Monday, September 1, 2014

Earnest Hemingway, Pamplona in July


In this essay, Earnest Hemingway recounts his trip to the island of Pamplona, Spain. Him and a woman who he refers to as “herself” went to the island to watch the famous bull fights that take place there each year. Hemingway was a famous author and journalist of the early 20th century whose works earned him a Nobel Prize in literature. In the beginning, it seems Hemingway’s main purpose is in writing this essay is to tell the readers about of his amazing experience and how different the festival was from his real life. Hemingway constantly uses imagery to give the reader an accurate depiction of this town and festival. As he walks through the town, he describes every detail of the townsfolk and village, like the, “beautiful girls, gorgeous, bright shawls over their shoulders, dark, dark-eyed, black lace mantillas over their hair”, and, “the throb of the big drums… as the whole town dances in the great open square of the Plaza”. He also offers a bit of ambiguity by calling the woman that he is traveling with “herself”, it leaves he reader to wonder who this woman is. This woman could have been someone close to him, like a wife, who he gave the name “herself”, a title given to the queen, as a joke, or if this woman is someone who hurt him, like an ex-wife, who’s name he chose to omit because it brings him pain. If the woman was an ex-wife, which Hemingway has had several of, his purpose in writing this essay could be to tell the story of his last happy moment with his wife who he had a falling out with between this experience and the writing of this essay. If this story was written as a memorial to the relationship he had with his wife, it was not very apparent to the reader, but if it was to retell the story of Hemingway’s trip it is very vivid and well told. While his true purpose is vague, Hemingway’s essay was well crafted and vivid nonetheless.
Hemingway in the Ring
https://publicintelligence.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/hotchner-hemmingway.jpg

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