Hemingway's A Movable Feast has been my literary study for the past nine weeks, leaving this week's post as the last one. With that knowledge, this post should provide some sort of conclusion to the whole study. I plan on doing this through looking at conclusions in general.
The conclusion paragraph of A Movable Feast summarizes the main themes of the whole memoir. It relates back to the everlasting quality of Paris, the benefits of happiness and health, and the theme of wealth or rather lack of wealth. These points are important because they accomplish what every conclusion is supposed to: summary, analysis, and conclusions from that analysis. It summarizes the book through those main themes. It analyses the whole point of why he was writing with his comment, "Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it" (Hemingway 211). It then concluded that Paris is Paris. This may sound like it makes no sense by itself, but when you see it against the book you understand. While Paris is a place to many people, to the people who spent the longest periods of time there, especially during the expatriate time during World War 2, it became something more. It became the cultural hotspot, the fantastic place of learning, the Mecca for writers, poets and thinkers. So while Paris is Paris would mean to a tourist that Paris is French and diffferent and fun, to those thinkers, Paris is Paris means so much more. It embodies everything he experienced there. He may have been poor and struggling but while in Paris, even that couldn't hold him back. He was happy. Paris meant happiness to Hemingway.
Aside from what Hemingway tells us about his time in Paris, we can also see a lesson in his conclusion. Humdrums to be avoided at all times. Hemingway shows us that a conlcusion can be more than a restatement of the intro paragraph. It can provide insight as well as leave the literary work in your memory. I personally unerstand the ease of switching the wording around of my thesis into the intro sentence of my conclusion. I am a repeat offender. But as of this year, I have tried for more. We learned about the importance of conclusions in Mr. Miller's class. It should actually be interesting. God forbid a piece of writing is actually fun! If you write something more than the boring standard that we have been taught then people will actually care about reading it. We put so much work into the introduction hook and middle supporting paragraphs, why should we just let it die out in the final paragraph? We should keep their interest the whole time and make them remember us. Think about the ending to any great movie, book or play. It always is more interesting than just restating what was already said. The Great Gatsby ends with a great quote about being borne back against the tide. It provides a new metaphor, but also ends the book in a memorable way. Before I ahd even read the Great Gatsby, I had heard that quote before. That's the mark of a good conclusion. It makes people REMEMBER.
So basically, what we just talked about is how Hemingway made a good conclusion. He also provided an example of what we should do, as writers, in our own conclusions. This post was a conclusion of the AMF study as well as being about a conclusion. I enjoyed AMF.
(See? Wasn't that boring? You will probably forget it because it isn't memorable. It just restates.)
Monday
Sunday
Places to Go, People to See
I've always understood the importance of setting. As I expounded on in a previous blog, I absolutely love imagining what is happening in any story. Only two things can be seen in my minds eye to imagine a story: setting and characters. Characters are undoubtedly the obvious thing people notice when reading books. Everyone cares who the next James Bond is, but not as many people care whether the movie is set in Rio De Janeiro or my backyard. I, on the other hand, have taken into account how far setting actually goes. However, as I was reading Hemingway's AMovable Feast, I never appreciated that setting plays on more than one or two levels.
Setting is not just the rosy sunset behind the dusty western town. It is also the feel and pulse of a place. As AMF is set in Paris, everyone automatically conjures up the tired cliche images of the baguette stores and the Eiffel Tower and adorable little cars that look like the toddler children of an SUV. The actual setting of the book does touch on the cafes and shops and french landmarks, but that is all the physical importance of a setting. On the much deeper level, so many things hinge on where the characters are. This is a memoir of sorts, so the characters are not truly characters, but actual people. Those actual people are drawn to Paris. They also happen to be famous people that are world renowned. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra, Hemingway and even Picasso. Why Paris? Because the socio cultural pulse of the time is to be in the new center of liberal arts, free thinking and innovative, progressive movements. It is not like these great artists and writers are spending their time writing their penny papers at the Starbucks in Kingstowne and meeting for a party at Baja Fresh or Chipotle. They are in France. Doing better and bigger things.
