Firearms in the Works of Hemingway and Mailer

Authors

  • Barry H. Leeds Central Connecticut State University Author

Keywords:

Ernest Hemingway, firearms in literature, war and violence in fiction, weapons symbolism, American literary naturalism, masculinity and violence

Abstract

An enumeration and analysis of firearms in the works of Ernest Hemingway and Norman Mailer. Guns are virtually ubiquitous, sometimes mere everyday equipment, more often objects of profound symbolic and thematic significance. But always, as in life, they loom as instruments that amplify the individual’s influence on the world around him. Whether used to hunt game, commit murder, or fight for a political ideal, every gun is a tool that extends the power of the existential human will in a world that would attempt to render it impotent.

Author Biography

  • Barry H. Leeds, Central Connecticut State University

    Barry H. Leeds is CSU Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Central Connecticut State University. His books include The Structured Vision of Norman Mailer (NYU Press, 1969) and The Enduring Vision of Norman Mailer (PBS, 2002). He is Vice President of The Norman Mailer Society and a member of the Editorial Board of The Mailer Review.

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Published

2026-03-25

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2010): Literary Warriors

Section

Articles