett are embodiment of hollowness as they have good acquaintances with each other but still they are not contented due to the lack of consummation of love who try to fill this gap of life via escapist activities e.g. dancing, drinking, travelling, debauchery etc. Hemingway never exposes explicitly that Jake and his friend’s lives are pointless and aimless but it is his style of writing which implies such ideas about the sentimental and mental background of the characters. This implied manner of exposing ideas shows the influences of cubism in this novel, The Sun Also Rises (The Sun Also Rises, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, 2010).

In the novel, all characters live a life of discontent and dejection, Jake and his friends always indulge in constant merry-making but all merrymaking or revelry activities remain joyless. They involve themselves in heavy drinking in order to forget about War and internal spirits. They always remain busy in partying, dancing, drinking and chattering but still they remain sorrowful, dejected, purposeless and nothingness (The Sun Also Rises, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, 2010). The novel depicts the post war era by narrating the destructiveness and aimlessness of human lives, victimized by horror of war. Jake and other soldiers have to lead life without manhood due to his physical injury (loss of penis). He is confused soul who can’t deter his feelings of sexual love for Brett as he thinks that he is “less of a man” than he was before. Jake is personified as weakened or empty soul of masculinity who feel unconfident of their manhood power (The Sun Also Rises, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, 2010).

Hemingway doesn’t narrate this fact directly but it is the reaction of Jake and his friends towards Cohn. They hit hard Cohn by abusing when they capture him while showing “unmanly” attitude with Brett. They handle their fears of being pathetic and unmasculine by pointing out the weakness they observe in him. Hemingway also stresses upon this thematic sense by portraying the character of Brett, who often behaves like men as she too introduces herself as “chap,”having short boy haircut and masculine name. she is physically and spiritually too strong, confident and independent as if she embodies all traditional masculine characteristics while all male characters are doubtful about their masculinity like Jake, Bill and Mike (The Sun Also Rises, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, 2010).

Sex is the most influential and critical force in The Sun Also Rises. It is the sexual jealousy which forces Cohn to infringe his basic code of ethics and assault Jake, Romero and Mike. It is the sexual desire which prevents Brett to establish intimate relationship with Jake despite of her true love for him. It is the sex passion which undercut the self-respect of Cohn, passions of love, displayed by Jake and Brett. Brett is characterized to display the negative influences of sex as she is a modern woman, having sexual relations with several men without any scrupulous feelings (The Sun Also Rises, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, 2010).

The gap of communication is also displayed the influences of cubism in the novel how Hemingway depicts his characters without effective communication with each other. The hide their true feelings and never be honest or direct to each other. They can’t share their torments which is the legacy of war. As they talk about war in ridiculous manner, Georgette and Jake have agreed on this point during dinner that the war “would have been better avoided” (The Sun Also Rises, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, 2010). The dejected feelings are expressed when Brett distresses Jake and he exposes his discontent with her. Similarly, Mike is drunk aimlessly and expresses his disgusting feelings for Cohn. Drunkenness helps Jake and his friends to tolerate their lives without any true passions of love and aim. They want to escape the reality of life by indulging themselves in drinking and merry-making (The Sun Also Rises, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, 2010).

Oh, Jake, Brett said, “we could have had such a damned good time together (The Sun Also Rises, 2002).

The bullfighting in the novel is symbolic presentation of healthy activity and bright aspect of life. It is the presentation of postwar society in the perspectives of Jake’s characterization. For example, we can construe the outline of Belmonte from the viewpoint of Jake and his acquaintances. Just as Cohn, Mike, and Jake all once swayed Brett’s love, so too did Belmonte once control the fondness of the crowd, which now rejects him for Romero. Belmonte is the symbolic representation of the lost generation while bullfighting is the symbol of destructiveness of sexual passions. The words Hemingway use to portray Romero’s bullfighting is about sexual, and his assassination of the bull gives shape of a seduction (The Sun Also Rises, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, 2010).

This symbolic equation of sex and violence further links sexuality to danger and destruction. It is important to note that the distinctions between these interpretations are not hard and fast. Rather, levels of meaning in The Sun Also Rises flow together and complement one another (The Sun Also Rises, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, 2010).

In nutshell, the words and forms in the novels and short stories of Hemingway have visual art akin to Paul Cézanne, portrayed on the canvas of real life so accurately. Several critics identify the works of Hemingway in the context of visual and verbal arts (Recurrence in Hemingway and Cézanne).

The motif is at its most dominant in the middle chapters of The Sun Also Rises where the route tournante takes us not only into the Spanish Pyrenees but into Cézanne’s world of color and forms (Recurrence in Hemingway and Cézanne).

Hemingway’s cubism can be displayed like a powerful light which mitigates the darkness in order to clarify everything prominently. In Our Time, Hemingway probes into the disparaging influences upon the human existence how his words have been changed into horrified creatures with dominant standpoint towards the world and all apparent qualities are exposed by employing this technique of 20th century (Hemingway’s In Our Time: Cubism).

