English 1A Essay: Exploring Hemingway's Dedication in A Moveable Feast

This essay examines Ernest Hemingway's artistic work ethic as portrayed in his memoir, 'A Moveable Feast'. The essay begins with a brief biographical overview of Hemingway, including his early life and literary achievements, followed by a summary of the memoir itself. The core of the essay focuses on demonstrating Hemingway's dedication to writing, using examples from different chapters of 'A Moveable Feast' to illustrate his commitment. These examples highlight his interactions with fellow writers like Ezra Pound and Scott Fitzgerald, as well as his own writing process and the influences that shaped his style. The essay concludes by reiterating Hemingway's unwavering dedication to his craft.

Running head: A MOVEABLE FEAST
A MOVEABLE FEAST
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Born on 21st July 1899, Earnest Hemingway was renowned novelist, American
journalist, short-story writer and a sports person as well. He was brought up in Oak Park,
Illinois. His father was a physician and mother was an opera singer. His mother’s desire of
twin daughters made her “feminize” her son like other Victorian middle class families did.
Thus, these gender interactions are reflected in many of his works. Unable to join the Word
War I, he joined the Red Cross Ambulance services. Soon he was shaken while encountering
death and faced severe injuries. Later he received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for ‘The Old
Man and The Sea’ and The Nobel Prize in literature. He died in July 2, 1961, by committing
suicide (Hemingway, 2015).
Hemingway’s memoir, A Moveable Feast recollects the struggles he faced as an
evolving writer during his days in Paris. He lived with his first wife Hadley and son Bumpy
in a small apartment. They became a part of “Lost Generation”, i.e. a bunch of American
expatriate artists and authors who left their home and lived abroad. Hemmingway worked as
a journalist to earn money for fulfilling his desire of becoming a fiction writer. This memoir
derives its title from a Roman Catholic term that refers to religious holidays that occur on
different dates every year. It consists around 20 chapters which are not arranged
chronologically.
A Good Café on the Palace St-Michel begins with Hemingway’s life in Paris while
describing the bad cold weather. He evokes a depressed and despairing city where his days
are defined by the journeys to a café through dirty, crowded streets. Finally he finds the
“warm, clean and friendly” café at Palace St-Michel, where he starts writing about Michigan.
There he also encounters a girl and is attracted to her. She leaves the café making him sad
and tired. But with the taste of oysters and white wine, he felt joyful again. This passage
states the fact that how our moods are connected to and influenced by our surroundings
(Goldman, 2013).

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Shakespeare and Company is about a popular bookstore in Paris which is owned by a
lady named Sylvia Bleach. It is a cosy place to visit in the winters. Moreover, the owner
allows Hemingway to borrow books free of cost from the rental library. Initially he feels shy
to approach her as he was suffering from poverty. But Sylvia encourages him throughout and
believes that he will achieve great success. Here Hemingway comes across the famous James
Joyce. At the end, he and his wife are seen to be madly in love with each other and least
bothered about their financial conditions as he adds “and we’ll never love anyone else but
each other”, though it’s not destined to be forever.
Ezra Pound and His Bel Esprit tells about the friendship that Hemingway shred with
Ezra Pound, the famous American Poet. He describes Ezra as a generous and devoted friend
and states that she is “kinder and more Christian about people” than himself. Ezra also gives
him boxing lessons. He notices the beautiful Japanese paintings in her house. But he doesn’t
appreciate the paintings by Wyndham Lewis and is also embarrassed by his uniform. He even
concludes Lewis as a harmful friend for Ezra by describing him as the nastiest man he had
ever witnessed.
Scott Fitzgerald is the chapter that speaks of the renowned American writer,
Fitzgerald’s fame and Hemingway’s fondness towards him. He describes Fitzgerald as
handsome with “very fair wavy hair” and “excited eyes”. In case of their lives and art,
Fitzgerald and Hemingway appear to be foils for each other. Scott is more sentimental and
romantic than Hemingway as well as a better and more accomplished author. Scott enjoys life
in a more romantic way unlike Hemingway, who is a pragmatic realist (Egan, 2014).
Throughout A Moveable Feast, Hemingway proves to be a dedicated writer. He
mainly associates with authors like Ezra Pound, Fitzgerald and Joyce who are equivalently

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skilled in writing. Even Miss Stein stimulates him to become a competent writer. It was A
Moveable Feast that remained forever with Hemingway, wherever he went.

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References
Egan, S. (2014). Lies, Damned Lies, and Autobiography: Hemingway's Treatment of
Fitzgerald in A Moveable Feast. a/b: Auto/Biography Studies, 9(1), 64-82.
Goldman, J. L. (2013). " A Moveable Feast": The Art of a Knish Maker. Western
Folklore, 40(1), 11-18.
Hemingway, E. (2014). Moveable feast: the Restored edition. Simon and Schuster.
Hemingway, E. (2015). Ernest Hemingway Biography.
Tavernier-Courbin, J. (1984). Fact and Fiction in" A Moveable Feast". Hemingway
Review, 4(1), 44.