What about Hemingway?

I am a new user, so this may be a shopworn subject, sorry! But I was suprised when looking at the authors listed there was absolutely nothing on Hemingway. On the other hand there was a very substantial amount on his contemporary, Fitzgerald. I was always under the impression that Hem was generally considered the more substantial of the two. Is this in fact a kind of informal consensus among the more literary of the opposite? I know that Hemingway was a great self-promoter, but there really seems to be a much greater amount of published criticism on Hemingway. What's the story, or is there one? thanks!

I think the authors listed are all public domain - IE they've been dead for over 50 years - that is why Hemingway and other recent authors like JD Salinger won't be on that list

But as far as discussions and threads - there is a lot of discussion on both Fitzgerald and Hemingway

nevermind

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Originally Posted by jebib3

I am a new user, so this may be a shopworn subject, sorry! But I was suprised when looking at the authors listed there was absolutely nothing on Hemingway. On the other hand there was a very substantial amount on his contemporary, Fitzgerald. I was always under the impression that Hem was generally considered the more substantial of the two. Is this in fact a kind of informal consensus among the more literary of the opposite? I know that Hemingway was a great self-promoter, but there really seems to be a much greater amount of published criticism on Hemingway. What's the story, or is there one? thanks!

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I think the author forums are for authors whose work is in the public domain. But then surely some of Hemingway's stuff must be? Now I am confused.

As to who is more substantial, I dunno. I think Hemingway had a greater output.

While I think Hemingway may be the more popular of the two (since he was so prolific and was such a charismatic figure), I think Fitzgerald may be considered a better writer. His use of language is so elegant. Then again, they have completely different styles. Of the people I know, at least, Fitzgerald is widely considered the better of the two.

Here's Hemingway on Fitzgerald:
"His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings. At one time he understood it no more than the butterfly did and he did not know when it was brushed or marred. Later he became conscious of his damaged wings and of their construction and he learned to think and could not fly any more because the love of flight was gone and he could only remember when it had been effortless."

Hemingway I've read:
The Sun Also Rises
The Old Man and the Sea
Green Hills of Africa
The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories

I enjoyed the first three and The Snows of Kilimanjaro but the rest of the short stories, with the exception of Fathers and Sons, leave me wanting for a better ending. Take A Way You'll Never Be for instance - It starts out with a great scene of the aftermath of a battle and Nick making his way to the front and then to find out that he's only there to boost the moral of the Italian troops with the thought that the Americans will be there soon and to hand out cigarettes and chocolates, which he doesn't even have. He just leaves because the commander, an old friend, doesn't want him there. The End.

Hemingway I've read:
The Sun Also Rises
The Old Man and the Sea
A Clean, Well lighted Place
A Farewell To Arms
For Whom The Bell Tolls

The latter two are his masterpieces. Love and war have never been so tenderly and skilfully mixed.

A Farewell To Arms was the first book to make me shed a tear.

Hemingway knows dialogue and how to use to create the very essence of the story, the characters and the mood.
His prose relies on dialogue even if the dialogue can be clumsy at times.


A Clean, Well Lighted Place....well never before has such a short story contained so much within it in so few words.