So does setting have a deeper pull and meaning to a story? OF COURSE. Even in Miller's class we fill out discussion sheets and one is inevitably, " What are the social and cultural contexts of the story and how does that effect it?". Well the setting is the answer to that because setting isn't always just the pretty background but also the time, mood, and all of the other insinuated things we just naturally pick up on. So while James Bond may end up in my backyard, there is probably some other reason that is important to what is actually happening in the world today.
Setting is not just the rosy sunset behind the dusty western town. It is also the feel and pulse of a place. As AMF is set in Paris, everyone automatically conjures up the tired cliche images of the baguette stores and the Eiffel Tower and adorable little cars that look like the toddler children of an SUV. The actual setting of the book does touch on the cafes and shops and french landmarks, but that is all the physical importance of a setting. On the much deeper level, so many things hinge on where the characters are. This is a memoir of sorts, so the characters are not truly characters, but actual people. Those actual people are drawn to Paris. They also happen to be famous people that are world renowned. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra, Hemingway and even Picasso. Why Paris? Because the socio cultural pulse of the time is to be in the new center of liberal arts, free thinking and innovative, progressive movements. It is not like these great artists and writers are spending their time writing their penny papers at the Starbucks in Kingstowne and meeting for a party at Baja Fresh or Chipotle. They are in France. Doing better and bigger things.
So does setting have a deeper pull and meaning to a story? OF COURSE. Even in Miller's class we fill out discussion sheets and one is inevitably, " What are the social and cultural contexts of the story and how does that effect it?". Well the setting is the answer to that because setting isn't always just the pretty background but also the time, mood, and all of the other insinuated things we just naturally pick up on. So while James Bond may end up in my backyard, there is probably some other reason that is important to what is actually happening in the world today.
Hemingway is only Human
It took more than seventy pages, but Hemingway's A Movable Feast finally comes back to the actual method of writing. Hearing about his time betting on horses and lunch with F. Scott Fitzgerald was interesting, but the point of this blog is to delve into the depths of writing. As Hemingway says, "Since I had started to break down all my writing and get rid of all facility and try to make instead of describe, writing had been wonderful to do. But it was very difficult, and I didn't not know how I would ever write anything as long as a novel. It often took me a full morning of work to write a paragraph" (156). Alas, I can relate to the legendary wordsmith. If even one of the most renowned writers has trouble articulating his thoughts into words, then I can feel better about myself. Hemingway is now seen as human. I can relate and just picture him sitting in some cafe twiddling his thumbs and biting a pencil to shreds trying to think of what to say. I was generally doing the same thing before I found this quote. Don't worry though, my parents have properly chastised me about gnawing on the keyboard.
Does this mean that all writer's are this human? I see IB student's blood shot eyes and frazzled hair and think to myself are we really as great as Hemingway? We have to sit down every year and write a full length essay with proper thesis and structure that also applies all of the lessons we have learned in HOA and English. Old Ernesto can't even write a paragraph in one day sometimes! Could it really have changed from writer's taking the longest time to write paragraphs and now we write much more than that on a daily basis? Or is it simply that our papers aren't as good as Hemingway? Obviously, we may not all have the talents that he has. We also don't have to make novels, just essays. However, it is a testament to us that we can hammer out a paragraph in less than five minutes.
Hemingway also has a much harsher grading scale than we do. He probably has the largest pile of scrunched up papers filling all of the adjacent tables in his cafe because he has to write for himself. While we have harsh Swiss evaluators, nothing compares to the crushing disappointment in a paper if you are writing it for yourself and it doesn't live up to your standards. No one has low standards for themselves.
Every time I look over a paper I have written I see all the mistakes in neon highlighter, bright as can be. When we write for Swissies, we never actually write to our best standards. Those scrunched up papers most likely hold the ideas and paragraphs we would be glad to cut and paste into our own works. His own inner writer never tells him it is good enough.
