Gemini Rising

Hemingway Writing & Inspiration

Thoughts on Hemmingway. I saw a mention of Hemingway on the newsfeed and I thought of the word, "Inspiration." If anything, Hemmingway was a writer who was inspirational in his style and his themes - and a quick micro thought came to mind - in a similar fashion, Suzanne Collins (author of the Hunger Games) is also inspirational.

I remember reading "The Old Man and the Sea" in High School, and boy was I glad. It was a refreshing break after "The Grapes of Wrath." . My Hemingway basics were that he was in the war, served as an ambulance driver and he wrote about life experiences. Turns out he couldn't join the military because of his poor eye sight.

DID YOU KNOW? He won the nobel prize in literature in 1954?

I also didn't know that he served as a journalist during the landings at Normandie and was present during the liberation of Paris. That's some history there.

Some of Hemingway's themes include, love, war, travel. Nature is a place to find rest. I do like how Hemingway treated nature as a place of rest, a place to find adventure, a place to enjoy.

Do I remember reading "The Old Man and the Sea." Not really. I remember the writing was tight and to-the-point. I had to refresh myself on the plot. Santiago goes fishing, goes to far out and catches a marlin but the sharks eat it as he's coming back to shore. What's the meaning? What do you take away from reading the story? Perservence? Bravery in the face of adversity. Finding one's personal strength? The sea is cruel and chaotic. Can we take it that life is cruel and chaotic? Can we tame our lives? Is "The Old Man and Sea" a metaphor for Hemingway as his life began winding down?

There's so much more to Hemingway and I just scratched the surface. He died of suicide in 1961 by a gunshot. Surprisingly, his father, sister, brother, and granddaughter all died of suicide? Was a biological link? Who knows...

Question: Did you ever read Hemingway? Thoughts? Impressions? Did Hemingway's writing or his life's story inspire you?