Hemingway?

[Anonymous No.12764579]

Hey /lit/. I'm currently going through the (so called) "classics" and one author I'm wrestling towards the idea of skipping would be the famed Ernest Hemingway.
When I went to buy my latest batch of books I checked out a few of his own but I didn't feel like reading "A Call to Arms" simply because I've read a lot of war books and I'm a bit battled out.
Now my first hearing about Hemingway was in like.. Senior english class in high school? We read a really short story by him about camping in the wild and all that but before we did my teacher sorta went off on a monologue about how she really didn't like Hemingway, thought he was overrated and outdated, and that his works were way too overly masculine.
So was that true? Is his work going to just be forgotten due to it's outdated and non-progressive views. Should I just skip it and move on or is his work detrimental to literature? What did you think of his work?

[Anonymous No.12764616]

>>12764579
To add on. I don't like the idea that he's "misogynistic". Simply because things people said and did like... 10 years ago are already considered to be horribly outdated. We're progressing, culturally, faster than ever.
I guess the difference would be that compared to his time was he already out of line?

[Anonymous No.12764725]

>>12764579
Most people enjoy Hemingway. Your English teacher sounds like a psued. You really only notice those "non-progressive views" if you really read in between the lines. Other than that his work isn't ground breaking, but if you're autistically making your way through the classics like the people on this board then you probably won't find his books interesting.

[Anonymous No.12764782]

>>12764725
>but if you're autistically making your way through the classics like the people on this board then you probably won't find his books interesting.
Why do you say that anon?

[Anonymous No.12764810]

>>12764579
Read Old Man and the Sea which is pretty short. If doesn't resonate with you, you would not find reading Hemingway enjoyable.

[Anonymous No.12764819]

>>12764810
No, that book is so fucking boring
>>OP
Read the sun also rises. It's so good.

[Anonymous No.12764830]

>>12764819

[Anonymous No.12764845]

>>12764579
>Should I just skip it and move on or is his work detrimental to literature?
>or is his work detrimental to literature?
>detrimental
were you looking for "essential"?

[Anonymous No.12764848]

>>12764845
Oh shit. Yes I was. Thank you.

>>12764810
>>12764819
Hmm, I'll probably give them both a check out. I'll get them from my library and if I don't find them gripping then I'll just return them. I usually like to buy books but if I'm not sure I'll be hooked it's a waste.

[Anonymous No.12764871]

>>12764579
>his works were way too overly masculine
what does this even mean

[Anonymous No.12764876]

>>12764579
For Whom the Bell Tolls is one of my top 5 favorite books I think.

[Anonymous No.12764883]

>>12764871
I dunno, never read them, but apparently it's a big thing with critics of his work.

[Anonymous No.12764908]

>>12764883
well, i challenge anyone to read FWTBT and not come away thinking he's a big ol softie

[Anonymous No.12764913]

>>12764908
I actually believe you.
The thing about that whole "toxic masculinity" is that at the core of most people I've met that people describe as "machismo's" there's always a deep and sincere caring towards them. Like you said, "big old softies".
As opposed to people who act like they care but you kinda get this deep unfeeling vibe from them. Really bizarre.

[Anonymous No.12764928]

>>12764579
Hemingways overt masculinity don’t take away from the fact he was a man in touch with his emotions and able to convey them in a piece. He tells good stories and though he is vastly overrated he is worth reading. I’d recommend a farewell to arms

[Anonymous No.12764940]

>>12764928
Thanks for the response. I'll make him a priority then.
Though I'm curious why you think he's overrated? Do you think there are other books / authors that handle his themes well or...?

[Anonymous No.12765175]

>>12764940
I just wouldn’t consider him to be one of the best of all time. He has a distinct style but when people say he’s the greatest writer ever I think its a bit much. Even in his own time I’d say he’s outclassed by Faulkner, Steinbeck, Woolf, and Wharton, to name a few. That’s just my opinion though, and like i i said I do enjoy his writing

[Anonymous No.12765183]

>>12764913
Yeah you see this everywhere really

[Anonymous No.12765184]

>>12764579
There’s only one thing you must read by him and that is A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. That and maybe The Killers.

[Anonymous No.12765207]

>>12764579
I really fell in love with “A farewell to Arms”. Everything in it was just so great. Even the bad parts.

[Anonymous No.12765215]

>>12764579
Historically he is overrated but the pendulum has swung back at this point and he is back to being underrated.

I've read a lot of Hemingway, here's my thoughts, beginner does not mean not good, just easier

Beginner Tier:
>The Sun Also Rises
>Old Man and the Sea
Mid Tier:
>A Farewell to Arms
>Death in the Afternoon
High Tier:
>For Whom the Bell Tolls
God Tier:
>Old Man and the Sea (but you actually get it this time)
>A Moveable Feast
>Nick Adams Stories

[Anonymous No.12765300]

>>12764810
uhhh...

how could that book resonate with anyone? nothing happens.

[Anonymous No.12765305]

>>12764876
I'm going to just skip to this book. I read The Sun Also Rises and The Old Man and the Sea and wasn't impressed by either. Hopefully FWTBT is as good as everyone claims it is.

[Anonymous No.12765310]

>>12765215
calling bullshit on the old man and the sea. there is NOTHING to "get".

[Anonymous No.12765311]

>>12764579
>a monologue about how she really didn't like Hemingway, thought he was overrated and outdated, and that his works were way too overly masculine.

I never got the hypermasculine meme. Hemingway's primary themes were in defense of stoicism, not maleness. His most famous book features a literal eunuch.

>>12764616
>culturally, we're progressing faster than ever
I disagree. There is no indication that any development that's occurred in Western culture in the past, say, 10 years can be labeled progress. It's more a shotgun blast of sanity-shredding ideologies that all claim to be progress. There is less progress, if anything, if only due to the fact that people like your English teacher exist.

[Anonymous No.12765322]

>>12765310
>what is the iceberg theory?

[Anonymous No.12765345]

>>12765322
there's no iceberg in those pages. just a small ice floe.