What do you think?
Rate this book
Hemingway and the Dead Gods: A Study in Existentialism.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1982
13 people want to read
About the author
John Killinger
90 books3 followersThe Rev. Dr. John Killinger lives with his wife, Anne, in Warrenton, Virginia. A former pastor in Baptist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches, he also taught for fifteen years at Vanderbilt Divinity School and was Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Samford University in Birmingham. He is the author of over 50 books, among them God, The Devil, and Harry Potter. Because Dr. Killinger's interests are broad, his writings have touched on many subjects: Christian history, personal spirituality, world religions, preaching, worship, church politics, a female Christ figure, the Gospels as devotional literature, secular writers and artists, the nature of pastoral ministry, and the relationship between theology and contemporary culture. His prayers and utterances often find their way into Sunday church bulletins and other ministers' sermons. You will find inspiration and spiritual sustenance within.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 28, 2023
John Killinger’s “Hemingway and the Dead Gods” is an insightful and concise analysis of the existential themes present in Ernest Hemingway’s fiction. As one would expect, this study relies heavily on the writings of a number of twentieth century philosophers, and tends toward the theoretical.
The author does not dwell on Hemingway’s experience in the Great War, and his subsequent religious disillusionment, which is to say, the loss of faith he experienced after his encounter with death and nothingness. Killinger argues that throughout the 1920s and 30s Hemingway produced works revolving around themes found in Heidegger, Sartre, Jaspers and other existentialists. Like a number of his fictional heroes, Hemingway confronted mortality on the battlefield; and, henceforth, death, as a boundary experience, became the dominant theme in his fiction. Hemingway’s protagonists are alone in a world devoid of God and without any real hope for camaraderie.
Thus, these heroes are compelled to forge control of their identities, devise a code by which to live, suffer, and die. Grace under pressure is central. As a young ambulance driver in Italy, Hemingway internalized Shakespeare’s pronouncement from “Henry IV:” “I care not; a man can die but once; we owe God a death… he that dies this year is quit for the next.” Words oft repeated or paraphrased in Hemingway’s fictions.
To face death, renounce conventions, and accept responsibility for a self-created moral code is the fate of Hemingway’s protagonists. Obviously, some are more successful than others. In Hemingway’s words:
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But
those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very
brave impartially.”
The author does not dwell on Hemingway’s experience in the Great War, and his subsequent religious disillusionment, which is to say, the loss of faith he experienced after his encounter with death and nothingness. Killinger argues that throughout the 1920s and 30s Hemingway produced works revolving around themes found in Heidegger, Sartre, Jaspers and other existentialists. Like a number of his fictional heroes, Hemingway confronted mortality on the battlefield; and, henceforth, death, as a boundary experience, became the dominant theme in his fiction. Hemingway’s protagonists are alone in a world devoid of God and without any real hope for camaraderie.
Thus, these heroes are compelled to forge control of their identities, devise a code by which to live, suffer, and die. Grace under pressure is central. As a young ambulance driver in Italy, Hemingway internalized Shakespeare’s pronouncement from “Henry IV:” “I care not; a man can die but once; we owe God a death… he that dies this year is quit for the next.” Words oft repeated or paraphrased in Hemingway’s fictions.
To face death, renounce conventions, and accept responsibility for a self-created moral code is the fate of Hemingway’s protagonists. Obviously, some are more successful than others. In Hemingway’s words:
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But
those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very
brave impartially.”
Displaying 1 of 1 review