So, while his paragraphs take longer to write, they are quality. IB is a harsh mistress, but it cannot compare to the shrew in each of us telling us to do better. It provides modest comfort that even Hemingway doesn't finish his assignments as quickly as he would like, but I still have to face the fact that I have to read his books with those day long paragraphs instead of the other way around.
Does this mean that all writer's are this human? I see IB student's blood shot eyes and frazzled hair and think to myself are we really as great as Hemingway? We have to sit down every year and write a full length essay with proper thesis and structure that also applies all of the lessons we have learned in HOA and English. Old Ernesto can't even write a paragraph in one day sometimes! Could it really have changed from writer's taking the longest time to write paragraphs and now we write much more than that on a daily basis? Or is it simply that our papers aren't as good as Hemingway? Obviously, we may not all have the talents that he has. We also don't have to make novels, just essays. However, it is a testament to us that we can hammer out a paragraph in less than five minutes.
Hemingway also has a much harsher grading scale than we do. He probably has the largest pile of scrunched up papers filling all of the adjacent tables in his cafe because he has to write for himself. While we have harsh Swiss evaluators, nothing compares to the crushing disappointment in a paper if you are writing it for yourself and it doesn't live up to your standards. No one has low standards for themselves.
Every time I look over a paper I have written I see all the mistakes in neon highlighter, bright as can be. When we write for Swissies, we never actually write to our best standards. Those scrunched up papers most likely hold the ideas and paragraphs we would be glad to cut and paste into our own works. His own inner writer never tells him it is good enough.
So, while his paragraphs take longer to write, they are quality. IB is a harsh mistress, but it cannot compare to the shrew in each of us telling us to do better. It provides modest comfort that even Hemingway doesn't finish his assignments as quickly as he would like, but I still have to face the fact that I have to read his books with those day long paragraphs instead of the other way around.
Into the Ground, Into Fame
A Movable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway can basically be summed up as a broke writer's laments on his fun in Paris during World War 2. In realizing this, I have come to a conclusion: Great writers who are broke in life will make their fame when they're dead. This may seem dreary, having to suffer your whole life broke then only being famous after you are six feet under the earth, but look at all of the great names we know that wrote renowned works that were only cared for after they are dead. Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Dickinson, Franz Kafka, and obviously Hemingway. All are paragons of exemplary writing and are studied by all students in public and private school classrooms across the U.S. Yet, they were broke and sold cheap little stories just to put bread on the table.
What is it about the writer's condition that you must barely survive long enough to create amazing works, then die and wait for those books to become bibles for English teachers. I can't imagine living like that. The sad thing is that writer's aren't the only group that does live that way. Ever heard of "starving artists"? These are people that strive to be like Van Gogh and will spend their time painting instead of eating so that they can die and be remembered the same way.
If Hemingway's book has taught me anything, it has taught me that some people can be so dedicated to their work, they don't even care they won't be around to see it in art galleries and book stores. They just do it to do it. Every other page in this book is about Hemingway writing little dime stories so he doesn't have to starve. Yet he quit his other writing job (higher paying) because it wasn't satisfying writing. That is like a college or NFL football coach deciding to quit and teach Pop Warner just because he wants to coach the younger ones where it is more rewarding. You don't see that dedication every day, and you especially don't see that dedication ever paying off. Hemingway made it happen though, Ill give him credit. To go out on that limb and just hope for the best take heart. I hope I have that much heart some day when it comes for me to make some kind of risk.
What is it about the writer's condition that you must barely survive long enough to create amazing works, then die and wait for those books to become bibles for English teachers. I can't imagine living like that. The sad thing is that writer's aren't the only group that does live that way. Ever heard of "starving artists"? These are people that strive to be like Van Gogh and will spend their time painting instead of eating so that they can die and be remembered the same way.
If Hemingway's book has taught me anything, it has taught me that some people can be so dedicated to their work, they don't even care they won't be around to see it in art galleries and book stores. They just do it to do it. Every other page in this book is about Hemingway writing little dime stories so he doesn't have to starve. Yet he quit his other writing job (higher paying) because it wasn't satisfying writing. That is like a college or NFL football coach deciding to quit and teach Pop Warner just because he wants to coach the younger ones where it is more rewarding. You don't see that dedication every day, and you especially don't see that dedication ever paying off. Hemingway made it happen though, Ill give him credit. To go out on that limb and just hope for the best take heart. I hope I have that much heart some day when it comes for me to make some kind of risk.
