A Simple Analysis of Ernest Hemingway’s Shortest Story About Baby Shoes

One of the best six-word short stories ever written

In his 1991 book, The World According to Ernest Hemingway: A Biographical Record From His Birth Until He Died, John Louis Villard wrote, “Hemingway was a master of the short story and a born writer.

That is the reason many people attribute Hemingway to the famous short story: “For Sale: Baby Shoes Never Worn,”

2001: A Space Odyssey’s author, Arthur C. Clarke, once wrote a letter to his friend and publisher, John Robert Colombo, telling him Hemingway supposedly won a $10 bet from his fellow writers for these famous six words.

However, the Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winner might have gotten the idea from a 1917 article published in The Editor, titled “Tragedy of Baby’s Death is Revealed in Sale of Clothes.” Also, in 1921, a similar story appeared in the July issue of Judge, but instead of baby shoes, they mentioned a baby carriage instead.

Nevertheless, regardless of where Hemingway got the idea, there is no doubt his version excels the others. But does it have the necessary elements to be considered a novel?

With the help of renowned writer Dan Brown, from his writing lecture in Masterclass, we’ll find out if it has all the necessary elements to qualify as a novel.

The 5 elements of a good novel

According to Brown, a good book, or in our case, a novel, needs the following elements:

1.- A strong opening.

Every good story needs to grab the reader’s attention from the start. Something is also known as “A Hook,” an element to catch the reader from the beginning.

A strong opening is one of the most important elements, and in this case, in the era of fast times, fast living, and fast shopping, the “For Sale:” catches the reader’s attention immediately.

2.- Compelling characters

Great literature has rich, compelling characters that introduce us to someone to love, hate, or identify with. With the simple word “Baby,” Hemingway paints our minds with an image of a family. The parents and their baby, regardless of gender, automatically connect us with tenderness, love, funny faces, and joy for the people who like or want to have them.

But also, for those who don’t want a baby by their side, it can bring fear, hate, repulsion, worriedness, and on these days, a reason to protest. Therefore, we can say this is sufficiently covered.

3-. An absorbing story

According to Dan Brown, every reader wants to be entertained by a good story, from the beginning to the end. Our story has everything necessary to be in several types. From the fourteen mentioned in his master class, it fits at least ten:

• Literary Fiction. We already know Hemingway wrote it to win a bet, and either inspired by other articles or not, he developed the plot as a fictional story.
• Mystery. Our story makes us wonder why the baby shoes are for sale, whether for a boy or a girl, too small, the wrong color, a duplicate gift, or they are on sale because the baby died.
• Thriller. Are the parents selling the shoes because the baby died? Or is the seller someone who probably stole them and now wants to make a profit
• Horror. Why did the baby die? Maybe because of some scary evil plot about a sinister character as a demon, evil spirit, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches, and monsters preying on babies? Yes, I know this is over the top, but you can’t deny that as you read each one, you were already picturing a plot that would fit any evil character.
• Historical. Historical fiction novels take place in the past, and now that we know it was written years ago, we can say it fits this point. Written with a careful balance, it transports us to another time and place — which can be real, imagined, or a combination of both.
• Romance. Novels under this genre center around love stories between two people, or in this case, up to three, the parents, and the baby, sharing hope, love, and also containing conflict.
• Speculative Fiction. Speculative fiction novels are those which compasses several types of fiction, and as we’ve already noticed, this story has many of them.
• Fantasy. Since our story has imaginary characters set in an imaginary place and time, we could say it fits. I understand this presumption is too far-fetched, but you can’t deny it could happen in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or maybe within the Harry Potter series.
• Realist Literature. As Brown writes: “Realist fiction novels are set in a time and place that could happen in the real world. They depict real people, places, and stories in order to be as truthful as possible. Realist works of fiction remain true to everyday life and abide by the laws of nature as we currently understand them”. Hence, it also fits this genre.
• Magical Realism. Magical realism novels depict the world truthfully plus add magical elements. The elements in this Hemingway’s work have, on its own, a magical element, capturing our imagination.

4. Sharp dialogue

Good novels use sharp, memorable dialogue that advances the plot, demonstrates your characters’ personalities, and adds texture to the world of your story. They also describe action through first-person or third-person narration, making each word choice, syntax, and sentence structure sound unique. Therefore, Hemingway’s story also checks this point.

5. Unique style:

The last characteristic of the list is the Writing style or the voice and tone a writer uses to convey a story or express an idea. Every writer has their style, and Ernest Hemingway was a master, writing with the least words possible, short sentences, and superb use of the craft in every one of his novels. Many writers use a distinctive style as the perfect example of balanced use of words, making it distinct, singular, and instantly recognizable.

All things considered

We can conclude that Ernest Hemingway is a household name, synonymous with style and adventure. The 63-year-old writer and journalist spent most of his life publishing books and articles about those experiences, which made him one of the world’s most renowned authors.

As for the story “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn,” first published in The Sun (New York) in 1954, we can say that either inspired by the previous versions or from his imagination, it fits all the novel characteristics perfectly.

Furthermore, whether you agree or not with my conclusion, at least this article managed to entertain you for a couple of minutes, and that is my main goal.

Please post your comments, either if you agree or not. As I always say, every comment makes the perfect opportunity to learn.

In the book “Ernest Hemingway: Quotes & Facts (p. 14)”, author Blago Kirov, writes that once Hemingway said the best rules for writing were those he received while working in The Kansas City Star newspaper:

“The rules are: Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs.” — Ernest Hemingway