Attempts to illuminate the underlying forces which shaped the content & structure of Hemingway’s work. He warrants study: not only was he a stylistic genius of far-reaching literary influence, but he was both mirror to & architect of the 20th century American character. He struggled all his life with severe characterologic problems &, in a severe paranoid depression, suicided. This paper considers the major psychodynamic conflicts, apparent in his life style & fiction, which lead to that event.