There are
many famous authors, Hemingway included, that take a page to say what could be
said in one sentence. In my opinion, though, Hemingway does not accomplish this
properly or eloquently. Other writers such a J.K. Rowling use imagery and devices
like metaphors or synecdoche to give these long descriptions, thus pulling the
reader into the scene and making them feel like they are experiencing it with
right alongside the characters. Hemingway, on the other hand, has very dry and straightforward
descriptions, which can give the text a feeling of droning on. For example,
when Bill, Jake, and Cohn are driving to Pamplona, Jake describes the scene by
saying,
“After a while we came out of the
mountains, and there were trees along both sides of the road, and a stream of
ripe fields of grain, and the road went on, very white and straight ahead, and
then lifted to a little rise, and off on the left was a hill with an old
castle, with buildings close around it and a field of grain going right up to
the walls and shifting in the wind.” (Hemingway 99).
As you can see, it’s not that
Hemingway doesn't give descriptions; in fact, he gives extremely lengthy
descriptions. That one sentence description (containing seven ‘and’s) required
a block quote in and of itself. The problem here is not brevity, but lack of
imagery.
That being said, Hemingway’s
straightforward descriptions can add to his novels in some ways; and The Sun Also Rises is a great example of
this positive impact. The Sun Also Rises is full of lengthy, drawn-out descriptions,
combined with short, back-and forth dialogue between characters. Hemingway uses
this style to give his characters a feel of always being displeased and bored
with the world, an attitude that is fitting of a group of war veterans drinking
the rest of their lives away in Europe.
For once we actually decided to go
somewhere. It was getting boring just hanging with Cohn, Brett, and everybody.
We all drove out to New Orleans for the Mardi Gras Parade. The drive up there
was a pain. Cohn was all over Brett and Mike was jealous and Bill was drunk the
whole time and I was just sitting watching the trees and the mountains and the
billboards and the cars go by. God, they are all so annoying, but especially
Cohn, that guy really pisses me off!
…
When we got
there we headed out to the parade. There were people everywhere and it was loud
and colorful and energetic. This was a great place to be. Nobody ever lives
their life except at Mardi Gras. Unless you’re Cohn, that moron, he wasn’t even
happy here. He was too busy pining after Brett, which just made Mike mad. What
an asshole.
Works Cited: Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.
