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33UDC 81'27 https://doi.org/10.33619/2414-2948/85/77
THE CONCEPT OF WAR THROUGH SEASONAL SYMBOLISM IN ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S SELECTED WORKS
©Naimanova Ch., ORCID: 0000-0001-7828-1840, Dr. habil., Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, [email protected] ©Tynchtykbekova A., ORCID: 0000-0001-5866-7287, IstanbulNi§anta§i University, Istanbul, Turkey, [email protected]
КОНЦЕПТ «ВОЙНА» СКВОЗЬ ПРИЗМУ СИМВОЛИКИ ВРЕМЕН ГОДА В ИЗБРАННЫХ ПРОИЗВЕДЕНИЯХ ЭРНЕСТА ХЕМИНГУЭЯ
©Найманова Ч. К., ORCID: 0000-0001-7828-1840, д-р филол. наук, Киргизско-Турецкий университет «Манас», г. Бишкек, Кыргызстан, [email protected] ©Тынчтыкбекова А., ORCID: 0000-0001-5866-7287, Стамбульский университет Нишанташи, г. Стамбул, Турция, [email protected]
Abstract. Humankind faced numerous war experiences in its existence. War concept is one of the significant themes in art; moreover, it is one of the frequently utilized concepts in literature. This paper studies war concept through seasonal symbolism in the context of Ernest Hemingway's literary works, its interconnection with seasons of the year and post war conditions of the characters. The topicality of the paper can be explained through existing interest to symbolism, exactly seasonal symbolism in the literary world. Additional data is the analysis done on the seasonal symbolism depicting the concept of war in Ernest Hemingway's works. The novelty of this paper lies in the analysis done to reveal symbolic interpretation of seasons reflecting the concept of war in Ernest Hemingway's writings. During the analysis of this work the following methods of research were applied: qualitative method and comparative method of research. Symbolic interpretation of war concept can be illustrated with various phenomena. Some works depicts war through the usage and existence of weapons in the work, some with blood and death of the characters and finally, some works can reveal war symbolism through weather depiction and the existing season in the plotline of the work.
Аннотация. За время своего существования человечество столкнулось с многочисленными военными операциями. Концепт война — одна из значимых тем в искусстве; более того, это одно из часто используемых понятий в литературе. В статье рассматривается концепт война через призму сезонной символики в контексте произведений Эрнеста Хемингуэя, его взаимосвязь с временами года и послевоенными условиями героев.. Актуальность статьи объясняется существующим интересом к символизму, именно сезонному символизму в литературном мире. Дополнительными данными является анализ сезонной символики, изображающей концепт войны в произведениях Эрнеста Хемингуэя. Новизна статьи заключается в анализе символической интерпретации времен года, отражающей концепт войны в произведениях Эрнеста Хемингуэя. При анализе данной работы применялись следующие методы исследования: качественный метод и сравнительный метод исследования. Символическая интерпретация концепта войны может быть проиллюстрирована различными явлениями. В одних работах война изображается через использование и наличие в произведении оружия, в других — через кровь и смерть персонажей и, наконец, в некоторых работах можно раскрыть военную символику через описание погоды и существующее время года в сюжетной линии произведения.
Бюллетень науки и практики /Bulletin of Science and Practice Т. 8. №12. 2022
https://www.bulletennauki.ru https://doi.org/10.33619/2414-2948/85
Keywords: war, autumn, spring, symbolism.
Ключевые слова: война, осень, весна, символизм.
The topicality of the paper can be explained through existing interest to symbolism, exactly seasonal symbolism in the literary world. Additional data is the analysis done on the seasonal symbolism depicting the concept of war in Ernest Hemingway's works.
Various analysis and researches related to the symbolic meaning of sea, bullfighting, war and etc. in the context of Ernest Hemingway's works were done. The novelty of this paper lies in the analysis done to reveal symbolic interpretation of seasons reflecting the concept of war in Ernest Hemingway's writings.
