Also, do you think that he is popular outside of America? It's often Americans you see championing him, to say nothing of the fact that (I think) American high schools still teach him.
I don't understand why Hemingway is considered a good writer.
I have never read anything by Hemingway and recently decided to correct this by picking up The Old Man and the Sea. I must say that I'm disappointed. The frequent run-on sentences, lack of commas, and nonexistent transition between thoughts is incredibly distracting. Here's a direct quote from the page I'm reading:
"He settled comfortably against the wood and took his suffering as it came and the fish swam steadily and the boat moved slowly through the dark water."
If I wrote a sentence like this on a middle school paper, then I would have received a bad grade. If a posted a comment in this style on Reddit, then the grammar Nazis would screaming at me for the lack of commas. The entire book reminds me of a young child rambling about his fishing trip. There is no finesse, sophistication, or maturity in this. It looks like Hemingway quickly scribbled out his thoughts on paper and never bothered to edit it.
I completely understand that writers aren't required to follow any kind of rules in their writing. I'm usually not even a stickler about this kind of thing. I'm a huge fan of Cormac McCarthy, for instance, and he's certainly not a writer who troubles himself with punctuation or rules. McCarthy's style, however, flows well, isn't jarring, and doesn't distract from the content. It works. I can't say the same about Hemingway.
tl;dr: I honestly can't understand why Hemingway is considered a great writer. What am I missing here?
I know, his prose is odd. I mean...it's alright, but not great, like people say. But I mostly read him for content and history, not prose. His writing about wars, especially in Europe, is interesting. Plus, unlike modern writers, he actually lived through the things he was talking about.
A board that drools this much over the Greeks and the Romans should think highly of Hemingway. Without fail the idea of Virtus is present in his novels. Hell, even his telegram style is concise and 'manly'. Death in the Afternoon comes to mind. This quote from The Old Man and The Sea embodies it: 'Man can be destroyed but not defeated.'
>>7802528
>If a posted a comment in this style on Reddit
3/10
>>7802528
noice b8 m8
>>7802528
You know what, I don't care if this is bait.
I actually agree.
A lot of renowned writers, like Joyce, are fucking terrible with punctuation. If they're lazy, then fine; but are editors really so fucking expensive nowadays?
Lit major from Europe here. He's hated by feminists and other 'progressive' fucks.
I like his style. It flows so well. He writes so little, but says so much.
I am particularly fond of his dialogue.
>>7802528
god damn you.
leave this board and never return.
>>7803227
This. I think Hemingway's beauty is in the simplicity of his prose. He doesn't obfuscate his ideas behind anything excessively hard to read. He does also upset feminists which is a nice +1 in his camp.
While I like McCarthy, he's much worse in terms of prose than Hemingway. The combination of his paired down punctuation and use of more niche vocabulary can make some of his longer sentences incredibly painful to sit through.
>>7802528
>tl;dr: I honestly can't understand why Hemingway is considered a great writer. What am I missing here?
apparently a brain that can appreciate literature.
>>7802515
I think he's okay as a writer. Death in the Afternoon, The Sun Also Rises and The Old Mana and the Sea are all pretty good, the rest of his work leaves me pretty cold from what I've tried. I find his self-mythologising tendencies and sense of superiority over, for instance, Scott Fitzgerald, to be obnoxious though.
>>7803225
Man you're so right. I bet Joyce had no idea how punctuation worked, just like Picasso had no idea how to actually paint realistic figures, he was just doodling boxes and shit.
Hemingway was pretty boss
killed alcohol
guzzled animals
fucked fish
tortured women
alpha as fuck
>>7803286
Actually, I've been to the Picasso museum in Barcelona.
His old stuff his great. The stuff he's actually KNOWN for, however, is Emperor's New Clothes-tier.
I'll give credit where it's due, however; he profited well from all the pseuds.
>>7803298
You can't be serious.
You think his original realistic portraits like that are better than the rest of his body of work? How the fuck do you justify that?
>>7803225
I was reading intruder in the dust and he goes at least 7 pages without a full stop
just annoying desu senpai
>>7803245
I don't even understand why he upsets femininists, Pilar is a pretty outstanding character and most of his male character are deeply confused, troubled and often stupid men. Some of his women are kind of ditzy and shallow, or they love stupid, cruel men, but I think he's just representing outcomes of flawed natures, usually without passing judgment.
>>7803359
Portraying a woman negatively or having a male character in your work think negatively of a woman is literally evil.
Like others have said Hemingway is a very simple but powerful writer. I have only read old man and the sea but it is one of my favorite books. I don't understand why he would be hated by feminists though... Is that even true or is /lit/ exaggerating?
>>7803339
People assume technical excellence is not important than the message. I don't know much about fine art, but people who are into it get a lot out of abstract art.
>>7803339
>How the fuck do you justify that?
Because proper pays homage to reality, thus glorifying it; as opposed to divorcing itself from it in every way possible.
