I didn't even know who he was, although my mother did always tell me about a book about an old man that goes to the sea. And I did hear bits and pieces about how he was a depressed guy who got married four times and killed himself in the end. I think for a lot of us, after hearing this documentary about his life, we still have that same feeling that he was a depressed guy who got married four times and killed himself in the end.
Ernest Hemingway's life was like a roller-coaster though, and no, there was no Fault in the Stars, let's go on a roller coaster that only goes up, because that's not true, and he is not Augustus Waters. He was a man who thoroughly enjoyed life and at the same time, suffered from it. He had really sucky people who probably made him die the way he did - his dysfunctional family basically is the root for all this, because his mom was too domineering and dad too....suicidal? But he also did have these amazing moments that made him feel like an accomplished writer and person.
He's not the man I would want to meet, let alone have a friendship with. From what I've heard, he's kind of a jerk in general: he doesn't really pay attention to his family, he's jealous and arrogant, and most importantly, he cheats. I can understand if you want to go from relationship to relationship because you feel as though you can't just love one person. But don't marry all those people and then cheat on them. You promised them that you would only love them, and then you're off flirting with another "them". Not just related to marriage, but when you cheat, you're saying that your current relationship with a person is not important, that it's diminished by some chick you met in Paris.
I just have one more statement. He was probably the most accomplished writer ever - he's definitely not my favorite, but he's probably influenced the people I read from today.Hemingway should be considered lucky to have his life. He went through all these amazing journeys - Cuba, Africa, Spain, Paris - and therefore, had so many things to write about and publish and be known for. I am not that person. I do not have oodles of ideas to write from, I have not experienced amazing things that blurt out a story from my fingertips, onto this laptop. However, that is the only aspect of true Hemingway that I enjoy, that he put every aspect of himself and his life into words, into a book - an old man who fishes by the sea, a lonely man who wants to let the cafe be open for an extra hour, a Nick Adams who looks at grasshoppers, a safari hunter who feels courage. He lived through his characters, and that is something that I'd like to do.