During the analysis of this work we have applied following methods of research:
• Qualitative method. This method of research is utilized throughout the paper. It is one of the major research methods applied in this work. Following types of this method were used: observation and case study.
1. Observation. Data collection and data analysis were obtained through the observation of Ernest Hemingway's literary works and the usage of seasonal symbolism in those works.
2. Case study. Several categories of this very method were also applied in our work. They are: explanatory case study, descriptive case study and exploratory case studies.
Comparative method of research. This method allows displaying similarities and the differences between the elements under analysis. In our case it was utilized to reveal symbolic meaning of the seasons of the year through comparative analysis between universal symbolic meaning and the interpretation of seasons in Ernest Hemingway's works. This very method demonstrates the existing difference and similarities between two mentioned analyses.
The aim of the paper is to study war concept in the context of Ernest Hemingway's literary works, its interconnection with seasons of the year and post war conditions of the characters.
Symbols are one of those phenomena which have deep roots in past, persistent existence in today and lasting continuation in future. Symbolism is an aspect which is diverse and changing, which has branches in various fields such as literature, linguistics, psychology, philosophy and etc. Seasons of the year according to their universal symbolic interpretation represent life and circle of life. Nevertheless, symbolic interpretation of those seasons separately may greatly vary from conceived concepts.
We would like to give the results of the analysis of Ernest Hemingway's stories.
War symbolism is one of the main symbolic interpretations in Ernest Hemingway's works. This concept was mentioned in vast part of Hemingway's stories. Real experience in battle ground assists Hemingway to depict the real picture of war and its consequences. Moreover, the concept under analysis has strong connection with the existing seasons in the plotline of the work.
Autumn in Ernest Hemingway's writings has negative connotation. One of the major representations related to this time of the year is war. War time, battle ground, war memories are almost always associated with this season of the year.
The first work under analysis is a short story "In Another Country". It starts with this following sentence: "In the fall the war was always there ..." (The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, 1987:164) this fragment is followed by the weather depiction as cold and dark. The narrator of the story is a wounded soldier in hospital in Milan. From the first perspective the story is a fragment from one of the soldier's memory. Nevertheless, that very fragment gives and demonstrates the reader the consequences of the war. Even though the work is narrated from one
character's point of view and gives his attitude and feelings towards the emotional state of other characters, the story reveals what is war, its relation with death and personal tragedy.
"My knee did not bend and the leg dropped straight from the knee to the ankle without a calf, and the machine was to bend the knee and make it move as in riding a tricycle" (The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, 1987:164) is the fragment depicting the narrator's wound taken in the war. These kinds of injuries happened thousands. For instance, in the same work one soldier was left without nose, one without hands and etc. The author represents only some of them. It is obvious that war, besides death, caused permanent physical and psychological injuries and sufferings.
War enhances hatred. People hate war itself " We only knew then that there was always the war, but that we were not going to it anymore " (The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, 1987:165)
They hate each other "The people hated us because we were officers'", they hate injures taken from battle ground "They rebuilt his face, but he came from a very old family and they could never get the nose exactly right", (The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, 1987:164-165)
They hate death "The doctor told me that the major's wife, who was very young and whom he had not married until he was definitely invalided out of the war, had died of pneumonia. She had been sick only a few days. No one expected her to die". fThe Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, 1987:167)
Author in this work used autumn to symbolize war and its consequences.
The next work under analysis is Ernest Hemingway's one of the famous novels "A Farewell to Arms!" This very work contains almost all the seasons. Yet, in this paper we will focus on one of the periods of the year which is autumn.
"There was fighting for that mountain too, but it was not successful, and in the fall when the rains came the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain. The vineyards were thin and bare branched too and all the country wet and brown and dead with the autumn"" ("A Farewell to Arms!", 1929: 9) is the passage taken from the work. It narrates war scenes and mostly contains words like: fighting, unsuccessful, bare trees, wet, brown, dead and etc. The usage of negative vocabulary can serve as the best proof to demonstrate the importance or significance of autumn season in this novel. Actually, autumn in the context of this work symbolizes the existence of war. Further author continues the second chapter depicting victories of the army, yet those trophies don't coincide with the descriptive fragments of autumn. In another words Hemingway intentionally relates wet and brown autumn with war.
