The younger waiter in the story assumes money is everything when he says, "He has plenty of money." He was referring to why the old customer was in despair. The young waiter is the most naive in this story. He has no idea what is yet to come for him, while the older waiter already has an idea of where his life is going. The theme is "what you are, I once was, what I am, you will surely become. This is a roman epitaph usually found carved on tombs. I believe time is what you make of it, but this also prompts the questions: Is time a constant thing or is it different for everyone? Can one person live more than another?
Hemingway also uses lots of repetition with the word "nothing". The old customer is in despair about nothing. This does not mean nothing is wrong. It means the old man has nothing to live for. In this case, nothing is everything. He is in despair about not having everything anymore. This is also an example of irony. Hemingway ends the story with the older waiter understanding more about the old customer's despair about nothing. He understands that life is full of hardship and struggle. Being a hero is accepting this fact, pulling through, and living well.
-Madison Garrett
It's known that Ernest Hemingway most often referred to as "Papa" or "Papa Hemingway". My questions are how did that name first come about? And although he was Papa to many strangers he may or may not have know, was he a good father to his actual blood related children?
ReplyDeleteQuestions on Ernest Hemingway Short Stories
ReplyDelete1. In the story, Indian Camp, why does Ernest Hemingway make Nick seem younger and younger as the story goes on? Is it just to remind the reader that this little boy is too young to be experiencing everything (birth and death) so soon in his life, and that he doesn't fully understand any of it quite yet? Or is there another hidden explanation behind it?
2. In the story, Capital of the World, why does the boy have to die? Is it to learn a lesson, that bull fighting isn't as easy as it looks, and how fear distinguishes the matadors from the people at home who say they can bull fight? Or to exemplify how dangerous bulls can be? Or to teach the boy that he doesn't know everything and isn't as good as he thinks he is?
3. In the story, A Clean Well Lighted Place, Hemingway uses repetition of the word nothing, towards the end of the story. Why does he do that? Is it to show that the old customer has nothing more to live for? Or is it an example of irony because nothing, is in fact everything? Also, when the younger waiter says money is everything, why does Hemingway make him sound so ignorant, because obviously money is not everything. Is it because the young waiter hasn't lived out his life yet, so he really doesn't know?
I was also thinking the same thing Hunter was! What about his own family? He was known as Papa all around the world, but is that what his own kids thought of him? Did they think he was a good father? He was a father to so many people, but what about his own kids?
As Mr. Carter said that every word in Hemingway's stories meant something I noticed that the oldest man was deaf but in class we didn't talk about this much. So my question is does it mean anything when it talks of the old mans deafness? My second question is in this story did his niece really save him because she cared for him and though he shouldn't do it? Or just because she feared his actions would not allow him into heaven?
ReplyDeleteOut of the four short stories we have read "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" is my favorite. I really enjoyed this story because of the message that is portrayed. The other stories also had great messages but I think at our age this one, everyone can really relate to. Because at sometime we have all talked back to our elders or thought they were going to slow, or something along that line. But this story shows us that one day that will be us, and the young people will think of us the same we thought about our elders. So this means treat your elders with respect because that will be use one day and we do not want to be mistreated. Also it talks about how the youth of the world moves so fast and how we do so much that we do not really take the time to notice the little things that can make difference in our lives. This story has so many lessons you can take from it, because it also touches on how we as people need a purpose to live weather that be family, friends, or animals. All together I think this is a great story and I am glad we read it because I was able to take somthing from it and it is somthing I can apply to my daily life.
ReplyDeleteThe stories we have read by Hemingway all seem to have a message about death and the after life. Are most of Hemingway's stories about death? Most of the Frost poems also dealt with the issue of death and the after life. Why does death seem to be such a common thing amoung those who express their feelings through literature? You talked about the thought from Hemingway's "The Old Man at Sea" and it saying that "A man must be destroyed not defeated." I was thinking that suicide would be destroying yourself and defeating yourself. What are your thoughts on this? I think that a person who is suicidal has been defeated by life and then are basically destroyed. Also I think a person can tear themselves down and destroy their own being just by negative comments. So I don't really agree with the idea of not being defeated. Do you think that Hemingway was defeated by life and that's a reason for killing himself? Just like Hunter and Morgan I am curious to know about Hemingway's family life and how he got the nickname of Papa.