The Foundation to All
" ' Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know'" (Hemingway 12).
I read this passage while perusing the pages of A Movable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. I've never really thought about how I write a paper when first starting, but that seems to be a good idea. Most of our papers we do in school has to do with that one truth we are writing about. I mean, what is a thesis sentence anyways? It is a TRUE statement that you are attempting to prove in your paper. The only trick that the writer comes across, however, is what is true. After all, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. What might be right for you, may not be right for some (Different Strokes). Truth is truth only to the beholder. I may enjoy football, so my truth could be football is the greatest sport. A Futboller may disagree. If you can find that truth though, you have a granite keystone that you can build your paper around. It is that cement foundation that you can build a structure on. But all buildings need that foundation. Whether it be a thirty story glass marvel of engineering like Hemingway or Dostoyevsky, or the smaller, simple building like most authors, they all have that key foundation holding it up.
All great papers revolve around that one great truth. It's what most writers are searching for, to express. It doesn't always have to be a lesson, but you can find truth in anything you read. Hitler's Mein Kampf is an example of this. His views on superior races is solely his opinion. It is true for him. While, Mao's Little Red Book is all the way from the other side of the spectrum and proclaims what Mao sees as truth. No matter what truth I choose to pursue, it all begins with that one true statement. If it's a good enough method for Hemingway, then it's good enough for me.
I read this passage while perusing the pages of A Movable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. I've never really thought about how I write a paper when first starting, but that seems to be a good idea. Most of our papers we do in school has to do with that one truth we are writing about. I mean, what is a thesis sentence anyways? It is a TRUE statement that you are attempting to prove in your paper. The only trick that the writer comes across, however, is what is true. After all, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. What might be right for you, may not be right for some (Different Strokes). Truth is truth only to the beholder. I may enjoy football, so my truth could be football is the greatest sport. A Futboller may disagree. If you can find that truth though, you have a granite keystone that you can build your paper around. It is that cement foundation that you can build a structure on. But all buildings need that foundation. Whether it be a thirty story glass marvel of engineering like Hemingway or Dostoyevsky, or the smaller, simple building like most authors, they all have that key foundation holding it up.
All great papers revolve around that one great truth. It's what most writers are searching for, to express. It doesn't always have to be a lesson, but you can find truth in anything you read. Hitler's Mein Kampf is an example of this. His views on superior races is solely his opinion. It is true for him. While, Mao's Little Red Book is all the way from the other side of the spectrum and proclaims what Mao sees as truth. No matter what truth I choose to pursue, it all begins with that one true statement. If it's a good enough method for Hemingway, then it's good enough for me.
Tuesday
Krieg in Paree
As an avid reader, I like to be quite varied in books I read. This tends to give me a very large scope and odd tid bits of information. I have actually learned a lot of random facts and come to awe inspiring conclusions based off of things I have read. My expansive reading list has included, Greek Mythology, Norse Mythology, spy novels, analysis of people's reactions, criminal behaviour, sniper novels, biographies of Navy Seals, thrillers, lawyer books, mysteries and occasionally short stories. That may seem diverse but I am a fickle beast that just sees a book and reads it. The connections between books are the most enlightening parts of reading. When you open a book you open a window in your brain, and when you've opened a lot of windows, you have a very well ventilated house. A well ventilated house has plenty of halls leading to rooms with windows in them. I like to spend my time in those hallways redecorating. When I come up with a new idea connecting two ideas from two different books, I get a little too excited.
For instance, I have been reading A Movable Feast, which follows Hemingway through Paris during Dubya Dubya Deuce. While this has been for school, I also was recently reading a fictional story about World War
II and a secret plot to assasinate someone. In this fictional work, Master Sniper, by Stephen Hunter, the main character of Leetz meets a certain burly, moustachioed individual at a party in Paree. Yea. I was happy. I was amazed that two so vastly different works could possibly be related at all.