"...all the country wet and brown and dead with the autumn"" ("A Farewell to Arms!", 1929:9) is another passage which implies the upcoming autumn and at the same time the upcoming war scenes in the novel.
Further the plot of the novel changes and the author depicted personal life of the main characters. Their interests like horse racing, their friends and acquainted people are in the central attention. However, that depiction doesn't last long and the author presents war scenes again. And those fragments are followed after the appearance of autumn in the course of the story. "In September the first cool nights came, then the days were cool and the leaves on the trees in the park began to turn color and we knew the summer was gone. The fighting at the front went very badly and they could not take San Gabriele". ("A Farewell to Arms!", 1929: 126) This is the passage which presents the forthcoming war description. So, autumn period in this novel is strictly connected with the war and the battle ground.
Another work which also includes autumn symbolism is a short story "The Revolutionist" by Ernest Hemingway The setting took place in Italy. The narrator tells a story of one of his Magyar
Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice Т. 8. №12. 2022
https://www.bulletennauki.ru https://doi.org/10.33619/2414-2948/85
comrades. That comrade was depicted as a young and shy boy with sad background. Some facts related to his pre-war life were also shared by the narrator. For instance, he tells us his comrade's love to the mountains exactly in autumn, his sympathy for Italy and its citizens, as well as about his previous life and etc. Autumn season in this very story has a symbolic meaning. That symbolic interpretation can be separated as following:
- War. Conversation between the narrator and Magyar boy was about nothing but war. Autumn has strict connection to the war theme in this very short story.
- Cruelty. The narrator doesn't show any emotions or feelings related to the shy boy. Yet the plot reveals several cruel chains in young Magyar boy's life. Firstly, he was a soldier in the war, he faced violence in the army and finally he was jailed in another country.
The following Ernest Hemingway's work under analysis is "Across the River and into the Trees". The main setting of the work is winter season, yet nevertheless there are some fragments which contain autumn season as the setting of the work.
Autumn in this very work symbolizes war. Fragments containing and depicting autumn will be given and analyzed further:
1. "Hell, he said to no one and certainly not aloud, I've felt this way before many fights and almost always at some time in the fall of the year and always when leaving Paris. Probably it doesn't mean a thing" (Across the River and into the Trees", 1950:117) is one of the first passages when the author mentioned another season of the year except winter. Before leaving his beloved Renata Colonel Richards compares his emotional state with his feelings before the battle. Grieve and sadness, war, separation are the ideas that are closely connected and linked to the autumn season.
2. "He remembered how, by some miracle of chance in a war, he had been with his best friend for a moment in action in the Ardennes and they were pursuing. It was early fall and it was on a high upland with sandy roads and trails and the trees were scrub oak and pines. The enemy tank and half-track prints showed clearly in the moist sand" (Across the River and into the Trees", 1950:135) is another passage which includes autumn season. Again it holds war depiction in its context.
Every passage containing fall depiction is closely related to the war time or accompanied with battle ground. Thus, autumn period in this very work symbolizes war.
Another season with war symbolism is spring period. The interpretation of this period in Ernest Hemingway's works exactly in "A Farewell to Arms" has more negative connotations as odds, difficulties, war and even death.
