The genius of E. Hemingway is contained in what he leaves out. A perfect example of this can be seen in his very short story, "Hills Like White Elephants."
I was first exposed to this story in my Junior year of high school and I absolutely despised it. It left me asking that horrible question, "is that it?" and blatantly exposed me to my limitations as a reader, leaving me feeling ill.
However, after several readings and explanations, I began to see what Hemingway was doing and eventually, I found it to be exciting, which still left me feeling ill.
By omitting certain explanations and details, the reader learns more and more about him or herself through what kind of interpretation he or she brings to the vacancy in the text (particularly in the dialogue of "Hills..."). Hemingway forced us to fill in the blanks for ourselves.
So I embraced Hemingway, and spent that summer awkwardly fumbling through works such as In Our Time and The Sun Also Rises, both of which remain engraved upon my list of favorite books to this day.
Though I am sure that I still know and understand nothing, I am indebted to Hemingway for his challenges, and for igniting in me the desire to be struck repeatedly over the head with literature.
No comments:
Post a Comment