“The art of Hemingway,” claimed Alan Pryce-Jones, “especially his innovative dialogue, may prove to be his lasting memorial as a writer” (Pryce-Jones 21). Although the biographical content of Hemingway's work has been the subject of much criticism, Pryce-Jones was one of those who noticed Hemingway's art of dialogue. However, there is not much in-depth analysis on this element. This article explores Hemingway's dialogue and, in doing so, discovered an interesting detail. Hemingway uses the compression device to write his dialogue, constructing minimal language, but somehow powerful meaning is generated. This is clearly evident in Hemingway's "Indian Camp," in which he "first employed the characteristic devices which distinguish his dialogue" (Pryce-Jones 21). Through close examination of passages from "Indian Camp," Hemingway's narrative technique will be revealed to show that his dialogue is simple and terse, yet powerfully meaningful and artistic. However, the argument of this article is not simply to point out Hemingway's simplistic dialogue in these works, but to assert how Hemingway uses it to make maximum meaning. This is accomplished through Hemingway's use of omission, indirection, and irony. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Before diving into the analysis, it is necessary to explain the literary device of compression in dialogue. In “Notes on Writing a Novel,” Elizabeth Bowen explains exactly why modern dialogue is so difficult to write. She said it must be “pointed, intentional and relevant.” We need to crystallize the situation. It must express character. It must advance the plot” (Bowen 255). Therefore, each piece of dialogue has an exact calculated purpose. However, such things must be implied subtly, suggestively and never by a direct statement (Bowen 256). When this is the case, what they intend to say, rather than what they actually say, is more striking because of its greater internal importance to the plot (Bowen 256). For example, a character might say, "Sally isn't that pretty, but she's not ugly either," or the character might say, "She's fine." If the first quote has a simple meaning, the second could suggest many things. One might ask; what exactly does the character mean by “ok”, and so on. Here, through the use of precise suggestive language, there is much more room for analysis and connotations. Therefore, characters should be under-articulated rather than over-articulated, with language that is simple, calculated, and loaded with deep meaning. Now that it is understood why Hemingway wrote such fundamental passages, an analysis can be given on how Hemingway managed to compress his dialogue, but still create maximum meaning. For many authors this is a difficult task, but Hemingway was able to use a number of literary devices that allowed for simple but meaningful language. We will first examine the literary device of omission. In many cases, a narrator is used in a work to convey necessary information. However, to lay out the details of the story, Hemingway often turns away from narrative commentary and instead uses compressed dialogue (Lamb 456). This form of omission is evident in Hemingway's short story, "Indian Camp." Young Nick Adams has a vague fear of death. One night, when he finds himself alone in the woods, he hears a noiseand summons his father and his uncle George. When Uncle George expresses his disdain, Nick becomes embarrassed. The next day, a conversation takes place between Nick and his father. His father tries to find something that could create the same noise that Nick heard. He asks, “Do you think that was it, Nick?” and Nick replies, “Maybe” (15). In two brief quotes, readers can realize that the suggested "it" suggests the noise Nick heard the night before. Thus, the events of the previous night are referred to, but are never explicitly mentioned (Lamb 456). This is a clear example of how Hemingway crystallizes a situation using omission in compressed dialogue. Hemingway also creates deep meaning in his deceptively simplistic dialogue through another literary device which is indirection. In "Indian Camp", Nick's father tries to find a calming solution to the cause of the noise that frightened his son. Hemingway states that to divert the conversation from his son's embarrassment, his father "found" two trees rubbing together that made a noise similar to the one Nick heard. Then he said to his son: “There is nothing that can harm you” (15). To begin with, the use of the word found (instead of saw) suggests that his father deliberately searched for a forest noise to console his son and indirectly show that he believed his son was telling the truth about the noise, despite this what others think. Additionally, when the father states that "nothing can hurt you", the "you" refers to Nick, but implies the more general meaning of "one". The father moved from the embarrassing incident to the general topic of how nothing in the woods can hurt anyone. So, because the father broaches the subject indirectly, the boy no longer feels embarrassed. Author HK Justice states, “In the dialogue, Hemingway displays calculation and the characters both experience involuntary self-revelation” (Ciardi 32). Clearly, Hemingway's use of indirection in compressed dialogue beautifully helped express his character. Additionally, Hemingway uses the literary tool of irony in “Indian Camp” to create maximum meaning in his compressed dialogue. In the story, characters often experience a miscommunication in their terse dialogue, but the failure of communication has an ironically successful outcome. When Nick asks his father a series of questions about the suicide of an Indian boy's father, it is only by using irony in simple dialogue that the deeper message can be understood. The conversation goes like this: (1) “Why did he kill himself, Dad? » (2) “I don’t know…” (3) “Do a lot of men commit suicide, Dad? » (4) “Not much. » (5) “Are there many women? » (6) “Almost never. » (7) “Dad? » (8) « Yes (9) « Is it hard to die, dad? » (10) “No, it's quite easy. It all depends” (18-19). Because Nick's first glimpse of death is that of a father, he expresses his concerns about absent fathers. We can see this with the term “daddy”. He asks a series of questions focused on death. His father can rely on his medical knowledge to answer the questions, but his father does not see Nick's intention and gives answers to the questions on the surface. For the first question, perhaps what Nick subconsciously wants to know is whether he will suffer the same fate as the boy who lost his father. However, Dr. Adams paradoxically views the question only as a psychological question that he is unable to answer unless it is a medical question. Then, when Nick asks about the frequency of male and female suicides,. 255).