Constructions of Race and Revolution in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Porter”

Abstract:In this essay, Ian Marshall analyzes Ernest Hemingway’s writing methodology in his short fiction, paying particular attention to constructions of labor, landscape, and African American male identity. Marshall argues that Hemingway was incapable of imagining a black working-class revolution, or a racially unified working-class revolution in the United States. This inability shapes his characters actions, particularly George, the main African American character in “The Porter,” and contributes to our understanding of revolutionary and social class consciousness in the U.S. as presented in Hemingway’s fiction.