Ernest Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961)

Ernest Hemingway led an extraordinary life filled with women, adventure, and war. It is hard to believe that one man could accomplish all that he had, especially since his life was cut short by suicide. Here are some highlights of Hemingway’s life by numbers:

·         5 siblings

·         4 marriages plus one elaborate love affair when he was 18

·         3 wars

·         2 car crashes, 2 plane crashes, plus injuries from the wars

·         1928 – Hemingway’s father killed himself

After having read many of Hemingway’s short stories this semester, it’s amazing to see how much he paralleled his life in his writing. 

“His writing was his way of coping with life - to exorcise his ghosts, to achieve fame and glory and yet he also had a natural talent. What came first, his writing or his adventures? What was most important to him? To fulfill his mother's wishes or his father's?”

I think Hemingway faced constant internal conflict due to failed marriages, his father’s suicide, and the injuries he sustained; all of these things certainly provided him with inspiration for his writings but it never gave him any peace in his life. He constantly felt guilty for ruining yet another promising relationship by his affairs yet he never seemed to learn his lesson or try to stop “falling in love” with every woman he meets. He also continued to put himself in violent situations and he would without fail end up injured which would only leave him depressed as he endured the healing process. Truly it’s amazing though how he survived so many near death experiences. Through all of Hemingway’s incredible worldly adventures and romantic love affairs, I believe that from interpreting the complexity of his work and reading his biography that he led a very sad and tortured life.

            Sometimes it seems that Hemingway only wrote because he had discovered his natural talent and needed some kind of activity to help fund his elaborate stints all over the world. He most likely enjoyed the fame and opportunities it gave him but I think he enjoyed finding new love affairs and adventure more. On the other had though, possibly he sought women and adventure to constantly facilitate themes and ideas for his writing. It leaves the question from before still hanging in the air: “What came first, his writing or his adventures? What was most important to him?”

            Overall his life seems rather romantic and seemingly fulfilling but I think Hemingway had deeper conflicts going on that kept him from being happy and making mature decisions. His writing is interesting and artful though and he has certainly made a profound impact in the literary world.

“Hemingway did not know what he wanted. He wanted everything and nothing.”

Quotes and information from: 

"Ernest Hemingway" 
1999-2006 Caroline Hulse

www.ernest.hemingway.com

ESL Service Learning Project - Vietnamese Noodles and La Madeleine

Two weeks ago Myungseon and I went out to try Vietnamese noodles at a restaurant next to Central Market called Phou. The restaurant was kind of packed and the waitresses were kind of sassy but we still had a pretty good time. It was cold outside so soup sounded perfect. Myungseon explained to me that the rice noodles in broth with meat is a traditional Vietnamese dish. In this case also there are several different kinds of meat that you can have in your soup; we ended up having brisket. When you get your soup you also get a plate with different things you can season your broth with like basil, sprouts, jalapenos, and lime. When I’m at home I go to lunch with my grandparents once a week and one time when I was a senior we when to a Vietnamese noodle house like this one called Sprouts. When we had gotten our soup I saw that they had given us lime and I really like lime so I proceeded to squeeze my entire wedge into my soup. Needless to say it was disgusting so this time I knew to be much more careful and actually ended up avoiding the lime altogether. It was so interesting to see that they had given us jalapenos but they actually added a great spice to the broth. Also one of the most important parts is that I learned how to eat the noodles out of the broth with chopsticks! When I ate with my grandparents I made a huge mess and could barely get any noodles out of my bowl. This time I watched what Myungseon did and finally figured out how to eat them without looking like some crazy person. Also I learned about the different sauces you can have on your meat which is basically just a combination of two different sweet chili sauces. Vietnamese food is something you definitely need direction on so I’m really glad I finally figured it all out with Myungseon’s help!

Since we had tried several Asian restaurants at this point I decided it was time to try different ethnic foods. After noodles last week Myungseon asked if I knew of a bakery nearby and the best thing I could come up with was La Madeleine so last week we went there to eat. It turns out Myungseon LOVES croissants so it was basically the best day ever for her. She gave me a huge hug when she saw the almond croissants in the line! She’s been in America for awhile now so I didn’t have to do much explaining about the food, just how to order and I gave her a suggestion for pasta. My roommate Kim and our friend Maddie ended up accompanying us for lunch this time which made it really fun! We talked about all kinds of things, like online shopping, travelling, different holidays, and what we will be doing for our break.

I was planning on giving Myungseon a Tex-Mex experience at Pappasitos before we left for break but we ended not having time as she returned home to Korean yesterday to stay with her family for the holidays. Thankfully though Myungseon still wants to meet when she gets back! We’ll figure out a new time to meet next semester but I’m so glad that we will be able to keep hanging out! This has been such a rewarding and special experience and I am so glad to have Myungseon as a friend now.

Thank you so much Dr. William’s for giving us this project! I’m so glad that I met Myungseon and that we will be able to continue learning and hanging out together!