We always may see allusions to other books with comparisons to famous characters or even deep meaningful quotes. Not having that character at a party (Drunk off his moustache by the way) who is about to get in a fight with the main character over a girl. That's like having Obama make a guest appearance on an episode of Law and Order as the cracked out murder suspect. Trippy right?
Cumpenati
I am the common man's pianist
For instance, I have been reading A Movable Feast, which follows Hemingway through Paris during Dubya Dubya Deuce. While this has been for school, I also was recently reading a fictional story about World War
II and a secret plot to assasinate someone. In this fictional work, Master Sniper, by Stephen Hunter, the main character of Leetz meets a certain burly, moustachioed individual at a party in Paree. Yea. I was happy. I was amazed that two so vastly different works could possibly be related at all.
We always may see allusions to other books with comparisons to famous characters or even deep meaningful quotes. Not having that character at a party (Drunk off his moustache by the way) who is about to get in a fight with the main character over a girl. That's like having Obama make a guest appearance on an episode of Law and Order as the cracked out murder suspect. Trippy right?
Cumpenati
I am the common man's pianist
Thursday
Hemingway the Painter
While most children will grown up into full fledged teenagers with eyes to the future and mature minds that process the deeper meaning of texts and philosophizing about the truths of life, I am straddling the wall of mental development. I can write a internal assessment and key passage analysis yet also laugh at a children's television program. I know big words like scintillating and deleterious, but I usually opt for the juvenile terms like interesting and bad. It's adequate to say that I don't want to fully grow up. When I read a book, I want to imagine all of the characters and scenery and what is happening in the story. The author paints a picture that my simple mind can comprehend. This is why I hate authors who are dreary and all about "internalizing" and "thoughts". I am the standard man who enjoys books with booms, bangs and cars. Fortunately, I have grown up enough to not need pictures on every couple of pages. My mind adds in the illustrations. My favorite authors are the kind that utilize sensory imagery and descriptive details.
My boy, Ernest, paints a perfect picture of what's happening. When he's at the track, I can imagine the track and the panting horses and the dimunitve jockeys and the hustle and bustle of betting. When he describes the cafe, I can smell the coffe beans grinding and the cigarillo's sweet smoke that some Frenchmana is casually taking a drag of outside. I see the steam rising off the cappucino cup Ernest is sipping on slowly. When he talks about the bike racing, I can see ther racers, "in their ponderous leather suits, to shelter the riders who followed them from the air resistance, the riders in their lighter crash helmets bent low over their handlebars their legs turning the huge gear sprockets and the small front wheels touching the roler behind the machine that gave them shelter to ride in, and the duels that were more exciting than anything, the put-puting of the motorcycles and the riders elbow to elbow and wheel to wheel up and down and around at deadly speed until o ne man could not hold the pave and broke away and the solid wall of air that he had been sheltered against hit him" (Hemingway 65).
...Wow! Can you feel the excitement and the tension? The wall of wind hitting him seems to me like a brick wall he hits and fights. Hemingway is a painter of images in my head, he's directing the movie of the film in my mind and he's branding my brain.
Cominany pedata
My boy, Ernest, paints a perfect picture of what's happening. When he's at the track, I can imagine the track and the panting horses and the dimunitve jockeys and the hustle and bustle of betting. When he describes the cafe, I can smell the coffe beans grinding and the cigarillo's sweet smoke that some Frenchmana is casually taking a drag of outside. I see the steam rising off the cappucino cup Ernest is sipping on slowly. When he talks about the bike racing, I can see ther racers, "in their ponderous leather suits, to shelter the riders who followed them from the air resistance, the riders in their lighter crash helmets bent low over their handlebars their legs turning the huge gear sprockets and the small front wheels touching the roler behind the machine that gave them shelter to ride in, and the duels that were more exciting than anything, the put-puting of the motorcycles and the riders elbow to elbow and wheel to wheel up and down and around at deadly speed until o ne man could not hold the pave and broke away and the solid wall of air that he had been sheltered against hit him" (Hemingway 65).