ReplyDeleteFrom what we have noted and discussed in class, we have noticed that Ernest Hemingway prefers to write in short, defined sentences. Mr. Carter has said that he likes to write this way, because it allows the sentence to be placed anywhere in the paragraph, and in some cases the story, this affects how we see the story line playing out. We have discussed how Hemingway believed that time is never what we really think it is as in minutes, hours and days. We talked about how some people can live more in 5 minutes than others can live in a day. Everybody sees the moments and situations in the world differently. This kind of refers back to Madison's question in her post about experiencing time. Personally, I relate it to when something excilerating whether good or bad happens to a person very quickly, and they say, "they saw their whole life flash before their eyes." Also, when we talked about how some people live more in 5 minutes than others do in the rest of their life, I think when the sentence refers to living I think of this as being good or bad. The people in the World Trade Centers when it was being bombed probably lived more in their final minutes, then many of us will probably will ever live in our lifetime.
ReplyDeleteNow referring back to the structure of Ernest Hemingway's sentences, I found the sentences in "Capitol of the World," to be very interesting. Especially in the first paragraph of this story, Hemingway wrote very long sentences. There were only 4 sentences in this 16-line paragraph. Also, I found that he used many commas in his paragraphs, which is unlike him.
From what I have decided today, I don't think Paco is very heroic. To be a hero, I think one must have done something to help another person, but it doesn't have to be with super powers. I also think to be conciderred a hero, one must have done something brave or selfless to help the community or the world. In this situation, I do not think Paco was heroic. Him playing bullfighter was just him playing with Enrique. Im not saying it wasn't brave, but he didn't help anyone by doing it. He was just imagining himself in the ring.
Of all the Ernest Hemingway stories we have read so far, "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" is my favorite. I think the message of this story is to respect and sympathize with our elders because we will also be there one day. "What I am, you will be." We should try to learn as much as we can from them because they aren't going to be around forever. We can only learn so much from textbooks and websites, but our later generation can tell us things about the past that might have never known without them.
ReplyDeleteThis story also makes a reference to the nothingness that humans have in their lives. The old man had tried to kill himself, only to be cut down by his niece. When the younger waiter asks the older waiter why he says, "Nothing"... "He has plenty of money." However, does having money really matter if you have no friends or family? I think the older waiter was also implying something else when he said "nothing" He didn't necessarily mean nothing was wrong, but that the old man had nothing to live for.
I agree with what Meredith said about how Hemingway likes to show us how time moves and affects other people in different ways and how five minutes can change so much. I wonder if time can affect you and how our lives play out. Like the old man in a Clean, Well Lighted Place had nothing left to live for and time plays out much differently for him then it does to the younger waiter. To the younger waiter he wants to be spending his time sleeping or with his wife instead of waiting for this old man to go home. As for the old man I think time is probably not something he worries about wasting.
ReplyDeleteAlso In the story Indian Camp, Nick has a very different life experience then what he is used to and Hemingway shows him acting younger and younger throughout the story and portraying a child-like innocence. But I think that Nick is experiencing time much differently and learning life experiences that may be more adult for him and a lot for a child to handle. Children don't want to think about the bad things in life, they only want the fun and happy things which everyone does but as we get older we realize that is not possible. time can change someone in many ways and I think that is what happened to Nick.
These different people in Hemingway's stories are just a few examples of how different time can be for different people under different circumstances. I think Hemingway definitely shows us how that happens and how five minutes can change so much for someone.
Mr. Carter mentioned how Hemingway started his writings in a new era of literature. My question about Hemingway is this. Did Hemingway start this writing revolution or did he get his inspiration from someone else? Also, Mr. Carter stated that Hemingway was popular internationally for many things other than writing. My question is, was Hemingway's true passion for his literature or was it for one of his other activities? Lastly I would like to ask something about his short story, " A Clean Well-Lighted Place." In the story the young waiter does not see why the old man would consider suicide because he is a wealthy man. Does anyone else see the old man somewhat like Hemingway when he committed suicide? I see this because Hemingway was wealthy, old, and losing his family just like the old man.
ReplyDeleteToday during class, we discussed "Capital of the World". Hemingway starts off this short story, explaining how Paco is a common name in Madrid, and there are hundreds of Pacos all over, foreshadowing that the event to occur later on, could indeed happen to any Paco, not just the one in the story.
