ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author analyses a short story with reference to those linguistic features that are especially prominent in the text, using the same features as a basis for the construction of an interpretation of the story. Most critical writing about Hemingway’s ‘style’ tends to converge on a limited range of adjectives by which it is characterised. ‘Clipped’, ‘laconic’, ‘bare’, ‘colourless’, ‘simple’ appear to be among the most frequent. Perhaps the most striking aspect of this ‘simple style’ can be found in the opening paragraph of our text. The convergence of FIS and a foregrounded concentration of modal verbs marks this as a moment of particular significance in the story. It also reveals this to be a not wholly objective narrative presentation. However ‘colourless’ or ‘neutral’ is the style overall, Hemingway seems to allow a merging of his point of view with that of his protagonist.
