--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, bsandyman@a... wrote:
<<After reading this thoughtful reply it occurred to me
that was meant was that Hemingway wrote about a person
effecting the environment, situation, what ever that he was
in, while Conrad wrote about the situation effecting the
person.>>
Everything affects everything else, so you can't have a clear
cut distinction on that criterion. Conrad is intensely
personal, but he is ironic. Hemingway lacked irony, he was a
sensitive writer grappling with the stuff directly. Conrad is
more roundabout, a far more complex writer. He doesn't tell
you much directly.
<<Put another way, one might ask what changes from the
beginning to the end of stories from these authors. Ex. The
Old Man comes back from the ocean with the carcass of a sword
fish. Yes it isn't much, and he had to fight hard to get
that, but the universe did have to yield just that little
bit. By contrast the universe in 'Heart of Darkness' is
immutable and it is the people that change. (At least as far
as my sketchy memory allows me to comment.)>>
For me, the old man leaves a world just as he found it. The
ocean shares the bill as protagonist (Hemingway gives it
plenty of room and good scenes).
<<To write about the human condition, is to write about
the situation that human's find themselves in, possibly at
the expense of the characters. (Seems like this is one of the
main appeals of Noir and existentialism. YMMV.) It needs
human characters to make the point, but your not really
talking about the human.>>
But whatever the ambitions to portray humanity as a whole,
the story is about real humans and the conclusions are
relative to that experience. Consider also how the "universal
message" of a book can be lost in another culture, even
though the book can still appeal strongly through its
characters. You can enjoy Pirandello's stories without
knowing much about Sicilian culture -- but if you do, you may
find universality (well, local universality), parables,
etc.
Best, and sorry to go on so. Mid afternoon is the witching
hour for me.
Best,
MrT
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