This article explores Hemingway's
fascination with primitivism, specifically his cross-cultural and cross-racial
identification with Native Americans and Africans. The primitive serves as a
space of self-creation and exploration for Hemingway from his youthful
association of the primitive with (re)creation and transgression to its role as
a figurative home amidst the alienation of modern culture. Focusing on his
African safaris, the article suggests that while his interest in primitivism
reveals Hemingway's longing for authenticity and origins, his racechanges and
intimate identification with the primitive ultimately create an awareness of
the hybridity and performativity of identity.