Hemingway and writing.

Good Day:

I just finished reading a volume of Hemingway's Nick Adams stories. I had read the stories years ago, but as is typical of an old man, I had forgotten most of them.

After reading the stories I am almost thankful of a porous memory. Hemingway's writing style is perhaps good in some instances, but to me he belabors every descriptive sentence, plus he is stingy with his use of commas and apparently abhors a semicolon. One page in one of Hemingway's books or stories might consist of dozens of sentences, when the story would not be harmed by the judicious use of a few commas.

There is also the fact, that in describing , for instance, a shirt, by the time he finishes, the reader will know the color of the shirt, the cut, how it hangs on one's body, the weight of the material, it's number of pockets and buttons, where the cotton was grown, what the woman looked like who wove the thread, what the thread count was and on and on inexhaustibly. I say these things with the full irony of knowing that a less-than-writer such as myself probably will be thought to have a lot of Gall in criticising a successful Novelist when the critic (mineselluf) is obviously not much of a writer. This reminds me of a saying that I think I read once, but might just as well be something I made up i.e. "Owning a hundred hammers don't make you a Carpenter". In Hemingway's case, and entirely in my opinion only, owning a typewriter doesn't make you a writer.

Now I should hasten to say that millions of people would disagree with what I have written about this legendary writer, but as far as I am concerned, the only Book that E.H. ever wrote that I could read in enjoyment, and without criticism, was"The Old Man and the Sea ", which story line lent itself to lengthy descriptive prose.

The rest of his writing, when compared to any one of a multiplicity of Authors I have enjoyed, is not all that great. Hemingway seemed to love anything Masculine in the extreme, such as Bullfighting, but had so many potholes in his life to serve to give lie to much of his writing.

Hemingway had the public image (which he cultivated) of a bold, brave, strong, hairy-chested great hearted Knight, but he never mastered the art of staying married, or in the end, of enduring pain.

Some people would hasten to mention the fact that suicides seem to run in the Hemingway blood line.

His father took his own life, as did three of Hemingway's siblings and his Grandaughter Margaux. In addition his son, Gregory, died after the turn of the 21st century as a Transsexual, so perhaps the main thing that ran in the line was mental illness.

Hemingway himself was described by one of his former wives as being sick and delusional at the time he killed himself. Throughout Hemingway's works the theme of death being a "gift" is repeatedly used, and in my opinion, is allegorical (or perhaps not, what do I know?)

At any rate, Hemingway should be the subject for any course of American Literature, and let the student form his own opinion of the writer, as I have done.

Now I should say I am adding this part of this post as a postscript, if you will. Upon reflection (which seems to happen to me all the time) I think this addition will benefit the post..
I perhaps sounded unkind and perhaps too quick to speak, on the subject of suicide and mental illness. As regards mental illness, just about everyone has one or another form of this condition, to a greater or lesser degree, sometime in their life, and there is no shame in our confessing this. The shame is, in not getting help when it is available, and letting the disease lead you to an unwise decision or act. I did not mean to sound judgemental, but I probably did, and I shouldn't have. The point I poorly tried to make was that Hemingway's life gave lie(s) to his writings. He lived his life in an entirely different fashion than his protagonists, in most cases. He abused his wives (4) his children and his liver, so consequently he died sad, delusional and alone. Sad.
yr obt svt.

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The Anthony Trial

Good Evening:

Well the Casey Anthony murder trial has concluded with yet another miscarriage of justice.

For the life of me I cannot see how any jury comprised of sentient human beings could find this woman not guilty, when she didn't even tell anyone her little girl, Caylee, was "Missing". When she finally admitted she hadn't seen the child for 31 days and told every kind of a wild story except perhaps saying the child had been abducted by Extraterrestrials (and she would probably have told that lie too if she had thought of it). She is a pitiful excuse for a human being, and one can only hope that, one way or another, she will receive her just due, which is savage punishment, sooner or later.

The only thing on a par with her obvious guilt, and the obvious miscarriage of Justice, is the patent disgrace that was the jury. It was more than obvious that the jury was tired of being sequestered for so long a time, and chose the speediest way they could think of to get released from duty, and, I suggest, they (or at least one of them) was learned enough to say "if we find her guilty, there can always be an appeal, whereas if we find her not guilty, no one can come back at us"

You will note that I have railed before at people who harm children, and the need for a sure and certain severe punishment, and this verdict just reinforces the way that I feel on that subject, and that is, there is no punishment too severe for ANYONE who would harm, molest or Kill a child, Period.

I know that someday she will come before that final bar of judgement, and then will receive her just punishment, but the savage in me wishes her punishment could take place here on Earth.

I just cannot get past the fact that this piece of white trash killed her child because,well......She was inconvenient. She got in the way of her "mothers" whorish lifestyle,she had to be fed, in order to be put to bed and sleep while Casey was out partying, the child was in all likelihood Chloroformed, night after seamy night, and possibly one night Casey used the Chloroform a little too long....and the child died.

"Oh Gosh!!!.....How inconvenient, the kid's dead now what am I ( The BIG I, the eternal I, the all important I), going to do with her now? ".

This is the thing that I feel the jurors never once even asked themselves. If they thought that Miss Casey was so innocent, how did they wrap their minds around the fact that she (casey) didn't tell anyone the child was "missing", for 31 days?

Lord God. We have an elderly Chow dog that we love,and a couple of times one of us left the gate open to her play yard and she got out and went exploring, and we nearly moved Heaven and earth to find her before she could get struck by a car!!

Well, at least Casey has now a possible new career. If she can bribe someone to take the exams for her, she can become a defense attorney (lower case intentional)

I would pray for understanding, but this CANNOT be understood

God Bless the Little Children

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