Is it true that Hemingway does not have a descriptive and complex vocabulary?

Question

When I was in England, the English did not regard Hemingway as an accomplished writer. They even thought that Hardy's "Under the Greenwood Tree" was superior. I believe I understand why, since after reading "The Sun Also Rises", I see that Hemingway uses a rather simple vocabulary and does not go out of his way to describe things with any sort of ornate or complex words. How can such a person get such a glittering reputation, some would say the best reputation of any 20th century American writer?

Answer 1

Hemingway is always held up as someone who could perfectly describe things with sparse, powerful prose. Good writing is not fancy words and complicated sentences. Good writing is saying the most with the least amount of words. My all time favorite Hemingway line is from "For Whom the Bell Tolls".

Rather than blathering on for pages and pages to describe a torrent love scene, taking place between the protagonists in a sleeping bag, Hemingway describes all of the passion and all of the violence of the act in three simple words:

"The Earth moved."

I alway get hungry when reading Hemingway because he is so good at describing meals. Simply.

Answer 2

Sometimes, saying something simply is better than saying it with fancy words and complex sentence structure. I believe that since his work is written without all the extra stuff, it makes his work more understandable for people who are not quite into using or understanding the more complex words. That being said, his way of using a lot of dialogue without explaining who's saying what does make a lot of readers get lost.

Answer 3

I think Hemmingway believed that his literature should be accessible to most classes of people, and that intricate metaphors and obscure allusions don't really make or break a peice of literature. Hemmingway didn't have to prove himself by using elaborate conventions. In fact, his simpler vocabulary is a sign of great skill, as he manages to convey his message just as well as if he had used 'fancy' language.

Personally, I think his writing style is very down to earth and appropriate, especially in books like 'The old man adn the Sea'

Answer 4

I think the best answer will come from answering the question yourself.