Effective Use of Nature Symbolism in Ernest Hemingway’s Novels

Abstract

The present paper aims at the careful study of some of the novels of Ernest Hemingway with a special insistence on his way of treating nature. Nature directly or indirectly plays a significant role in his creations and is much crucial aspect in the life’s of the various characters. Hemingway’s famous ‘Iceberg theory’ is also explained through an element from the nature itself. He has beautifully described the relationship of human beings with the nature around them, the environment they are a part of, the flora and fauna they are surrounded with. At places, nature becomes a prominent symbol of expression to convey various emotions. Hemingway’s way of dealing with the theme and symbols from nature is par excellence. This paper traces some of the instances where Hemingway very creatively exhibits nature and its various forms. He associates different connotations with different seasons; summer being positive and winter being the time of hopelessness. In A Farewell to Arms, rain is symbolic of pain, loss, agony, despair, and death. Destructive aspects of nature are balanced with the motherly traits of nature in the real world and in the world created by Ernest Hemingway. In Old Man and the Sea, nature is presented in its fierce and devastating form almost taking away the life of an aged fisherman; the sea, the creatures, the winds everything against him bringing unbearable hardships. On the other hand the ‘Sun’ in The Sun Also Rises, is an indicative of hope, beauty, and optimism and also signifies life. Along with that a startling contrast has been drawn between the horrifying lives people lead in modern day city to that of people living peacefully in heavenly countryside. Also people struggling with the aftermaths of war, seek shelter in the lap of nature. It is explicit here that for Hemingway, Nature is a juxtaposition of peace and violence; bringing life and death; being constructive and destructive; having angelic and ghostly attributes at the same time.