Faulkner Vs. Hemingway: A Comparison of Writing Styles

While they lived through the same time period, William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway are two very different writers. Even to the simplest part of writing they're different. Faulkner writes many long sentences while Hemingway writes mainly short ones. Faulkner uses many words to weave an intricate picture in the reader's head of what is going on, and Hemingway uses many monosyllabic words to create a seemingly simple story. Also, Faulkner embeds a lot of emotion in his writing unlike Hemingway, who seems to write without emotion. However, both writers write about what can be considered universal truths. They simply convey them in different ways. Faulkner writes in a way that uses a lot of words, while adding in these universal truths. Hemingway, on the other hand, writes in a deceptively simple manner. He writes in the manner of an iceberg, very little of the meaning is easily seen.

For these reasons, I think that it is more important to study the writing of Hemingway because his way of writing is similar to life. I say this because in life you often are given minimal information, and have to read between the lines in order to figure out what was really meant, or what you should do next. By writing simply, and including many deeper meanings, Hemingway impacts the themes of his writing in a way unlike any other author. His themes are usually ideas that everyone knows and about, and are lessons everyone should learn. Because Hemingway does not show these themes on the surface of his writing, when the reader realizes them they are more easily remembered and used in life. Also, his simple writing style reflects his themes in that the themes are also not complex. They are ideas that are basic, yet powerful. However, the major disadvantage to this writing style is that these meanings often go unnoticed because the reader is unable to catch them. Faulkner, on the other hand, uses long, complex stories which include many of the same ideas that Hemingway instills in a reader; just in a different way. Faulkner's complex writing style reflects the fact that his themes are often complex. The ideas his themes convey fit right into the story-telling. While this is advantageous in that the meaning is easier to see (but not completely obvious), Faulkner's writing style can be a turn-off to many people because they don't want to sift through his writing to find the story and meaning within.

I think, that if Faulkner and Hemingway were discussing each other's writing style they would consider it a good way of projecting an idea. I think that both of them would be open to new ideas, even if they didn't, or weren't capable of writing in the way of the other. I think that my writing is more similar to Hemingway in that I try to instill unseen meanings in my writing (usually they go unnoticed). However, I also think that I have a touch of Faulkner in me. I say this because I sometimes try to write using many details, often attempting to paint a picture in the reader's mind. I guess I'd have to say I'm a mixture of both. This is also just like life. Sometimes you get things deceptively simple, and other times they are way too complicated. Either way you have to deal with it and move through your life as best as you can.