Ernest Hemingway

In the July/August Smithsonian, there was an article called "Exploring Hemingway's Pamplona", in which the author went to the famous town for its annual running of the bulls and corresponding fiesta, with a nod to Hemingway's visits, where he stayed, where he ate and partied, all of which inspired the iconic author to write "The Sun Also Rises."

After reading the article, I decided to read the book, now just one year shy of 100 years since its publication. 

While I am sure that I have read a Hemingway novel at some time in high school, certainly "The Old Man and The Sea" and perhaps "A Farewell to Arms", I can't say I am familiar with his writing, could not summarize any of his books other than the generic info anyone might know about his individual works. As for "The Sun..." I am sure I never read it before, so, to be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect, especially considering the almost century that has passed since its creation.

I have read an author who purports to document the "Lost Generation" as those who fought and lived through WW1 are often referred as, although Vera Brittain, while documenting the same disillusionment, same deep sense of loss associated with that horrible war, expressed it in a very different way than Hemingway. Perhaps it was a gender difference, although "The Sun..." does feature a woman character not unlike the men depicted by Hemingway.

Here are links to the two posts that resulted from reading books by Vera Brittain, a woman born six years before Hemingway, and who also based her books on her experiences before and after WW1. 

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2022/02/testament-of-youth.html

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-testament-of-friendship.html 

While I enjoyed "The Sun...", I was startled by the language used by Hemingway, especially his references to the few black people he encounters or knows of. One particular scene when describing a famous black boxer of the time to whom he refers as a nigger is said very casually, as was common at the time. 

One could say that it marks an evolution in tolerance for descriptions of people in a wholly negative light. Except that we now have a president who uses terms to denigrate people all the time, even while sitting in the Oval Office. While there may now be certain words that can't be used to describe other races or nationalities, there is also a sort of renaissance occurring which is bringing back prejudices against those now demonized by the orange king, perhaps not through direct use of those derogatory terms, but just as dangerous, through the open hostility towards people deemed inferior, or disposable. 

How else can one explain casual statements that perhaps 2 million Palestinians should be moved out of the Gaza strip, or that the war criminal Putin should be allowed to retain the land he took by force, regardless of the hundreds of thousands of lives, on both sides, that have been lost due to his illegal war.

Of course, Hemingway represented the rough and tough American, in both his writing and his persona. Yet he also suffered all types of mental and physical issues, some brought on by his drinking and lifestyle, others from the real injuries he survived in WW1, and the battlefield horrors he witnessed as a soldier and reporter.

Some say that when his ability to write about those experiences began to fade, he was unable to go on without his main defense mechanism, hence his suicide just weeks before his 62nd birthday.

I probably won't pursue reading anymore of Hemingway's books. While "The Sun..." does present a softer side of Jake Barnes, the character said to be based on Hemingway himself, he does not represent a set of traits I aspire to, nor wish my son to resemble. 

At the same time, though, I can relate to the hopelessness that permeates the characters, and the book itself, as I have often stated in my recent posts how the optimism which marked the overall attitude of my blog has dissipated, immensely.

When I see the man in the White House using his position, and the power of the federal government to extort money from universities, from law firms, from the CEO's of some of the most successful and important industries of our country, I can understand the malaise that some of the lost generation felt as they experienced everything they had trusted in and depended upon for meaning and structure come tumbling down around them in the form of a destructive, aimless war, followed by a decade of excess and gilded waste.

It seems today that the electorate is fine with any atrocity, any prejudice, any horrendous act against children born to the wrong parents, as long as their 401K's continue to grow.

I was asked by someone recently what the Dems could do to counter the GOP onslaught against democracy being carried out in Texas, and to counter Trump's use of the military in blue state cities to squash our first amendment freedoms. 

Sadly, my response is that we need an economic collapse because it is only money that Americans care about. Should inflation surge again due to the Administrations chaotic, nonsensical tariff policies, should the job market continue to flounder, should stocks take a tumble as big business realizes that Trump is all about himself, not America, then, if their are free elections in 2026 and/or 2028, perhaps small d democracy will gain a foothold again, and the Dems will get a chance to govern with an eye towards the working class. 

Of course, we can only hope that they will actually govern as such, this time. 

As for now, the decline continues.