How Art Affects Life: Ernest Hemingway - Approach to Art
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” – Ernest Hemingway Recognized by the world for his intense virility in writing, Ernest Hemingway (Ernest Miller Hemingway) expresses his own values and worldly views through a creative fever. His writing style heavily influenced American and British literature. Due to the lucidity and succinctness of his works, the majority of the 20th century western writers mimicked his style. Ernest Hemingway - Approach to Criticism The approach to art (literature) of Ernest Hemingway was very simple in speaking of universal complexities. However, he received harsh criticism from another writer. “He has no courage,” said Faulkner when asked to evaluate his position in the literary pool in April 1947. “…has never crawled out on a limb. He has never been known to use a word that might cause the reader to check with a dictionary to see if it is properly used.” Ernest Hemingway approached this ostensibly harsh criticism with a manly elegance. “Poor Faulkner,” he started. “Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them alright. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use.” A Writer’s Life “Forget your personal tragedy. We are all bitched from the start and you especially have to be hurt like hell before you can write seriously. But when you get the damned hurt, use it – don’t cheat with it.” – Ernest Hemingway Having participated in wars, Ernest Hemingway had witnessed many a tragedy. He had seen Death freely stealing the life of those who charged with courage and honor during wars. Not only that, he exposed tragic personal truths that only a few write about. One could only assume how much hurt it took him to write about the depths of human vulnerabilities. The mark of his first success dates back to 1926 when he published The Sun Also Rises. As an expatriate himself, he wrote about friendship, stoicism, and love altogether coexisting in an amoral and often senseless world. The cynically ironic book talks about dealing the lives of aimless expatriates in France and Spain. He referred to these expatriates as the members of the Lost Generation. Ironically, the degrees of his scorn for the phrase made it only famous. After a series of successes, he earned the world’s recognition. Despite the cynical remarks, his influence on the literary world ran deep. Even in this generation, his reputation and influence echo clearly. Art as a Key to Understanding Us Hemingway didn’t allow any often unrecognized heartaches and underappreciated pleasures to just pass away. He expressed them vividly as other artists in the past had, such as Vincent van Gogh. Their approach to art was to point out what most people knew only peripherally. Yet, most people never delve deeper into the matter. It is probably because of the countless difficulties in explaining it to others. These artists had found a way of channeling the complexities of the concepts of humane troubles and happiness. Their approach to art comforted them from the madness caused by extreme grief and/or dizzying happiness. Read the full article