To Have And Have Not

The entirety of Hemingway’s fragmented story explores the disparity between those who “Have” and those who “Have Not,” ultimately revealing that wealth gives one a certain sense of power that nothing can take away.

Harry is one of the “Have Nots,” but in order to escape the grip of the Great Depression, he must work for the “Haves,” who, in Hemingway’s bleak world, manipulate others to serve their own best interests. From Johnson, the rich fisherman who walks his charter tab on Harry’s boat, to the government men on Willie’s boat who “swore an affidavit” (118) exposing Harry’s rum-running operation, the rich build their success off the backs of the poor. Truthfully, it is the rich who force Harry—through their sabotage—into elicit, black market operations in order to make ends meet, and, unlike the rest of the Conchs who keep their integrity and choose to starve rather than sell it to the highest bidder, Harry becomes what is necessary in order to provide. He is not immoral—no more so than the Cubans who believe they are doing what is right for their people—but his actions set him apart from those he calls friends. To him, it is a weakness that they “started starving when they were born” (148) and have never taken action to remove themselves from that situation.