Introduction
The current paper contains a discussion of the writing styles of two American writers Ernest Hemingway and Shirley Jackson whose works are now considered the classics of American literature. Some writers are influenced by others with a view to the chosen topics, manner of presenting facts and settings, the overall writing style, and peculiar techniques and characters.
Ernest Hemingway
The writing style of Ernest Hemingway can be considered very clear and intriguing at the same time. If we take into consideration his two short stories Hills Like White Elephants and A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, we would see that they give little information about the main characters, setting, and details. The most essential aspect of Hemingway’s stories is their symbolic meaning which is concealed under a range of images, characters, and their actions. Dialogues help the readers to evaluate the effectiveness of the presentation of a definite topic.
To tell the truth, the dialogues are the only part of these short stories that makes sense because there are no explanations, narration, or descriptions that are too brief to be a basis for different assumptions. In the story Hills Like White Elephants, the main characters are two young people who talk about a definite operation; he (referred to as the American) tries to persuade her (Jig) that the operation (abortion) would be very simple and it will let them have everything they want to. The story A Clean, Well-Lighted Place raises the theme of progress in life where the young have a family and work, while the old lack anything except work. Both stories have an implicit meaning which can be understood with the help of hints introduced by Hemingway in dialogues and excerpts of an inner speech of characters of his short stories.
Shirley Jackson
The writing style of the famous American writer Shirley Jackson can be best demonstrated through her well-known story The Lottery which tells about the cruel ritual which is held in a small American town on June 27 every year. The ritual is described in detail so the reader could feel the inevitability experienced by the victim of this inhuman ritual. The symbolism of the story is obvious because the author of so many different books for housewives and children (these people can be considered the target audience of Shirley Jackson) could not afford herself write the contradictory story which simply describes the pagan ritual of sacrifice for sake of good harvest. As a rule, the lottery is something that makes people happy and richer than before it, while the story introduces another kind of lottery which chooses the one who has to die in order for others could live happily with a good harvest. The writer implies the meaning of prejudices and passiveness before changes within a small society of a bucolic town into the story.
Conclusion
Both authors imply another meaning into their stories than it can seem first; the external form of Hemingway’s short stories does not correspond to their internal structure and even implicit meaning. Shirley Jackson’s writing style differs from that of Hemingway, though she introduces allegoric meaning as well. The Lottery is based on narration and description of the day and peculiarities of the ritual, while short stories by Hemingway are based on dialogues. Characters introduced by Jackson are more passive and weak-willed than those by Hemingway.