Ernest in Arizona: Studying and Reproducing the Prose of Ernest Hemingway

This creative project represents the only creative writing that I have had the opportunity to create during my time at Barrett as a finance major. As such, I had to learn the story-telling process from scratch. My endeavors were further complicated by the fact that I desired to emulate the writing of Ernest Hemingway. He is a man whom I have come to admire, and I believe that even though it is impossible for most of us to live our lives with as much external vigor and daring, we would do well to internalize his appreciation of life as a rare commodity to not only be treasured but also utilized fully. To prepare for this project, I read Hemingway's work extensively and embarked on an in-depth analytical study of his prose and premises. While writing my own story, I found Hemingway's edict to the writer to "write one true sentence . . . write the truest sentence you know" extremely useful; it helped me through writer's block more times than I can count. The story I created, "Gambles of the Living," follows the journey of Lewis Turner and his wife, Mary, as they travel to Arizona to cure a chest ailment Lewis seems to have picked up after fighting in the Second World War. As with the work of Hemingway, the themes of war, courage, and the fleeting nature of life run deeply through my work.