An artificial extension of the human eye, the searchlight for Hemingway also possesses a peculiarly tactile quality, as if to emphasize the physical force of this technology, and reverse the conventional associations of light with objectivity and enlightenment (Hemingway’s In Our Time: Cubism).

In Our Time, Hemignway provides an appraisal and cautious clarification of domineering culture, giving appropriate touches of light and darkness. In Our Time, Hemingway relates the people, creatures and things without objectifying them if we evaluate the very structure of In Our Time with the modern cubist styles of painting, the readers would be enjoyed such interesting comparisons when unique touches of cubism are employed to see the world in new angle, modern set of techniques (Hemingway’s In Our Time: Cubism).

After critique of Paul Rosenfeld, several critics have agreed that there are cubist elements in this book, In Our Time. For instance, Jacqueline Vaught Brogan discusses that the fragmentation of the story in In Our Time is directly associated with the visual fragmentation of cubist painting styles. In the similar context, Elizabeth Dewberry Vaughn asserts that Hemingway’s verbal recurrence is equal to repetition of visual images, painted by Picasso in geometrical shapes (Hemingway’s In Our Time: Cubism). Elizabeth Dewberry Vaughn states:

Both Hemingway and Picasso emphasize form over content; because of this emphasis the audience discovers meaning by looking both at the work as a whole and at the relationship among the individual parts of the text or painting (Hemingway’s In Our Time: Cubism).

Like Cubists, Hemingway brings into the light by showing multi-faceted things, events, people, ideals and concepts on his textual canvas in order to dominate the world. In Hemingway’s novels, the themes of alienation, disintegration, fragmentation and dejection are linked with cubism.

The continuous vibration and twinkling of brush-strokes against the discontinuous geometry of their structure is set forth, not as light, but as a property of matter—that plasma…. of which the Cubist world was composed (Hemingway’s In Our Time: Cubism).

Paul Rosenfield relates Hemingway’s prose-style with cubist painting how he employs direct, rudimentary, fragmentary and simple forms, textures and rhythmical tones, depicting the modern American society which enhances his value as a revolutionary American story-teller (Wagner-Martin, 2002). Hemingway paints a true picture of postwar era by representing the scenes of Spain’s hotels, churches, nightclubs, fishing streams and bullfights in authentic manner. Everything is painted with the fine touches of brush strokes of the expert painter who portrays a realistic picture on the canvas of real life (Wagner-Martin, 2002).

The intellectual structure built up from the story makes for violent dislocations in the customary logic of narrative (such as the “dislocations” inherent in both visual and literary “cubism,” I would add) (Brogan and Vaught, 1998).

According to Berger and Hughes, cubism is a form of realism, depicting the latest world of scientific advancement so perfectly. It is the gradual process of unfolding the utopian truths in pre-war era, how the cubists strive hard to amalgamate all disparate elements of the cosmos as whole.

In a Cubist picture, the conclusion and the connections are given. They are what the picture is made of. They are its content (Hemingway’s In Our Time: Cubism).

The reader of Hemingway’s fictitious stories has to find his role within the textural content while the intricacy of the forms and fragmentary phrases allocate him as partial reviewer. Hemingway uses the artistic techniques of cubism in In Our Time and The Sun Also Rises, parallelizing the spirit, themes, content, forms and characteristics (Hemingway’s In Our Time: Cubism).













Cited Works

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Balakrishnan,2003, Introducing Ernest Hemingway by Prof. Ganesan Balakrishnan, Ph.D.

Retrieved from: http://www.literature-study-online.com/essays/hemingway.html

Brogan and Vaught, 1998, Article: Hemingway’s ‘In Our Time’: a cubist anatomy.

(Ernest Hemingway), Article from: The Hemingway Review Article

dated: March 22, 1998 Author: Brogan, Jacqueline Vaught,

Retrieved from: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-20653057.html

Hemingway’s In Our Time: Cubism, Conservation, And the Suspension of Identification, Lisa Narbeshuber, Acadia University

Picasso and Hemingway – 20th Century Innovators, 2009, Picasso and Hemingway – 20th Century Innovators, retrieved from:

http://modern-american-fiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/picasso_and_hemingway_20th_century_innovators

Recurrence In Hemingway And Cézanne, Recurrence In Hemingway And Cézanne,

Published By Ron Berman, University Of California, San Diego

The Sun Also Rises, Themes, Motifs & Symbols, 2010, retrieved from:

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/sun/themes.html

The Sun Also Rises, 2002, The Sun Also Rises, written by Ernest Hemingway

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Sun-Also-Rises/Ernest-Hemingway/e/9780743237338

Wagner-Martin, 2002, Ernest Hemingway’s The sun also rises: a casebook By Linda Wagner-Martin, retrieved from:

http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=giRG96HKM9oC&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=cubism+in+sun+also+rises&source=bl&ots=Mm6PAGEzyU&sig=Qkw3yANb7RwkRYPLzfXJeNIsX8M&hl=en&ei=e6GbS-_2Oc2HkAWZhezMAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CAwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false

When Cubism Met The Decorative Arts In France, When Cubism Met The Decorative Arts In France, written By Paul Trachtman,