See: The vast majority of modern art until the past century or so, when hacks realized they could smear a canvas in shit for easy money.
>>7803387
*proper art
>>7803387
>proper art
Can you really bear living with yourself?
>>7803433
Very easily. Keep on admiring the Emperor's New Clothes, I'm sure they look great :^)
>>7802528
is this bait or pasta?
>>7802528
You are so much better than Hemingway, you 19 year old faggot
I wish Conrad had Hemingway's place in american popular culture
i read sun also rises and thought it was mediocre
>>7802528
Not sure if b8 or blindly missing the point.
>>7802528
>this post is a thing
>>7803359
>I don't even understand why he upsets femininists
They keep screaming how he was actually gay and how his (and everyone's) masculinity is fragile.
>>7803441
I don't believe you're a real person.
>>7802528
You forgot your image.
>>7803359
I agree with this. People often just assume Hemingway is putting masculinity and violence on a pedestal. But there's nothing particularly glamorous about A Farewell To Arms. Plenty of romance in For Whom The Bell Tolls but that's largely aesthetic.
>>7803661
Masculinity is fragile, especially these days.
Don't know about any gay accusations, though you can see the romantic attributes he writes into certain male characters through that lens. I think he just tried to capture what made that person attractive from every angle though.
>>7802528
hello plebo
>>7803743
>Masculinity is fragile, especially these days.
Nice projection.
I enjoy his writing a lot a didn't think I would. Read the old man and the sea first and thought it was fantastic. Finished a farewell to arms a couple weeks ago and didn't expect to enjoy it at all as it sounded like just a boring war story but it was very well written and the story/adventure itself kept me wanting more. Just picked up the sun also rises this morning actually and I fully expect to enjoy it also. I can understand not liking some of the goofy abrupt diablogue because no one talks like that but the rest is very good writing.
>>7803661
But I mean the fragility of hte masculine characters is pretty evident in his writing, that is why you would think they'd like him.
>>7804407
No, when it comes to weakness women are unforgiving despite what they say, feminists or not.
>>7802515
I adore Hemingway. Picked up my copy of The Sun Also Rises right before my debut performance as matador at the bullring, read through a chapter or two on the bus to the Boxing club and was totally hooked. Finished it after a few days and went out to buy every other book he's written. Kept me pretty occupied during the long drives when my buddies and I hunted big game in Africa and on this cruise my ex girlfriend and I went on.
I'm not sure what happened but she was in this really weird mood where she wanted to talk about her emotions. But to tell you the truth I don't really know how to deal with things like that, something about it makes me feel really uncomfortable. I just told her to shut up and smacked her in the jaw. She started crying and then I just want back to reading my Hemingway novels.
But yeah, I love Hemingway.
He's relatively well known but I don't think anyone considers him that great.
I, personally, found the Old Mand and the Sea rather average and didn't even get past page 60 of a The Sun Also Rises. because of how boring and "empty" it was.
>>7802515
Hemmingway*
>>7803227
he's seen as a vestige of macho man and his writing is distinctly masculine.
>>7805047
*fist bump*
GOAT.
So well all know that in A Farewell To Arms they weren't in love, right?
>>7803227
>>7803245
Does anyone know why he's hated by feminists and progressives?
>>7802515
After a friend of mine suggested I try reading V. as an entry into non sci-fi, the clerk at my book store strongly suggested I read Hemingway.
I'm a britfag.
>>7810181
Then why are you calling the bookman a clerk?
You could read For whom the bell tolls and Homage to Catalonia next to each other, that's always fun.
>>7810152
because he represents something they hate, or rather something they're supposed to hate
>>7810220
Which is? It gets thrown around that he is hated by liberals and feminists all the time but no one ever gives any concrete examples as to how or why.
In "The Sun Also Rises," Brett is a strong female character, especially considering it was written in the 20s. As for the male characters Robert Cohn is a sniveling faggot and the main character literally has no dick and/or balls.
>>7810375
you can't see the characters as anything other than labels
>>7802528
>everyone calls this bait (which it is) but have no good responses to how Hemingway is a good writer
You guys can describe why a writer is good and don't just repeat the opinions of critics without any reasoning right?
I like how he's not crazy about symbolism. There was a quote where he said that the old man and the sea is just a tale about...an old man, and the sea. There's a big kind of truth in just depicting things as they are and not trying to come up with grand platitudes of what they mean. Most readers will fill in the blanks with their own meaning and seemingly mundane things will take on great significance.After all most of our lives are just mostly mundane events.
>>7802528
>The Old Man and the Sea as first Hemingway
What the fuck, no wonder you didn't like it.
Farewell to arms is my favorite.
>>7803839
Chuckled
>>7810702
It's obvious that his technical knowledge is limited, no one denies that.
What matters is his content. By discounting the entire work because of technical flaws, you're missing the point. You don't appreciate literature for it's pristine grammar, you do it for the story and how it's delivered.
Hemingway's strengths outweigh his weaknesses.
