Ernest Hemingway
There are a number of websites, books and articles on the life, experiences, and writings of Ernest Hemingway that depict the man as a womanizer, sometimes heavy drinker, and ultimately the tragic victim of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Though many of these sources attempt to shine different lights on Hemingway's life, most all agree that he was a prolific and profound writer of the written word.
Hemingway wrote in a myriad of ways including; short stories, novels, poetry and articles. He began his writing career as a journalist at the young age of 18. His first foray into the writing community was as a cub reporter for the Kansas City newspaper The Kansas City Star. Similar to the remainder of his life, he quickly became bored with covering local events, he yearned for much more. During his brief stint with the Star he covered the 15th Street Police Station, the Union Station and the General Hospital. According to one expert, "This meant he had to write about everything that went on in the Police Station, the train station and the hospital (Hulse, 2006), when his true objective was to be in on the action during World War I. Hemingway obtained that objective by becoming an ambulance driver in Europe, transporting the dead and wounded to area hospitals and clinics. He was 19 years-old and the...
After training for the position, he arrived in Europe and was quickly immersed in the action.
Ernest's predilection for the machinations of war was evident throughout his entire life. He loved being in the middle of all the action, and his numerous injuries (and resulting hospital stays and medical treatments) were evidence that he was also prone to mishaps -- some serious. In fact, two of his injuries were so serious that both times his demise was erroneously reported in the media.
His first injury took place as he drove the ambulance filled with supplies for some Italian Soldiers. Though injured by a projectile that exploded within a group of soldiers with whom he was conversing, he heroically carried another soldier to safety while at the same time coming under heavy machine gun fire. His resulting injuries landed him in a Red Cross hospital in Milan. It was while he was interred there that he first displayed his propensity for falling in love with beautiful women. The first real love of his life was a nurse that cared for his wounds in a mansion used for wounded soldiers in Milan, her name was Agnes. According to Hulse "it was his first adult love affair and he hurled himself into his emotions" (2006). It may have been his first true love, but it also set the course of his life in motion -…
