A Simple Enquiry

Last updated

"A Simple Enquiry" is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway. [1] It was published in 1927 in the collection Men Without Women and is notable for its focus on homosexuality. [2] [3]

Contents

Synopsis

Three Italian soldiers are snowbound. The senior soldier, the Major, calls a 19-year-old orderly into his room and asks whether he had ever loved a woman. Most critics interpret the ensuing conversation as the major propositioning the orderly. When his questions are rebuffed, he dismisses the orderly from the room with the understanding that he will not press the issue. The major questions to himself whether the orderly was telling the truth.

Characters

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Hemingway</span> American author and journalist (1899–1961)

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Best known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, including seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His writings have become classics of American literature; he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature, while three of his novels, four short-story collections and three nonfiction works were published posthumously.

<i>A Farewell to Arms</i> 1929 novel by Ernest Hemingway

A Farewell to Arms is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. The novel describes a love affair between the American expatriate and an English nurse, Catherine Barkley.

"Hills Like White Elephants" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in August 1927, in the literary magazine transition, then later in the 1927 short story collection Men Without Women. Later the story was adapted for film in 2002. "Hills Like White Elephants" is a short 38-minute film; British actor Greg Wise played The American.

"The Killers" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway, first published in Scribner's Magazine in 1927 and later republished in Men Without Women,Snows of Kilimanjaro, and The Nick Adams Stories. Set in 1920s Summit, Illinois, the story follows recurring Hemingway character Nick Adams as he has a run-in with a pair of hitmen, who are seeking to kill a boxer, in a local restaurant.

<i>The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway</i> Posthumous collection of Ernest Hemingways short fiction

The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigía Edition, is a posthumous collection of Ernest Hemingway's short fiction, published in 1987. It contains the classic First Forty-Nine Stories as well as 21 other stories and a foreword by his sons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soldier's Home</span> Short story by Ernest Hemingway

"Soldier's Home" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was included in the 1925 Contact Collection of Contemporary Writers and published by Boni & Liveright in Hemingway's 1925 New York collection short stories, In Our Time.

<i>Men Without Women</i> (short story collection) Book by Ernest Hemingway

Men Without Women (1927) is the second collection of short stories written by American author Ernest Hemingway. The volume consists of 14 stories, 10 of which had been previously published in magazines. It was published in October 1927, with a first print-run of approximately 7,600 copies at $2.

<i>Ernest Hemingway: The Collected Stories</i> Posthumous collection of short fiction by Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway: The Collected Stories is a posthumous collection of Hemingway's short fiction, published in 1995. Introduced by James Fenton, it is published in the UK only by Random House as part of the Everyman Library. The collection is split in two parts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cat in the Rain</span> Short story by Ernest Hemingway

"Cat in the Rain" is a short story by American author Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), first published by Richard Hadley of Boni & Liveright in 1925 in the short story collection In Our Time. The story is about an American husband and wife on vacation in Italy. Critical attention focuses chiefly on its autobiographical elements and on Hemingway's "theory of omission".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Undefeated (short story)</span> Short story by Ernest Hemingway

"The Undefeated" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway and first published in the German magazine Der Querschnitt. It was featured later in Hemingway's 1927 story collection, Men Without Women. The story deals with an ageing bullfighter’s return to the sport after an injury.

"In Another Country" is a short story by American author Ernest Hemingway. It was published in Hemingway's 1927 short story collection, Men Without Women. The story deals with WWI soldiers receiving treatment in Italy during the war.

"Now I Lay Me" is a short story by American author Ernest Hemingway, the title is taken from the prayer above. It is one of Hemingway's Nick Adams stories and part of Hemingway's collection of short stories titled Men Without Women, which was published in 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife</span> Short story by Ernest Hemingway

"The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway, published in the 1925 New York edition of In Our Time, by Boni & Liveright. The story is the second in the collection to feature Nick Adams, Hemingway's autobiographical alter ego. "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife" follows "Indian Camp" in the collection, includes elements of the same style and themes, yet is written in counterpoint to the first story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifty Grand</span> Short story by Ernest Hemingway

"Fifty Grand" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1927, and it appeared later that year in Hemingway's short story collection Men Without Women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross Country Snow</span> 1924 short story by Ernest Hemingway

"Cross Country Snow" is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway. The story was first published in 1924 in Ford Madox Ford's literary magazine Transatlantic Review in Paris and republished by Boni & Liveright in Hemingway's first American volume of short stories In Our Time in 1925. The story features Hemingway's recurrent autobiographical character Nick Adams and explores the regenerative powers of nature and the joy of skiing.

"Che ti dice la Patria?" is a short story by American author Ernest Hemingway set in Italy. The Italian title may be translated as "What does the homeland tell you?"

<i>Today is Friday</i>

Today is Friday is a short, one act play by Ernest Hemingway. The play was first published in pamphlet form in 1926 but became more widely known through its subsequent publication in Hemingway's 1927 short story collection, Men Without Women. The play is a representation of the aftermath of the crucifixion of Jesus, in the form of a conversation between three Roman Soldiers and a Hebrew bartender. It is one of the few dramatic works written by Hemingway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Canary for One</span> Short story by Ernest Hemingway

"A Canary for One" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in Scribner's Magazine April 1927. It was republished in Men Without Women (1927), The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories (1961) and The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway (1987).

"Ten Indians" is a short story by American writer Ernest Hemingway, featuring protagonist Nick Adams, Hemingway's autobiographical alter ego. It was published in 1927 in the collection Men Without Women. The title is derived from a comment made by Mr. Garner - "That makes nine of them" - after moving an Indian who had passed out on the road. The title also alludes to the 1864 children's song, Ten Little Indians.

"A Pursuit Race" is a 1927 short story by American writer Ernest Hemingway. It was published in the collection Men Without Women.

References

  1. Meyers, Jeffrey. Ernest Hemingway: The Critical Heritage (Psychology Press, 1997), p. 112.
  2. Nolan, Charles J. (1995-03-22). "Hemingway's Complicated "Enquiry" in 'Men without Women.'". Studies in Short Fiction. 32 (2): 217. ISSN   0039-3789.
  3. Hemingway, Ernest (2014-05-22). Men Without Women. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9781476770178.