"Roosevelt"

"Roosevelt" Analysis

"Roosevelt" by Ernest Hemingway

  "Roosevelt" by Hemingway is a poem appreciating the work of the former president Theodore Roosevelt. The poem appreciates Roosevelt but it also shows hints that Hemingway may not have been so fond of Roosevelt. A big problem during the time Roosevelt was president, was the ongoing practice of monopolies between big corporations. Hemingway points out that working men (common folk) believed that he busted trusts (got rid of monopolies). This was why citizens would have Roosevelt's picture in their window. He was a savior of the people. 

    "What he'd have done in France! / They said." (line 4-5). People believed that Roosevelt could've solved the financial crisis in France at the time. France's government was bankrupt at the time and they had an inequitable tax system which made the people least able to afford taxes suffer. This was a very dark time for France and it would take a magical man to turn this around. The people believed that Roosevelt could've done wonders for France. Hemingway includes this in his poem to praise the work Roosevelt did and could do. 

    Why do I think Hemingway wasn't 100% team Roosevelt? It's due to his writing. I mean Hemingway obviously appreciates Roosevelt or he wouldn't have written a poem with nice things to say. If you pay attention to the writing Roosevelt doesn't directly praise him, he praises him through common citizens. This leads me to believe that there is a slight possibility Hemingway couldn't directly praise Roosevelt because maybe there was some doubt in him about Roosevelt.