Hemingway’s Best Work and the Reasons Why
30 Jun
For sale: Baby shoes; never used.
- Ernest Hemingway
Legend has it that Hemingway wrote the above when his colleagues bet him he couldn’t write a story in just six words. After winning the bet, Hemingway called it his best work.
Whether that’s just an urban legend or has a basis in fact, it’s useful to analyze why Hemingway would call it his best work. In fact, I could think of three reasons.
Reason #1: Simplicity of language
American author William Faulkner once famously disparaged Hemingway by saying Hemingway “had never been known to use a word that might send the reader to the dictionary.â€Â Hemingway’s even more famous response? “Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?”
Examine the six word story. Just two of the words have more than one syllable, and those words are the rather simple “Baby” and “never”. In fact, it’s a story that even most Kindergartners could read and not have any trouble with.
Reason #2: It’s concise.
There are no dangling participles or extraneous nouns, articles, adjectives, or verbs in the six word story. In fact, with the exception of ‘For’, each word tells a story in and of itself.
By being concise, the power of the words can shine most clearly. Hemingway could have written a short story on the subject, but why write 10,000 words when just six will do? Use too many words, and the soul of the story is lost.
Reason #3: It’s emotionally captivating
Brevity may be the soul of wit, but wit isn’t known for its emotional qualities. Here, though, Hemingway combined brevity with an emotionally capitivating story.
He did this by carefully selecting each word.  Take “used”. One common variant of Hemingway’s six word story is to accidentally substitute “worn” for “used”.  Yet, compare those two words. Which do you think conjures up greater emotion?
What this means for you
A careful analysis of Hemingway’s six word story shows us that simply writing and editing a story isn’t enough. Rather, we must examine each word carefully. Can I say it simpler? Can I get rid of it? Is there a better word?
By going through your own stories in such an exhaustive manner, your writing will be clearer, your words will have more power, and your readers will be more appreciative. In the meantime, why don’t you leave your own six word story in the comments?
I love all of this.
We did these in English class! Using this example!
I can’t remember mine.
Fantastic example of his Iceberg Theory. I have to admit I’ve never seen it before, although I do know a thing or two about Hemingway. You should also mention The Elements of Style (Strunk & White), which basically teaches the same theory.
I’ll remember that line, thanks!
This is right on the ball. I’ve always tried explain my stories in the shortest possible way – at least at first draft stage. As I redraft them, I expand key parts I feel I did not do justice to.
I agree with the dictionary part as well. Reading a book that looks like it was written with a thesaurus in hand is just awkward and annoying.
Pampered child cries; reason not determined.
How was that?
ahhh.. the beauty of words