Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in suburban Oak Park, IL to Dr. Clarence and Grace Hemingway, Ernest was the second of six children to be raise in the quiet suburban town by his physician father and devout, musical mother. Indeed, Hemingway's childhood pursuits fostered the interests which would blossom into literary material. Mrs. Hemingway treated Ernest, when he was a small boy, as if he were a female baby doll and she dressed him accordingly. This arrangement was alright until Ernest got to the age when he wanted to be a "gun-toting Pawnee Bill". He began, at that time, to pull away from his mother, and never forgave her for his humiliation.
Although Grace hoped her son would be influenced by her musical interests, young Hemingway preferred accompanying his father on hunting and fishing trips; this love of outdoor adventure would later be reflected in many of Hemingway's stories, particularly those featuring protagonist Nick Adams.…