Ernest Hemingway

"When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen."
Ernest Hemingway
US author & journalist (1899 - 1961)

"The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof, shit detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers have had it."
Ernest Hemingway

I love old pictures of people, so I thought I would post a young Hemingway picture for everyone to see. I am very fond of Hemingway's writing. When I read his writings it is like I am watching the scene unfold before me. I like the realism he puts into his work. In the "Hills Like White Elephant", at first I thought the couple was talking about getting married. After I read the poem over again, I caught on to the couple's conversation. I believe the guy is older man who wants the girl to have an operation. I can only guess it is an abortion. In line "That's the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy", tells me that the guy thinks the "thing" as the reason they are unhappy. The girl seems very reluctant about the operation. She wants he to stop talking or she will scream. The last line really tells how she feels about the situation by saying, "There's nothing wrong we me. I feel fine." Hemingway has way with turning a controversial subject into a everyday conversation.