Hemingway’s \u3cem\u3eIn Our Time\u3c/em\u3e: Pretty Good Unity

Argues that In Our Time should be classified as a short story cycle for it is “too finely patterned to be described as a mere collection of stories and too dependent on individual components to be described as a novel.” Opens with a composition and publication history, along with Hemingway’s own comments, to ground his argument that the book is structurally unified. Concludes that Hemingway’s combination of the linear with the associational (patterns built on recurring situations, motifs, and themes) unifies the sketches with the stories. Examines themes of violence, chaos, racism, family, and marriage, among others