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Thesis
The tragedy of cowardice: The impact of Death in the Afternoon on Hemingway's war stories
University of West Florida Libraries
Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida
2015
Abstract
Through an analysis of Death in the Afternoon as an influential text for Hemingway's development as a writer, this thesis argues that the way in which Hemingway wrote about war in his short stories shifted, specifically his altering the theme of tragedy. In his early stories on war, Hemingway developed the tragedy of survival, a type of tragedy from which recovery is possible. But after writing his nonfiction treatise, he re-conceptualizes tragedy and its repercussions. His later war stories involve what I term the tragedy of cowardice, which ultimately becomes a far worse type of tragedy. This lack of valor, if exhibited by a character, prevents that person from finding any form of healing. Cowardice, as Hemingway comes to understand it, results in a character's figurative or physical death. There is no recovery. Death in the Afternoon, then, serves as the lynchpin for Hemingway's thematic shift when writing about tragedy. By way of conclusion, I identify that the tragedy of cowardice clearly has large implications when we consider it against modern post-traumatic stress disorder and against common interpretations of the Hemingway code.
Details
- Title
- The tragedy of cowardice
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Contributors
- David M Earle (Committee Member) - University of West Florida, College of Arts, Social Sciences, and HumanitiesF. A Josephs (Committee Chair)
- Publisher
- University of West Florida Libraries
- Format
- text
- Number of pages
- 36
- Copyright
- Permission granted to the University of West Florida Libraries by the author to digitize and/or display this information for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires the permission of the copyright holder.
- Identifiers
- 99380090758806600
- Academic Unit
- English
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Arts (MA)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), University of West Florida