Gary’s Comments (group member since Jul 26, 2009)

Gary’s comments from the The Importance of Reading Ernest group.

ohmigod. i never thought about doc offing himself??? however, i guess he changed his mind when his wife said , send the boy in,and then , doc doesn't send the boy to her. he thinks, oh,i've got a reason to live. the boy,and they go off into the woods together. holy shit, brad. you've dropped a big bomb, buddy!

I liked the lion. He's the only innocent character in the story! ha! i think this is a great story, but all the characters have unredeeming qualities. francis is whiney, margot is a murderer,and i can see wilson with a perpetual smirk on his face, thinking this is all bullshit,and the lesser of the men is the loser!

i am being a bit tongue in cheek here, but really , what does anyone else think?

i mean look at the title. that's a big hint! short life,things are about over, buddy!

to repeat ,the first time i read the story, i wasn't expecting the ending at all. it came as quite a shock, but as i have reread the story numerous times, i felt like indicators,and hints were there that francis's happiness was about to be over, at least happiness in life, anyway.

i think margot definately meant to do it. but when the deed was done, it was much worse then she anticipated,and when wilson wanted to discuss what she had done, she's like, shut up. stop making me feel bad,i feel bad enough. the question is..... did he know for sure what her plans were? or did he expect it since he was fucking her in the tent? was wilson happy that he was gone,and now he could have margot?? the car was jerky,and things with cars happen so fast. i know , cause i've been in a couple accidents and it happens fast. just like the hunt, things can happen so fast,and it would appear that margot's deed was an accident because of the speed of it all,and the jerkiness of it.

oh yes, the heat,and the discomfort of it all. it's like a way of showing that the characters are heated up with tension, they are not comfortable around each other,and the suspense is heating things up. what a marvelous way to build up to the ending, wouldn't you say???

it's like hemingway is allowing his audience to make lots of inferences,and which inferences are correct? which are not? that's what makes his stories so fantastic to read, you know???

I just printed off the "francis" story for a friend, because it is one of my favorites. i remember the very first time i read it,and how shocked i was by the ending. i swear, i couldn't sleep that night. i mean, i am married!! i was like looking over my shoulder for a couple days. and thank god, we own no guns,and we don't hunt, eh? ha! ha! i do think margot is looking for some excitement in the beds of other men, including wilson. it makes you wonder if they both discussed how they would murder francis, or did margot make that decision on her own? was it premeditated, or an accident , to look like an accident. did she work on her own, or was wilson directly involved. i mean, being a short story , lots of those details are left out, but things are implied, aren't they? look at the way wilson and margot talked at the end, nonchalant, like it was no big deal this happened,and yet isn't margot feeling some guilt by telling wilson to "stop it" to shut up????

i agree that hemingway's characters are very multifaceted. that's for damn sure. that's what makes him so dynamic,and very interesting to read. people that haven't really read him,and looked deeper then the literal meaning have no idea how complex hemingway,and his characters are! you gotta dig a little bit , folks. dig deeper. he's such a cool , dude, i mean really!

I have a suggestion of which novel to start with . wanna hear it? and why?

oh, faulkner is wonderful. an entirely different writer then hemingway. did you know they despised each other??? would make rude comments about each others works,and yet one of hemingway's most favorite movie adaptations of his novels was TO HAVE AND TO HAVE NOT , which the screenplay was written, by guess who?? william faulkner! i have actually held the original typed copy of the screenplay. i had to wear protective gloves,and it's in a collection of faulkner works , here in missouri. Dr. Robert Hamblin is the curator of the collection. He's a personal friend of mine. The room is full of books,and other faulkner treasures. it's a great place to visit. i think part of the reason hemingway liked the movie TO HAVE AND TO HAVE NOT, was lauren bacall, to be honest, and bogie!!

i have been growing mint in a pot, so i can make mojtios. gonna make some this week! ha! i have all the ingredients,and was given a muddler for a gift.

yep. you got it!

wow. what great comments. yes,"now i'll stop", the story is over, but i felt like it was saying francis's life is over. he's been "stopped"! and yes, i believe his wife murdered him because he wasn't the bad boy. he wasn't man enough. he annoyed her,and she wanted rid of him.why is it that the nice guys always get screwed,and the bad boys keep going on,and on???? it's like the billy joel song. ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG. poor francis. even his name was considered "sissy" in those days. i had a friend who's real name was francis, but he wanted everyone to call him frank, because it sounded a lot tougher. so, here's the question?? was hemingway saying that sissys don't survive. was this the idea of survival of the fittest?? did francis deserve to die because he wasn't tough enough?? it seemed papa did a lot of trying to prove how tough he was, in his life,and in his stories. ideas?

yeah, i tend to agree with you. women , in most cases, and the wife in the stroy find it admirable to "walk away" and avoid that fight. but men see it as being a coward. to be honest, i've never fought a day in my life,and i walked away, not because i was scared, (well, maybe!) but because i did feel i was the better man. i still feel that way. but think of hemingway's lifestyle, and the times he lived in,and his macho image, i'd venture to guess old papa felt doc was being a coward in that. however, the man didn't have to prove himself with his son. his son accepted him for who he is,and looked up to his dad. they all do at that age. now i have upper teenage sons,and they look on me as a pain in the ass. "this too, will pass" quoting shakespeare. at least i hope it does!

gary

well, the wife does seem to nag,and i got the impression that doc was not nearly as religious as his wife.he almost scoffed at her reading her bible,and magazines,and was thinking about murder, loading the gun,and then the wife talks him down from his anger. she also seems very concerned about if he had made dick angry, which seemed to make the doc angry,and to slam the door on his way out to get away from the "nag".then when he finds the boy, he seems more at peace. ideas???

well, wives do nag. and dick is nagging the doc too,in a sense. but nick! nick is thrilled to be with his dad. it's obvious the boy has a love for reading since he's reading outside by a tree. ( i used to do the same as a kid. hell, i do it as an adult). anyway, nick chooses to be with his dad,and his dad is thrilled. even offers to put the book in his pocket so the two "boys" can walk in the woods looking for squirrels. but notice the squirrels are black. aren't most squirrels grey, or brown?? could it be that they are looking for more then squirrels? a racial suggestion here again? maybe when the "colored" beings are found, could dad go back and get his gun that he so thought of using on dick?

any ideas? i love being the devil's advocate,and stirring the pot. anyone??? anyone??? (ferris bueller is sick!)

gary

well, they were floating free down the river, so are they stolen logs or free??
apparently the doc thought they were free. dick thought they were stolen. at the time the story was written racism was running high in this country. so was the doc pissed off because he wasn't getting a free log, or was he pissed off because "a half-breed" told doc what to do,and made him look bad?

what do you all think????

ooooo ooooo ooooooo,i've read that story a long time ago. i need to read it again!!! i'll be back.

i am gary, new,and excited. i read THE NICK ADAMS STORIES while in key west florida!
gary

I just wanted to say hi to everyone. Brad just invited me to this group,and I am going to read the story very very soon,and then read your comments,and then hopefully make a few comments of my own, that might be a bit insightful! We shall see!

Anyway, hello everyone!