Friday, September 19, 2014

There are many ways to describe hunger: hunger of the stomach, hunger of the soul, hunger of the mind. During his life, Hemingway experienced every type of "hunger" possible. Throughout the next three chapters of "A Moveable Feast", he describes these times and the troubles and revelations that come along with these desires.

Hemingway explains hunger as a "good discipline". He recounts times when he visited the Luxembourg Museum, and how his senses were heightened and his thoughts deepened due to feeling belly-empty, the feeling when there is nothing left in you but your thoughts. Because he was low on income, Hemingway became used to this feeling. What money he did make, he spent on things other than food and this was a poor decision. The thoughts that you have while hungry are not sane thoughts, but over-illuminated ones that wouldn't make sense otherwise.

In "The End of Avocation", Hemingway is discussing hunger of the mind. For some time during his life, Hemingway was enthralled with horse racing and gambling. After he decided that this was not a good hobby to have, he found himself poor in hobbies and things to keep his mind busy. This creates a longing for something to occupy the space that gambling once held in his life and the time that his mind spent consumed with the statistics and excitement of racing, thus creating hunger of the mind.

Lastly, in "Ford Maddox Ford and the Devil's Disciple", I believe that Hemingway is describing the hunger of the soul. He recounts of a conversation he had with Ford Maddox Ford, a vile and arrogant writer, regarding what it means to be a gentleman. During this chat, Ford "cuts" at a man who he assumes to be a fellow writer. This type of behavior is that of a corrupted soul, in my opinion. Anyone who brags about being evil is lacking in heart, and therefore hungry in the soul. However, at the end of the chapter, Hemingway finds out that the man who Ford "cuts" is actually the "wickedest man in the world". I think that this will -hopefully- open up to a new story further into the book.

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