This work tells a story of a volunteer ambulance driver Frederic Henry, his experience in the war and his love affair with English nurse Catherine Barkley. As the setting of the work author mostly mentioned spring and autumn periods. In the paper "Spring as the Representation of Severities in Ernest Hemingway's «A Farewell To Arms!» symbolic interpretation of spring season was analyzed. The reader encounters rainy weather in several parts of the story. Actually, from the beginning till the end of the literary work there is rain, spring and autumn rain. And it is not that type of rain which is romantic or positive, yet cold and wet weather condition which disturbs and gives the feeling of anxiety and fear. Fragments with rain depiction in the novel are considered to be significant. Because every time when the main hero faces this very weather condition, negative changes happen in his life. In other words, rainy weather prepares diversities for the protagonist of the novel. The role of rain in this very work is significant. As we have seen in the passages given above this weather condition represents: separation of the characters, the upcoming danger, etc. [1].
Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice Т. 8. №12. 2022
https://www.bulletennauki.ru https://doi.org/10.33619/2414-2948/85
The same negative connotation of spring as separation, the upcoming danger, death and war can be met in Ernest Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls". The setting of the story is the late spring. It narrates the story of Robert Jordan, an American volunteer in the war.
His love to a Spanish girl, Maria, his thoughts related to his family, job and his attitude towards the people surrounding him are in the central part of the work. Spring season in this novel, as we have mentioned before has negative symbolic meaning. And symbolic representation of this period of the year will be given further.
Table
NEGATIVE SYMBOLIC MEANING OF SPRING SEASON
War One of the main themes of the work is the theme of war. From the beginning till the end of the
work this concept is present. Moreover, it is the most discussed topic in the character's conversations. War is also the tragedy which has a trace in every character's personal
_background._
Death War and death in this work are like twins, one cannot exist without the other. Throughout the
novel the reader faces several dying characters, in addition, the death of the main character as well. After Pilar looked Roberto's palm the reader understands that his demise is inevitable. Yet, the author didn't narrate his death explicitly. Only those passages with the thoughts and
_desires of Ingles can reveal the upcoming end of the main protagonist._
Danger Every character of the work has worries and the prediction of upcoming danger, since the
setting of the story is the war time. This notion keeps the sense of tense feeling throughout the work. The appearance of foggy and snowy weather conditions also gives the hint that
_something dangerous is going to happen._
Separation This symbolism takes the wide range of meanings. First of all, separation of characters. Lovers Ingles and Maria are parted by war and death. Separation of society or the community. Every character in the story has his or her own tragic history, where he or she was separated from
_their family, beloved ones and even country._
Unrealized Characters of this work by Hemingway are different from each other. Their attitudes toward dreams this or that idea, war, family, even Maria are not the same. Most of them dream about the end of bloody war, and to win the fascists, as well as to return to the usual life. Yet, the war changed them totally. They won't be the same even after the war. Thus their dreams are _impossible to be realized in the context of the work._
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" is one of the most famous works written by Hemingway. The table given above demonstrates the symbolic meanings of the spring season. Relying to that analysis of the work it is vivid that the author implies negative meaning by including spring period to the setting of the work.
An additional data to spring symbolism is the example given further. Snow in spring and in winter in Ernest Hemingway's writings has totally different interpretations. In Ernest Hemingway's one of the short stories called "A Day's Wait" snow has more positive symbolic interpretation. It stands for mutual understanding and childish purity. In contrast, snow in the work under analysis represents the upcoming danger. As an example we can give the fragment of El Sordo's death and the early morning when Roberto and Maria were nearly caught by the enemy cavalier. All these parts happened in snowy weather conditions. Thus we can say the interpretation of snowy weather condition in winter and spring greatly vary from each other, one reveals positive passages the other predicts the upcoming danger and even death of the characters.
One of the spring weather conditions rain is present in most of Ernest Hemingway's works. Moreover, it presents negative context to the work. For instance, in "Banal story" the author states that the snow was turning to rain; this very idea hides the upcoming death of the main character. Rain as a symbol of death is present in "Nobody Ever Dies" as well. This short story written by Ernest Hemingway narrates the story of Enrique, a wounded soldier in the war who was sent with a
Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice Т. 8. №12. 2022
https://www.bulletennauki.ru https://doi.org/10.33619/2414-2948/85
special task, and his girlfriend Maria. Except these two characters there are also minor ones as a Negro, and other police.
