Compar and Contrast - Essay Example

The elements of history were engraved in the stories that were left by the two writers. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway have similar time frame to tell but different experiences to share in their stories throughout their lives. In terms of the time they became popular in the field of literature, they boomed in different years but they both became famous for their works. Their works may conflict at times in terms of ideas, but throughout their career, they became friends that had eroded after certain number of years.

Their friendship started when they first met each other in a bar called Dingo. Fitzgerald had accustomed to ask too much and flatter the strangers during first time conversations that gave Hemingway a negative connotation about the personality of Fitzgerald. A good example is the instance when Fitzgerald interrogated Hemingway regarding “having slept with his wife before they were married did not seem appropriate conversation, particularly from a total stranger,” (Lombardi). Despite of that incident, their friendship continued as both of them became prolific writers.

Hemingway was not yet that famous during that time but Fitzgerald already had known something about Hemingway as Fitzgerald told his editor that Hemingway had the potential in literature (Lombardi). Fitzgerald assisted Hemingway in editing and promoting Hemingway’s work. Despite of the help given by Fitzgerald, it was said that Hemingway later on paid back Fitzgerald by mockery and deception as their friendship corroded (Kakutani). Some said that Hemingway had a habit of associating himself with famous and great writers to promote his works and advance his writing career.

He associated himself with Gertrude Stein, John dos Passos, Dorothy Parker and many more (Lombardi). The friendship corroded especially in 1936 when Fitzgerald published the confessional article which he called The Crack-Up and the series of insults continued. Hemingway told something about Fitzgerald in his work The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Up until the death of Fitzgerald, Hemingway showed some insults for Fitzgerald through his works (Gent). For the next part, a focus would be given for the analysis of the short stories made by each writer and how the stories reflected their lives.

The short story analysis begins with the works of Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald became well-known for his short stories in Flappers and Philosophers that reflected the youth culture and pursuit for wealth during the Roaring Twenties. During that time, the demands for stories in popular magazines were the type of stories made by Fitzgerald. His major success was in the field of short stories though in public he was known as the Poet Laureate of the Jazz Age and he even influenced other famous writers like J. D. Salinger and John O'Hara (Mangum 1368).

The image of Fitzgerald really differs from his real accomplishment like his real self is different from the way he projected himself in public. Also as he deemed himself to be good at writing short stories for popular magazines, he explained it to Hemingway the reason why he had chosen to write short stories as revealed in A Moveable Feast by Hemingway: he was “whoring but that he had to do it as he made his money from the magazines to have money ahead to write decent books,” (Mangum 57).

He was both a professional writer and a literary artist though he focused on