Themes in Ernest Hemingway's Short Stories
Ernest Hemingway has many themes that are apparent in his stories. My personal favorite is irony. Ernest Hemingway uses many examples of irony as a vessel to send a message. For example, The Undefeated was a story about a man named Manuel who felt like (or had delusions that) he was once a legendary bullfighter. However, as all evidence suggests (the crowd not cheering and him taking 5 swings with his sword to bring a bull down) he was never that way.
While irony may be my personal favorite, another huge factor (and what made him famous) was the minimalist way in which he wrote. Also known as the iceberg theory, Hemingway writes as little as he possibly can (1/8) to convey his message and leaves the rest (7/8) up to the reader. He writes all of his stories in this way, enabling long, 40+ minute conversations about 6 words. Being able to manipulate words in such a manner is truly masterful.