• The author doesn't mention exactly which season is in the work, yet he added some weather depictions like rain and wind. Both of these mentioned weather conditions foreshadow upcoming death of Enrique and arrest for Maria.
"Old Man at the Bridge" is another short story by Ernest Hemingway which contains seasonal symbolism, exactly spring symbolism. The author didn't demonstrate the existence of this season directly. Two hints or implications which present the existence of this very season in the context of the work are following:
1. The first proof is that there is the war throughout the work. The characters talk about animals which were left, fascists, artillery, enemy and etc. According to their conversation it is obvious that the short story narrates war time. As a matter of fact, war symbolism mostly relates to spring or autumn periods in the context of Ernest Hemingway's works.
2. The second one is the only phrase which proves that there is spring season in the story and it has symbolic meaning. One of the characters and actually the narrator of the story mentions Easter Sunday. According to www.catholic.org/lent/easter.php Easter is movable, that it is celebrated between March 22 and April 25.
Thus, spring season in Ernest Hemingway's one of the short stories "Old Man at the Bridge" symbolizes war, at the same time it includes symbol of guilt feelings, end of the usual life. According to the analysis of the story the universal meaning of spring season doesn't coincide with its symbolic meaning in this very work by Hemingway. In comparison with its universal symbolic interpretation spring has more negative sense in the story.
Thus, to resume, Ernest Hemingway in his novels and short stories represents spring as a season of severities, war and death. War symbolism in Ernest Hemingway's works was illustrated with autumn and spring seasons of the year. The existence of above mentioned periods in the plotline of the literary works may predict the forthcoming war scenes and depictions in the context of the story. Symbolic interpretation of war concept can be illustrated with various phenomena. Some works depicts war through the usage and existence of weapons in the work, some with blood and death of the characters and finally, some works can reveal war symbolism through weather depiction and the existing season in the plotline of the work.
Acknowledgments: We would like to express our deep gratitude to our families for their limitless support and empathy, for their kindness, patience and trust. We would also express our gratitude to our collegues for their accurate remarks. Moreover, we would like to thank our friends for support and help.
References:
1. Naimanova, C. K., & Tynchtykbekova, A. T. (2018). Spring as the Representation of Severities in Ernest Hemingway's" a Farewell to Arms!". Наука, новые технологии и инновации Кыргызстана, (10), 141-144.
2. Hemingway, E. (1998). Across the River and into the Trees (Vol. 2425). Simon and Schuster.
3. Hemingway, E. (1995). For Whom the Bell Tolls. 1940. New York: Scribner's.
4. Ernest Hemingway. (1987). The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. Scribner. New York.
Список литературы:
1. Naimanova C. K., Tynchtykbekova A. T. Spring as the Representation of Severities in Ernest Hemingway's" a Farewell to Arms!" // Наука, новые технологии и инновации Кыргызстана. 2018. №10. С. 141-144.
2. Hemingway E. Across the River and into the Trees. Simon and Schuster, 1998. V. 2425.
3. Hemingway E. For Whom the Bell Tolls. New York: Scribner's. 1995.
4. Hemingway E. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. Scribner. New York.
1987.
Работа поступила в редакцию 13.11.2022 г.
Принята к публикации 19.11.2022 г.
Ссылка для цитирования:
Naimanova Ch., Tynchtykbekova A. The Concept of War Through Seasonal Symbolism in Ernest Hemingway's Selected Works // Бюллетень науки и практики. 2022. Т. 8. №12. С. 576582. https://doi.org/10.33619/2414-2948/85/77
Cite as (APA):
Naimanova, Ch., & Tynchtykbekova, A. (2022). The Concept of War Through Seasonal Symbolism in Ernest Hemingway's Selected Works. Bulletin of Science and Practice, 8(12), 576582. https://doi.org/10.33619/2414-2948/85/77
