There Are Some Things Which Cannot Be Learned Essays -

"There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring. They are the simplest things, and because it takes a man's life to know them, the little now that each man gets from life, is very costly and the only heritage he has to leave." Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller "Papa" Hemingway Ernest Hemingway is easily reconized by many scholars and outdoorsman because of his lifestyle. During his life he left a legacy for some and a disaster for others. Although he was on top of the world at some point or another, his life wasn't always as fortunate. He had problems, like everyone has, but it wasn't his fault he could not stay satisfied and couldn't keep women. Hemingway was not only a writer, but a vetern, fisherman and hunter, a loving father. Ernest Miller Hemingway was born at eight o'clock in the morning on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois (Shaw viii) . Born in the family home at 439 North Oak Park Avenue, a house built by his widowed grandfather Ernest Hall, Hemingway was the second of Dr. Clarence and Grace Hall Hemingway's six children; he had four sisters and one brother (McDowell 11). He was named after his maternal grandfather Ernest Hall and his great uncle Miller Hall. As a boy he was taught by his father to hunt and fish along the shores and in the forests surrounding Lake Michigan (Shaw 17). The Hemingways had a summer house at the northern end of Lake Michigan and the family would spend the summer months there trying to stay cool. Hemingway would either fish the different streams that ran into the lake, or would take the row boat out on the bay and do some fishing there. He discovered early in life the serenity to be found while alone in the forest. It was something he could always go back to throughout his life, wherever he was. Nature would be the touchstone of Hemingway's life and work. Hemingway received his formal schooling in the Oak Park public school system. In high school he was mediocre at sports, playing football, swimming, water basketball and serving as the track team manager (Burgess 15). He enjoyed working on the high school newspaper called the Trapeze, where he wrote his first articles. Hemingway graduated in the spring of 1917 and instead of going to college the following fall like his parents expected, he took a job as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star (Shaw viii). At the time of Hemingway's graduation from High School, World War I was raging in Europe and despite Woodrow Wilson's attempts to keep America out of the war, the United States joined the Allies in the fight against Germany and Austria in April, 1917 (Shaw). When Hemingway turned eighteen he tried to enlist in the army, but was deferred because of poor vision; he had a bad left eye that he probably inherited from his mother, who also had poor vision. When he heard the Red Cross was taking volunteers as ambulance drivers he quickly signed up (Shaw). He was accepted in December of 1917, left his job at the paper in April of 1918, and sailed for Europe in May. On July 8, 1918, only a few weeks after arriving, Hemingway was seriously wounded by fragments from an Austrian mortar shell which had landed just a few feet away. At the time, Hemingway was distributing chocolate and cigarettes to Italian soldiers in the trenches near the front lines. The explosion knocked Hemingway unconscious, killed an Italian soldier and blew the legs off another (Shaw). What happened next has been debated for some time. Supposivlely over 200 pieces of shrapnel being lodged in Hemingway's legs he still managed to carry another wounded soldier back to the first aid station; along the way he was hit in the legs by several machine gun bullets (Shaw). Whether he carried the wounded soldier or not, doesn't diminish Hemingway's sacrifice. He was awarded the Italian Silver Medal for Valor with the official Italian citation (Shaw). Recovering at a hospital in Milan, he started a relationship with his nurse Agnes von Kurowsky (Burgess 72). He returned to America with a broken heart. Hemingway took the position, which offered him time to write and a chance to work for the Toronto Star Weekly. Hemingway wrote for the Star Weekly even after moving to Chicago in the fall of 1920. While living at a friend's