ReplyDelete"Capital of the World" is a story about fantasy and reality. Paco has these preconceived notions that the life of a bull fighter is nothing but glamour, wealth, and fame. Hemingway sucks this fantasy out of the famous bull fighters and writes about how these bull fighters aren't everything they are amped up to be. They are overrated. They aren't very heroic and have many flaws. It also isn't any accident that Paco's older sisters go to the movies. Movies often display false images of people. They make them seem so glamourous that the person watching can't help but want to be like them. The movies create these artificial lives. We worship the image, or the way a person appears on the big screen. We naturally fantasize about life because it gives us something to look forward to. Hemingway forces us to face reality and this causes us to realize many things aren't what they originally seem.
When Enrique and Paco are pretending to "bull fight", Enrique is trying to prove to Paco that not everyone can be a bull fighter. Fear is what separates the bull fighters from the spectators. Enrique uses the steak knives tied to a chair to display the real danger of bull fighting to Paco, with the hope that Paco come to a realization and not put himself in that sort of danger in the future. This is an example of irony because though Enrique is trying to warn Paco, and hopefully prevent him from a premature death in the future, Paco is killed because of the danger Enrique was trying to prevent.
Paco died in a world of illusions. He didn't have time to lose any of them. He died thinking he was a heroic bull fighter.
Questions about Part 1 of T"he Short Happy LIfe of Francis Macomber"
ReplyDelete1. Does this story take place somewhere in Africa? Some of the characters are speaking Swahili, and they are hunting a lion, so I'm guessing it does, but why did Hemingway choose to write about Africa? Does he have personal experiences visiting there? Has he written other short stories about Africa?
2. Is Hemingway saying in this story that courage is associated with bravery and that being a coward is associated with fear? Is this always the case?
I agree with Morgan when she said that we often worship movie stars for the lives they lead in the movies. It happened in Madrid in the 1930s and it happens today. I've come to realize that people are either very happy with their lives or spend a lot of time and effort trying to be happy with their lives. When a person feels their life isn't great enough they trade reality for the unreality in their head. In turn, that unreality in fact becomes their reality. Paco's sisters went into the movie trying to escape from the toils of their own life, yet they ended up being confronted with the same hardships of their everyday life. And they quickly rejected the movie.
ReplyDeleteHemingway's way of ending the story by focusing on what wasn't happening to Paco was very interesting to me. This approach could be taken by the reader in a very negative sense because Paco never truly had the chance to experience life to the fullest and he died "full of illusions." Though it also could be argued that Hemingway was saying dying young isn't so bad when you think about all the hardships that boy would have had to inevitably endure if he were to have lived a long life. Maybe Hemingway was saying what's to come after this world is better than what we face here on earth. Though having some understanding of Heminway's own personal relationship toward God, it's more likely that he's saying this boy died alone and full of illusions, and yet the more important thing is that Madrid was disappointed by the Garbo picture.
In the story "The Capital of the World" Paco idealizes the bullfighters and many people in Spain see the bull fighters as heroes. I think this often happens with the celebrities of today. They are noticed for the sport they play or their ability to pretend to be someone else. Some of those people really are good people, but usually aren't noticed for that but others aren't. The people who really are heroes are often over shadowed by the stars of today. The heroes are people like firefighters and soldiers. I think that this story has a message about people not being who they seem to be. The bull fighters aren't who the people think they are and I think celebrities today are like that too. An every day man can be a hero. Paco's death could be an of random fate or it could be about his innocence and what he didn't really know about bull fighting
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel, the true heroes are the unspoken heroes that don't do things for glory, money, or fame. To be a true hero you can't be rewarded I think, doing something just because it needs to be done, or because you know it's the right thing to do when no one else will do it. Some of the most idolized people are some of the worst. When the people we should truly aspire to become is just ourselves. We get lost in fashion, music, sports and anything else that we may feel will have us fit in. Sometimes we go to great extremes to accomplish this. Such as Paco does when he wishes to be a bullfighter. To fit in, people try to be like other people when they don't understand that in their attempts in becoming someone else who is famous or popular they are losing themselves and the chance of being someone special that could receive the attention they desire. The people who make it places in the world are the people who are different with different ideas and abilities. We want to be these people but in trying to do this we are gaining "unoriginal" traits that prevent us from being different and important in this world. Life is too short and important to copy someone else's. It's like painting a picture that's been painted before, there is nothing special about it. Many a writers copied Hemingway, but none could be the original. Many people have tried to copy the artistic styles of many painters such as Picasso or Leonardo Davinci, many may have come close, but we don't remember them. It's the original and different people who are remembered. But we as a generation don't seem to realize this yet. Even Francis dies being as other wealthy men have before him. Going big game hunting and following the others in the crowd. It led to his untimely demise just as Paco trying to be like a bullfighter led to his. I think Hemingway is trying to convey that it is the trailblazers who are remembered. Robert Frost does this as well with his poem of the two roads and him taking the one less traveled by.
