38 pages • 1 hour read
Ernest HemingwayTo Have And Have Not
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1937A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Power of Social Class
The entirety of Hemingway’s fragmented story explores the disparity between those who “Have” and those who “Have Not,” ultimately revealing that wealth gives one a certain sense of power that nothing can take away.
Harry is one of the “Have Nots,” but in order to escape the grip of the Great Depression, he must work for the “Haves,” who, in Hemingway’s bleak world, manipulate others to serve their own best interests. From Johnson, the rich fisherman who walks his charter tab on Harry’s boat, to the government men on Willie’s boat who “swore an affidavit” (118) exposing Harry’s rum-running operation, the rich build their success off the backs of the poor. Truthfully, it is the rich who force Harry—through their sabotage—into elicit, black market operations in order to make ends meet, and, unlike the rest of the Conchs who keep their integrity and choose to starve rather than sell it to the highest bidder, Harry becomes what is necessary in order to provide. He is not immoral—no more so than the Cubans who believe they are doing what is right for their people—but his actions set him apart from those he calls friends. To him, it is a weakness that they “started starving when they were born” (148) and have never taken action to remove themselves from that situation.
The Conchs live in squalor, highly dependent on alcohol to make it through the day, and struggle with governmental aid programs in order to feed their families—programs that never pay enough. Though the men in Harry’s circle assist with some of his illegal affairs, he must lie to them in order to get them to come aboard by downplaying the seriousness of each trip, and, when faced with immoral decisions, they balk in protest. In contrast, the “Haves,” lying in relative comfort on their million dollar yachts and drinking expensive bourbon in the bars, treat life as a playground built for exploitation. Their happiness, secured by the almighty dollar, is merely an illusion supported by that dollar. They may be able to force the “lesser thans” to do their bidding, but their lives are twisted dystopias of infidelity and existential impotence.
The crafted character of Harry Morgan valorizes individuality that defies social class entirely, with preference given to a man who can make his own mark in the world entirely independent of the pulls of society.
The Individual Versus the Government
Cuban revolutionaries and militant groups, rugged American individualists, and jaded war veterans—To Have and Have Not encompasses a wide range of characters who are unsatisfied with their lots in life and willing to risk everything to stick it to the man, though some succeed far more than others.
The Cubans, passionately supporting their own laundry list of virtues and ideals for revolution, are unable to see the underlying criminality of their actions. Harry recognizes this, and his decision to brutally murder the four Cuban men symbolizes a take-back of individualistic rigor, a permanent denial of government in any form—revolutionary or not. After all, Harry is the exception. To him, the government represents repression and control. It is the US Navy, aided by the rich fishermen, who steal his boat under dubious means; it is the Cuban militants who cause his untimely death in their pursuit of vengeance against an overarching government toiling in the midst of an economic downturn. The two groups, although different in motivation, pursue the same ideal—exploitation of others to serve their cause. As a brutal man in a brutal world, Harry chooses his own path, one that eschews the common good in favor of the individual.
The group of war veterans in Freddy’s bar represent the forgotten warriors of the First World War, men who have seen the horrors of the human condition and returned ready to reveal its secrets. However, such a revelation would destroy the illusion of security that most governments are in place to protect; therefore, the veterans become members of a most-wanted list issued by the same American government they swore to protect. The veterans, “desperate” and “with nothing to lose” (206), have the power to overthrow the status quo, but unlike Harry, they lack the self-discipline needed to make a difference and instead fall victim to the same vice as the Conchs—alcohol. The liquor gives them fleeting confidence and voice, but like the buzz, it doesn’t last, and they resort to being rowdy men at a hole-in-the-wall bar: out of sight, out of mind.
The Necessity of Self-Preservation
While others in the novel pursue evil and exploitation to serve their own self-interests, Harry’s decisions, however amoral they may seem, are done to preserve Marie and their three daughters. After all, Henry would never have resorted to illicit activity unless he had been forced to by the backstabbing Mr. Johnson, whose swindling departure left Harry scrambling for the means to provide.
Murder is given an almost ethical context when Harry kills Mr. Sing and the four Cubans. Instead of exploiting the innocent Chinese men as Mr. Sing had planned, Harry’s vigilante justice seems heroic. Ever the minimalist, Hemingway gives little insight into Harry’s decision, only that killing Sing kept him from killing the twelve other men—a plain justification. Through this murder, Harry de facto saves himself from becoming what he hates—a backstabbing criminal. The juxtaposition between act and intention comes across as completely natural.
In the few scenes of self-reflection leading up to the Cuban escape plan, Harry weighs the necessity of killing the men and stealing the money against the grim reality of his own inadequacies—without an arm or an education, all he has is his “cojones to peddle” (147), a reminder of the brutish masculinity that has defined his character all along. Harry combats this sense of emasculation by equating masculinity with utility and trying to make himself useful. His only option must be to do whatever it takes to fulfill his main promise: provide for his family, no matter the cost. He is not going to be like the other Conchs, watching their families starve to death while they work for nothing.
A typical Hemingway character, Harry stands for himself and only for himself. He cannot be bought, and therefore, he cannot be swayed. Other characters earn judgment by swindling those they promised to protect; Harry earns respect by protecting those he refuses to forsake.
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By Ernest Hemingway
