The document discusses Ernest Hemingway's "iceberg theory" of writing, where most of the story or meaning is not explicitly stated but rather implied. The theory suggests that omitting certain details allows readers to infer more and strengthens the story. It provides context on Hemingway developing this style as a journalist and explains how his short story "The Old Man and the Sea" exemplifies the iceberg theory through implied deeper themes beyond the surface story.

1. Hemingway's
Iceberg theory

2. Name: Drashti Joshi
Roll No: 05 Enrolment
Number: 4069206420220016
Sem: 2 [M.A.] Batch: 2022-2024
Paper Number: 108 Paper Code: 22401
Paper Name: The American Literature
submitted To: Smt S.B.Gardi, Department of English, M.K.B.U.
Dated On: 13-03-2023 E-Mail: drashtijoshi582@gmail.com

3. 2.“The Iceberg Theory”
3.What is Hemingway’s
Iceberg Theory?
4.“Hemingway’s old
man and the Iceberg”
5.Conclusion
Thank You

4. The iceberg theory or theory of omission is a
writing technique coined by American writer
Ernest Hemingway. As a young journalist,
Hemingway had to focus his newspaper
reports on immediate events, with very little
context or interpretation. When he became a
writer of short stories, he retained this
minimalistic style, focusing on surface
elements without explicitly discussing
underlying themes. Hemingway believed the
deeper meaning of a story should not be
evident on the surface, but should shine
through implicitly.
Introduction of Novelist and
about his Theory:
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21,
1899 – July 2, 1961) was an
American novelist, short-story
writer, and journalist. His
economical and understated
style—which included his iceberg
theory—had a strong influence on
20th-century fiction, while his
adventurous lifestyle and public
image brought him admiration
from later generations.

5. “The Iceberg Theory”
-The Iceberg Theory (also known as the "theory of omission") is a
style of writing coined by American writer Ernest Hemingway.
The theory is so named because, just as only a small part of an
iceberg is visible above water, Hemingway's stories presented
only a small part of what was actually happening.
-Alternatively speaking, Ernest Hemingway's "iceberg" theory is
his strategy of fiction writing in which most of the story is
hidden, much like an iceberg underneath the ocean. The largest
percentage of an iceberg is underwater (not visible) and is
subsequently the strongest part of the iceberg. In the same way,
the strongest part of a Hemingway story is what is hidden from
the reader and if applicable, revealed later.(“The Iceberg Theory.”)

6. -Amanda Headlee explain in her Article “The “Iceberg
Theory” of Writing”..
-Ernest Hemingway coined this theory when he
determined that by omitting parts of a story, details that
the writer and reader both inherently know, the story’s
prose will the shortened and strengthened. He believed
that writing in this fashion forms a stronger bond with
the reader because the author has confidence that the
reader is knowledgeable and intuitive enough to pick up
on the pieces that were omitted. This led Hemingway to
feel that the true meaning of the story should not glisten
on the surface, but rather be found inherently embedded
within the structure of the story.(Headlee)
“The Iceberg Theory”

7. -Britton Perelman explained about…
The thing about icebergs is — there’s always more hidden beneath the
surface.
Hemingway’s “iceberg theory” centers on the idea that there’s always more
to a story than what the reader or viewer sees. In Death in the Afternoon,
Hemingway wrote:
“If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about, he may omit
things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will
have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated
them.”
Hemingway began his writing career as a journalist assigned to the crime
beat for the Kansas City Star. His articles had to be purely factual, with no
opinion or personal interpretation added, and Hemingway naturally brought
that minimalist style to his fiction writing. (Perelman)
What is Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory?

8. In The Art of the Short Story, Hemingway was quoted, “You could omit
anything if you knew that you omitted and the omitted part would strengthen
the story and make people feel something more than they understood.” In
other words, the reader will feel a deeper connection to the story because they
had to use their knowledge to understand the items that were omitted. This, in
turn, allows the reader to trust the author because the author knows their
readers are smart enough to comprehend the work and not have every little
concept spelled out in detail.(Headlee)
-As an author, play around with your stories and
understand the balance to your prose. Too much
omission will leave a story weak and difficult to
understand or to see the whole picture. Too much
detail will bore or irritate the reader. The author must
find the balance of the perfect level of omission to keep
the “iceberg” from inverting.(Headlee)
“The Iceberg Theory”

9. -Robert o.Stephens Explained in his Article “Hemingway’s old man and the Iceberg”
-When Ernest Hemingway told George Plimpton of The Paris Review about his
iceberg theory of writing, he pointed to The Old Man and the Sea as a prime
example of such writing. According to the theory, "I always try to write on the
principle of the iceberg. There is seven- eighths of it under water for every part that
shows." The sea novel in respect to style fits the theory, Hemingway pointed out, in
that he knew many fishing stories never explicitly incorporated in the tale; knowing
them gave him authority for the tale he did write. But Hemingway suggested more
strongly the applicability of the iceberg image for understanding theme when he
noted, "You can be sure that there is much more than will be read at any first
reading...." This comment is especially meaningful when used as a way of viewing
a theme in his work that emerges like the crest of an iceberg in this novel.(Stephens)
“Hemingway’s old man and the Iceberg”

10. -Writers who utilize Hemingway’s iceberg theory must embrace the
idea that they will always know more about the story, the world, and
the characters than there will ever be room for on the page. For
leaving things off the page can often be more powerful than spelling
them out.
-Hemingway developed the style as a result of being a journalist, a
profession which requires consciousness due to space restraints in
printed newspapers. Hemingway believed that the application of the
iceberg theory created the perfect short story, and the more details
the writer strips away, the more powerful the story is.
Conclusion

11. Headlee, Amanda. “The “Iceberg Theory” of Writing.” The Sarcastic Muse, 17 June
2015, https://thesarcasticmuse.com/2015/06/17/the-iceberg-theory-of-writing/.
Accessed 12 March 2023.
Perelman, Britton. “How to Use Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory in Your Writing.” The
Script Lab, 9 June 2021, https://thescriptlab.com/blogs/16293-how-to-use-
hemingways-iceberg-theory-in-your-writing/. Accessed 12 March 2023.
Stephens, Robert O. “HEMINGWAY’S OLD MAN AND THE ICEBERG.” Modern Fiction
Studies, vol. 7, no. 4, 1961, pp. 295–304. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/26277207. Accessed 12 Mar. 2023.
“The Iceberg Theory.” Private Security Professionals of America,
https://www.mypspa.org/article/more/the-iceberg-theory. Accessed 12 March 2023.
Work Cited