Question

Hemingway worked for which newspaper in his early career?

• A. New York Times
• B. Toronto Star Weekly
• C. Chicago Tribune
• D. none of the above

Answer 1

Answer:

B. Toronto Star Weekly

Ernest Hemingway's Early Journalism Career with the Toronto Star

• Ernest Hemingway's early journalistic career significantly shaped his distinctive writing style, characterized by its concise, direct, and declarative prose.
• He began working for the Toronto Star Weekly, a Canadian newspaper, in 1920. His official tenure started after he moved to Paris in 1921 as its European correspondent.
• Hemingway wrote for the Toronto Star and its Saturday edition, the Toronto Star Weekly, from 1920 to 1924, though most of his significant reporting was done from Paris.
• His assignments for the Star included covering major international events and interviewing prominent figures, which provided him with invaluable experience in observation and reporting.
• This period allowed him to hone his skills in crafting factual, impactful narratives, a style that later became the hallmark of his fiction. He learned to 'write short sentences, to use vigorous English, and to eliminate the superfluous.'
• Key figures from the Toronto Star, such as J.R.S. MacCormick (editor) and Greg Clark (fellow reporter), influenced his early career.
• His experiences as a foreign correspondent exposed him to various cultures and conflicts, themes that would later appear prominently in novels like 'A Farewell to Arms' and 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'.
• Before the Toronto Star, Hemingway briefly worked for The Kansas City Star in 1917 as a cub reporter, where he was exposed to the newspaper's style guide, which famously advocated for short sentences, short paragraphs, and vigorous English.
• The journalistic discipline of writing clearly and economically remained a cornerstone of his literary technique throughout his career.