Ernest Hemingway Essay Topics
American Literature
Mr. Heley
By now you have written a few essays for various purposes. They have ranged
from compare and contrast to informative to persuasive. To help you, I have listed
several sample topics. You do not have to choose from my list.
The stories you can choose from are as follows:
 “Hills Like White Elephants”
 “Big Two-Hearted River” part I
 “Soldier’s Home”
 “The Killers”
 “A Very Short Story”
Here is a list of sample essay topics:
1. What social commentary does Hemingway make on society in his time?
2. What is the theme of his work(s)?
3. Although Hemingway is not an existentialist author, do you see characteristics of
this philosophy in his works?
4. What type of person did Hemingway admire? How do you know this through his
work?
5. Compare and contrast “A Very Short Story” with In Love and War.
6. Discuss Hemingway’s style.
7. Are Hemingway’s works still relevant “in our time”? Why or why not? To
answer this, you must discuss what was important in Hemingway’s time and
compare it to ours.
8. Compare and contrast Hemingway’s style to that of any other author we have
studied so far this year.
Notes:
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