Reflections about the course:
Well first of all, the second I walked into class and learned we were starting the course with Hemingway, I was ecstatic. He is my all time favorite writer; I think the iceburg theory is so interesting in that you can write as much or as little as you want, and if you are a good enough writer, the reader will be able to figure out exactly what you are trying to convey.
My favorite Hemingway book is A Moveable Feast; I love learning about the lost generation, and it’s so cool to me when reading to see how Hemingway interacted with other great artists of the time, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein, all in the greatest city in the world- Paris. Last year, my senior year in high school, while teaching us about the iceburg theory my teacher had us read Hills like White Elephants and that became my favorite Hemingway short story. The imagery is fantastic, and the story is so beautifully crafted. As a playwright teacher once told me, God really is in the details, and Hemingway clearly uses this to his advantage; he doesn’t use too many, where they overdrive the story, but he puts in just enough to give the reader a sense of what his point, the inner meaning of his story, really is.
The bookstore was out of In Our Time, and I’ve been borrowing Sarah’s, but I’m not very far in it yet. But don’t worry, I’ll be done with it by Thursday! I do think it is so interesting the way he inserts sections of his experiences at war in-between all of his stories. When read alone, they almost stand alone as a completely separate story.
Overall, this is my favorite class so far. Maybe it’s because we’re starting with my favorite author, or maybe it’s because we get to read so many great books all semester. All in all, I can’t wait until next class!