Anti-semetic? Sure. Too white? Sure. Too manly? Back then yes. Reasons to hate Hemingway and writing? No.
Hating Jews and being too manly in the 1920 perspective does not give one reason to hate Hemingway. I know plenty of boys who call people “Jews” in a derogatory sense, but that does not mean I hate them. I do not even know where being to white comes into play in this hatred. Michael Schaub, of a thousand books, first heard of Hemingway through his “manic former journalist prone to expansive arm gestures and standing on furniture” professor- A hostile atmosphere to first recognize one of the greatest literary minds in history. To me one should not hate a person because of his personal life, but of what he has contributed to the world. If the U.S. voted for president solely on his personal life, it would be stalemate every time. No one would be able to come to a conclusion. But, because we vote on his policy and achievements, the US is more able to come to a decision. Should personal life come into play somehow? Yes, but very little. Emotion does not rule the country, action does. If the US voted on someone who would do a good job in office, not just someone they liked; we might not be in this downward spiral. The same goes to authors. We should read what we think is good writing, not just who we like as an author. There are plenty of writers who are great people, but write horrendous literature. Schaub never simply states his position on the novel, or Hemingway but comes in contact with people who should have given Hemingway a second look. Between the lesbian he thought he liked and the entirety of his Hemingway notes, I think you will find Schaub’s comments very interesting. You can find him at http://www.bookslut.com/hundred_books/2003_07_000124.php
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4 comments:
I think i understand where you are comming from on this. Yet i can't help but think that your saying you would not mind a person in office that has a muslim background, and he or she is directed to down play the American dream. It is a very worldy oppinion i do see, and that is a personal beleif, when my decisons are based on my religious beliefs. Yet i enjoyed reading it and i am just a critic.
I agree with Andrew Osenga when he sings, “From the heart-wrenched sweet nothings/Between two distant lovers/To the dying of the cruelty of war/Oh, the sad news and the love songs/Are passed along these phone poles/That stretch forever/Like the lines of a Hemingway story.”
Indeed Hemingway’s plot stretches on forever and never really seems to do anything different. I do not hate Hemingway’s stories because he is a bad person: I hate the writing. His writing style and a few of his ideas are not that bad. I do not always think that you should like the author in order to like their book. However, sometimes I find that if I like the writer I can relate to his book a little more and I like things I can relate to.
Girl, I feel you. And I agree with alwaysstandingsmall... I just don't like Hemingway's writing style. In fact... I can't stand it. =x
But, I can still have respect for him as a person. While I agree that having the same view on things can make an author’s works more appealing to me, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll like everything he writes. Sometimes people write in a way that is completely opposite of their actual personalities… which I think is part of the whole escape of being a writer.
But, yeah. I feel you. haha
Wow! Well just fyi I really have enjoyed reading the blogs that you have posted over the last six weeks! But to Hemingway, I don’t think that I have ever read him but after reading your blog I think that I might just look him up and see what I can find! I might have read him in the past, from some of the stuff you said he sounds familiar but I am not 100% sure so I am going to figure out who he is, and Ill let you know then what I think about him!
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