Although today this would seem odd, Ernests' mother dressed him as a Victorian little girl as a young boy. The only time he had to dig into his masculinity was during camping trips he had with his father Ed Hemingway in Michigan. Unfortunately this affected his masculinity later in life and may be why there was some level of masculinity expressed in almost every one of his stories. His short story, " In Another Country" was inspired by his first encounter with war. In 1917, World War 1 called upon America's youth and Ernest was upon the first to enlist to fight the war in Europe. However he was rejected by the army for his defective vision so instead he chose to volunteer as a Red Cross ambulance driver in Italy. He later was injured while he was delivering chocolate to Italian soldiers on the frontline. He was taken to a hospital in Milan where he met his first love, Agnes.
Throughout many events in Ernest's life he slowly discovered his true masculinity. One that stands out to many is his constant need to have a wife or mistresses in his back pocket. He had always been smitten by a women by her looks. He had a total of 4 wives but there were endless accounts of women he cared to be with. Also he had a constant attraction towards bullfighting in Pamplona. The first time he had travelled to Spain was with his wife Hadley. Despite her inability to watch the brutality of it all, Ernest watched all the action in complete awe. The second time he travelled with a few of his colleagues. This obviously inspired his short story, "The Undefeated." His passion for big-game hunting on safari's in Africa, his devotion towards deep sea fishing in Cuba and Key West Florida and his alcoholism later in life also proved his masculinity. Although his alcoholism affected his mental and physical health. He drank a quart of whiskey per day and he had lost his ability to write a true paragraph.
Ernest Hemingway inspired many writers and people all around the world by sharing his ideas and thoughts based on his experiences. But only his true influence led him to constant misery, loss, and depression. "A favorite expression of Hemingway's was to endure, one must last. Despite the controversy surrounding his attacks on his image Ernest Hemingway endures." He taught people "less is more." What was so extraordinary to me while watching the documentary was that he "found a way to incorporate enduring themes as a subject matter for his writing. Themes such as courage, grace under pressure and characters transformed by a challenge" are all unique themes that people will always cherish in Hemingway's writing.
