The Art of Fact Essays

"Portrait of Hemingway"

So, as it turns out, I actually really dislike everything about Hemingway. I've known this for a while, and it is the kind in which I am stubbornly stuck. I will not stop hating who he was and what he did, and I will never enjoy his writing, not because he was a misogynist, but because I just don't like it.

The assignment technically said "Why you liked," but as I didn't particularly like this piece, I can't abide by that rule. I didn't learn much other than that the person who had the book before I did doesn't understand how to highlight with a straight line, nor when lines are appropriate to highlight in the first place.

And the way it began didn't make much sense, because it was taken out of a larger piece, but was still seemingly out of context. I don't much care for feeling like I'm not getting the whole picture. The style was too clipped for me, and nothing that was being said seemed either important or interesting.

I'm also not sure where this author somehow got this dialogue, or this scene. Reading the intro didn't help on that account, and I am left very confused by what feels a  fictional account of a man I care nothing for, with a very boring scene chosen to write about. I am not sure what the idea was behind writing this, other than as is said in the intro, because it was very much so dull. A chore to get through, some people might say.

Others might call me too harsh, but if by the end of the piece, I was never interested in anything I was reading, I'm not sure how anyone expected me to get through the first page. It seems to equate to someone telling me about every lunch they had for a week: overly detailed for something so dull. The into said that people found it devastating because they wanted to believe that he was a good person, but it's just devastatingly boring. I don't need confirmation that Hemingway was a horrible person. It's just common knowledge, at least as far as I'm concerned.

"Lady Olga"

This piece was much more engaging and witty. It didn't pretend to be anything other than what it was, and wrote in clear, concise writing. The person it spoke about was interesting as well, which held the majority of the story. It's a life that we don't hear much about. I genuinely enjoyed the piece, although it was written like any newspaper piece might be, as I've noticed a lot with profiles. It lead me to wonder why people do that, and don't, instead, try to make it at least a little different.

It takes more skill than one might think to write out the average newspaper article, but no one appreciates that because they're just so darn dull to read. The word choices are all just so neutral most of the time that it gives you no sense of emotion or danger or enticement, and this is written in the same way. Miss Barnell is what carries the entirety of the thing, with her stories and her uniqueness.

The removed narrative may help her to shine through, but I also wonder if there is a good middle ground.