Style

Alright, now to discuss the styles of writing used in A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway. Well, I'm not the best at it, but I'll take a crack at it. Also, I'm not too clear on the difference between styles and stylistic devices, and you marked that in my journal last time (I just wanted to point that out, since that means I actually learn from my mistakes).

Hemingway's style was very simple. He told his stories in a very straight-forward manner, not dwelling on details (which some of our other books that we've read, like Invisible Man and Grapes of Wrath have). When he told the reader something, he told them without pulling any punches; he simply told it. This is very unlike most authors, who will usually spend long amounts of time dwelling on the unimportant details (again, those two books). All in all, I like this style. It leaves room for character development, as well as plot development. All in all, I think it makes a book easier to read, as the reader doesn't get bogged down in so many details that they forget what was being described. Well, I don't think I need to say anymore about the dangers of over-description...

Another one of Hemingway's styles (or is it a stylistic device? I get confused by that) that I like is his delivery of dialogue. Nothing fancy, none of that stupid symbolism, just people talking. Talking like real people, I should say. Hemingway managed to capture the "essence" of people's conversations (I say that at the risk of sounding extremely cheesy and like I pulled that out of Cliffs Notes, even though I didn't, thank you very much. The Cliffs Notes actually disagree with me here). While yes, sometimes dialogue can be worse than the most over-descriptive paragraph or page, sometimes it is a welcome break from symbolism, description, and the general story telling pattern. I prefer characterization via the dialogue than the author coming straight out and telling me "She was the perfect lady" or "He was a rough guy". If the woman talks using kind words, I can tell what kind of character she is, just like I can tell that the man is rough if he starts cussing out everyone in the room (actually, I'd get a kick out of reading that dialogue...).

All in all, I like Hemingway's style (or are they stylistic devices?). Its pretty straight forward, with no BS (unlike this journal). His dialogue is straight forward as well, and overall, he "calls it like he sees it". Well, more like how he imagines it, but you know what I'm talking about. If not, I'm not gonna pass this six weeks.