A Day's Wait

Ernest Hemingway lived a life full of action and drama; it seems almost impossible that so much could happen to one man. In some ways, Hemingway is more of an American legend than Paul Bunyan. As such, separating the actual man from the mythos surrounding him can be challenging. While researching his entire life, reading one of his many biographies, or watching a Hemingway documentary is worthwhile, this section focuses on his life only up to 1933 and its potential influences on “A Day’s Wait.”

Hemingway was born in 1899, one of the most turbulent times in US history. He grew up outside Chicago but spent every summer on Walloon Lake, Michigan. There, he learned how to fish and hunt, pastimes that he continued to enjoy most of his life. Michigan is the setting for several of Hemingway’s works, and some argue that “A Day’s Wait” may be one of them.

Hemingway didn’t get along with his parents and left home after graduating from high school. He worked briefly as a reporter for the Kansas City Star. Hemingway tried to join the army during World War I but was rejected because of his vision problems. Undeterred, he signed on as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross.