Semantic congruence and simile construction in three Ernest Hemingway short stories

This analysis of Hemingway's short story narrative construction applies semantic congruence to Hemingway's use of similes in three romantic conflicts. Semantic congruence is an interdisciplinary approach to literary criticism. combining cognitive linguistics and psychosocial theory. Semantic congruence links cognitive distance in simile construction with character identity negotiation. The application of semantic congruence to Hemingway's simile choices in "The End of Something," "Hills Like White Elephants," and "A Canary for One," demonstrates a link between the behavior of his characters and the psychosocial cognitive stress of identity verification raised in the plot conflict. Semantic congruence is a critical focus that not only enhances the understanding of Hemingway's narrative construction of binary gender roles and social conflict in these romantic conflicts, but can also be applied to other relationship conflicts in Hemingway's fiction.