Today we have two short stories from Ernest Hemingway’s first book, Three Stories and Ten Poems, published in Paris in 1923. Although they don’t exhibit the tight, straightforward writing style for which Hemingway later became famous, they are indicative of the writing genius to come. The first, Up in Michigan, issues a grim warning to women about date rape. The subject matter was so contentious that it wasn’t considered publishable in the United States until 1938. The second story, My Old Man, is a coming of age story dealing with a boy’s relationship with his jockey father.
Up in Michigan
Hemingway’s perspective on the plot of this story, which ends in the rape of a naïve young woman, is unclear. The narrator appears to question whether she may be partly responsible. She knows the man is drunk and sexually aroused before going for a late night walk with him. Later, as she repeatedly says “no”, Hemingway writes: She was frightened but she wanted it. She had to have it. The brutal truth comes out after the assault: She was cold and miserable and everything felt gone. Themes: romantic illusion, sexual assault, loss of innocence.
Up in Michigan Full Text / PDF / Audio (1,950 words)
My Old Man
In his memoir A Moveable Feast, Hemingway wrote that while living in Paris he and wife Hadley shared a passion for gambling on horse races that kept them perpetually poor. This story deals with the French steeple-chasing scene in the early 1920s. A young boy hero-worships his past-his-prime jockey father. Their life changes when the father begins betting on fixed races. His gambling profits increase to the point that he buys and begins racing a horse of his own, only for a fall to bring both their worlds crashing down. Themes: father-son relationships, gambling, systematic corruption, loss of innocence.
My Old Man Full Text / PDF / Audio (5,900 words)