In the 2 PM section, we always roast Hemingway and his writing. But I wanted to open a blog discussion about him to gauge what all of us think.
Personally, the only other Hemingway book I’ve read was The Sun Also Rises (1926) (which I forgot even was a Hemingway book until I looked it up, so I don’t know what that says about me), and I really enjoyed that one. I’ve come around to A Farewell to Arms lately. It’s weird, but I don’t hate it.
I don’t know much about Hemingway himself (and someone has posted an article about his 4 wives), so along with what I glean from Google, I’d like to hear from everyone in our class: what’s the deal with Ernest Hemingway?
I don’t know why the post has that pity of war tag, I’ve tried to remove it 5 times but it will NOT go away! Sorry if it disturbs other people’s posts/tags.
Hemingway is an acquired taste because of his style. It’s also true that he was a womanizer, alcoholic, and sometimes just an ass. But, just because he wasn’t the nicest guy, it doesn’t diminish from his work. Hemingway was a journalist in his early years and that might be why he writes in such a simple and direct manner. There are many ways to convey information and writing styles are like fashion, they appeal to some and others are completely turned off. For example, which sentence is best?
“In time, everyone slowly left the crowded movie” or “At this juncture in our maturation we languidly emerged from the swarm of attendees who were exiting the cinema in droves”.
Sometimes you just have to cut the bull—-. Here’s a great link to some really great facts about good old Ernest. My favorite is the nasty telegram he sent to Gertrude Stein!
https://www.ernesthemingway.org/facts
And just in case you did not notice, I am a big fan of “Papa”!
I agree his style can be an aquired taste, and honestly my opinion on him has changed several times. I am a big fan of his short stories; I particularly enjoyed “Soldier’s Home” and “Hills Like White Elephants” when I read them in high school I thought they were very impactful. His writing style in his short stories really has the classic iceberg approach everyone talks about as on the surface they appear really blunt and simple, but actually have a much deeper meaning. I think in the short story format this works really well. The short and to the point style especially works for these stories about the war as they demonstrate the trauma the war causes. From what I can gather based on what Dr. Scanlon said, I may not have the best sample size for his novels as AFTA and TSAR are the only ones I have read so I wouldn’t pay too much attention to my thoughts on his novels maybe until I read some more of them(if I ever get myself to do it). I am in a bit of a weird spot with his novels. I recognize their worth and quality, but they are not exactly what I would choose to pick up for enjoyment. The dialogue and overall style gets under my skin in the novel format and the lack of likable characters bothers me more when I have to read hundreds of pages of it.