ReplyDeletePeople who do the dangerous jobs that receive none of the fame that actors receive and less the pay are the real heroes. Working hard and putting themselves at risk for those they don't know. You don't even have to put yourself at risk to be a hero. Just helping when you can, being kind, and being all you can be is how we all should be.
The short story The Capital of The World, by Ernest Hemingway in my mind was a simple story with q not so simple idea. In the story it talks shortly about ho Paco is a common name in Spain. However the meaning of this somewhat random paragraph us that there is nothing at all special about the story's main character, Paco. Paco believes that he is a great bull fighter who is invincible. Rather Ironically he is killed by his friend, Enrique, while being shown how dangerous the sport is. While Paco lies dieng he gains a false since of achievment thinking that he really is the greatest bull fighter, or should I say was the greatest bull fighter. In the story it says, "He died full of ilussions," or he died believing he was something which he is not. This story, however sad, states the simple idea that nobody is really a hero, even if he or she thinks they are.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jack and Rachel. Why do people look up to the ones who do nothing good on their own? Celebrities are looked up to because of their roles in movies and such. As we discussed in class, actors are paid to play fictional lives. This isnt the way they really live and this doesn't make them heroes. Heroes are the ones who have good character, the ones who do great things even when no one is watching. I think people of this generation need to realize that and decide if their heroes actually are HEROES. Paco looks up to the great bull fighters and he wishes he could be a hero, just like them. But Paco doesn't know how these people live when they are not bullfighting. He has no idea if they are good people or not.
ReplyDeleteMadison mentioned previously about how this story is about Africa. Didn't you say in class that he wrote this while he was on a safari through Africa? That would give us a lot of background information and we could better comprehend the story. If he got the inspiration for this story from Africa, did he get his inspiration for other stories from personal experiences? Do all authors do this? It seems like if you used a personal experience for inspiration, the story would be deeper in meaning and it would create a vivid mental picture for anyone reading the story.
In the story "A Clean, Well Lighted Place," the characters all represent something very important. While reading this story, the reader needs to realize that some day, he or she will be like the old waiter and soon represent this old man. I think Hemmingway wants people to understand that we all need to show compassion to eachother, because we will all become old and frail at some point in time.
1. Did Hemingway intend for the reader to think of Paco as a hero?
ReplyDelete2. If Hemingway was so concerned about being brave and not a coward then why is he making Francis seem fearful instead of courageous?
3. Does the lion represent something in the story?
Questions for the blog:
ReplyDeleteOne thing that we have discussed about Ernest Hemingway is the amount of death in his family. It seems as if everyone in his family ended their lives early by committing suicide. We have talked and read about how Ernest Hemingway really looked highly upon people with courage and bravery-whether it may be in certain situations, or in life. Ernest Hemingway really glamoured people who would stick life out through the hard times. I find it very interesting that Ernest Hemingway killed himself. Isn't this kind of hypocritical of himself? I wonder why he did it. What happened to him so great that he would go against what he as said and stood by for years?
Another question I have is about the story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. What is the reason for killing the lion? Why does he kill the lion even if he isn't fully committed to the kill? I'm kind of confused in this story.
I have three main questions about Hemingway and his stories:
ReplyDelete1. When did he write "A Clean Well-Lighted Place"? Was he referring to himself becoming the "old man", or was he simply making a life reference?
2. Was "Old Man at the Bridge" inspired by personal experiences of Hemingway? If not, what was his inspiration?
3. What inspired Hemingway to be a writer?
At what age did Hemingway's father kill himself? Was he close to his dad or was his dad not a good father?
ReplyDeleteWas Hemingway always interseted in writing or was there something that happened in life that triggered it?
I agree with Reilly. Many people would like to believe that they are heroes for many various reasons. However, in reality most times people are falsely believing in their illusions instead of realizing the reality. This is Paco's problem. He dies believing he is still a bull fighter when the reality is he died a tragic, unheroic death.This is sad because if Paco had chosen to not fall into his illusion before Enrique and him practiced he would not have had to die the way he did. Also, I agree with Rachel and Jack. Like Jack said, Paco dies aspiring to be something that would help him acquire fame and money. It is very true that there are too many people trying to acquire fame and money instead of just being themselves. They would be surprised that if they would be themselves and do the right thing then they would be the heroes they truly want to be.
ReplyDelete