9. Syntax

Hemingway was one for "his spare but powerful writing style" (see back of The Sun Also Rises). Most of his sentences are short and direct rather than long and complex. His most vivid and more compound and/or complex sentence variety is often found when describing the scences of Paris night life, or the French and Spanish countrysides. Some of these occur at the beginning of each chapter, but not all. A good example:

"After awhile we came out of the mountains, and there were trees along both sides of the road, and a stream and ripe fields of grain, and the road went on, very white and straight ahead, and then lifted to a little rise, and off on the left was a hill with an old castle, with buildings close around it and a field of grain going right up to the walls and shifting in the wind (pg 99, Hemingway).

Now when describing the actions, words, and thooughts of each character most sentences are typically short. For example. "'I wish I could go. We've been looking forward to this fishing all winter.' He was beeing sentimental about it. 'But I ought to stay. I really ought. As soon as they come I'll bring them right up.' 'Let's find Bill.' 'I want to go over to the barber shop.' 'See you at lunch.' I found Bill up in his room. He was shaving" (pg 106, Hemingway). Maybe, Hemingway uses short sentences for his characteers because that is how humans really function. Or, maybe, in describing the 'lost generation', there lives truly are simple or routine, in that they all avoid the complexity of the post war world.