...Wow! Can you feel the excitement and the tension? The wall of wind hitting him seems to me like a brick wall he hits and fights. Hemingway is a painter of images in my head, he's directing the movie of the film in my mind and he's branding my brain.
Cominany pedata
Saturday
Ebony and Irony
Have you ever looked at something and realized the irony in it. I, personally, am a fan of ironies. I laugh at the simple, ironic things in life. High brow jokes about the irony in foreign politics or ergonomics or anything that I would need a fancy degree in goes right over my head. Here are some funny ironies I have noticed or experienced.
Braille instructions at drive through ATMs.
Psychics having to ask for your name.
Writing about beards being evil when I think they are awesome.
Being able to quit the military if you're crazy, but if you ask to quit the military because you are crazy then you are legally sane (Catch 22).
Selling your watch to buy your girlfriend a hair brush when she sells her hair to buy you a watch band.
Any My Name is Earl episode.
Stutterers stuttering while saying stuttering.
Dyslexic being such a difficult word to get all of the letters in the right order (especially for dyslexics).
Lisp having an s in it.
Throwing something out right before you need it.
Parking on a driveway, driving on a parkway.
Getting a pop up advertisement for pop up blocker software.
Fighting for the good guys while being bad guys (Green Hornet).
Most people not knowing the definition of irony.
In A Movable Feast, I noticed at least one irony. His irony is that a character, Ms. Stein, is asking him why he is reading a dead man's book if he's dead. Isn't Hemingway now dead? People read his book...Irony? Silly Ms. Stein not knowing that she would say that and have it read in a book written by a dead man by the time it is read.
By the way, is it ironic if I like ironies?
.......
Sepatow ma nay nos brothers and sisters.
Braille instructions at drive through ATMs.
Psychics having to ask for your name.
Writing about beards being evil when I think they are awesome.
Being able to quit the military if you're crazy, but if you ask to quit the military because you are crazy then you are legally sane (Catch 22).
Selling your watch to buy your girlfriend a hair brush when she sells her hair to buy you a watch band.
Any My Name is Earl episode.
Stutterers stuttering while saying stuttering.
Dyslexic being such a difficult word to get all of the letters in the right order (especially for dyslexics).
Lisp having an s in it.
Throwing something out right before you need it.
Parking on a driveway, driving on a parkway.
Getting a pop up advertisement for pop up blocker software.
Fighting for the good guys while being bad guys (Green Hornet).
Most people not knowing the definition of irony.
In A Movable Feast, I noticed at least one irony. His irony is that a character, Ms. Stein, is asking him why he is reading a dead man's book if he's dead. Isn't Hemingway now dead? People read his book...Irony? Silly Ms. Stein not knowing that she would say that and have it read in a book written by a dead man by the time it is read.
By the way, is it ironic if I like ironies?
.......
Sepatow ma nay nos brothers and sisters.
Wednesday
A Movable Feast
Hi. I'm Nick Perry. I like long walks on the beach and picnics under fireworks. I also like reading. This book I am currently reading is by Ernest Hemingway? I've heard he is a decent writer and won some obscure award called...aw what is it called... oh Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954 and a Pulitzer for the Old Man and the Sea. Well A Movable Feast is another one of his famous books, this one about writing and methods. It reflects over his time in Paris after World War I. Not normally my kind of book (no cars, explosions, detectives, spy novels or books about existentialism while analyzing social restrictions of class strife and struggle with Renaissance ideas) but I'll take a whack at it and see what I can find. I miss the days of Where's Waldo, but maybe a look at a great writer's thought process my help me out and you too if you read it. I will warn you though, this is probably going to not be a standard blog; I've been known to be quirky and at times a little...how you say... odd.
Cole me down on the panny sty and wadata my rine tine tinies
-Nick Perry
Cole me down on the panny sty and wadata my rine tine tinies
-Nick Perry
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