Why I'm Not a Character in A Farewell to Arms
There is a saying about Hemingway: "He never says someone is sad; rather, he makes it rain."There is in this a great conflation of setting and character, a way of taking the mood of an individual and making it environmental. (There is also a lot of truth in the sentence, as well, and it reminds me of one of my favorite jokes. Q: Why did Ernest Hemingway's chicken cross the road? A: To die. Alone. In the rain.)
It was always hard for me to understand the "mood" of a novel. People have moods. Houses, trees, activities, the stuff of fiction: no moods. It's all an elaborate metaphor. And that would be fine, except that they test for this sort of thing on the SAT.
The flip side of this metaphor, however, I understand. My own moods are tightly linked to the weather around me. Yesterday was the first wind-whipped day of the year, and walking outside, I felt the same energy that I could watch blowing tree-leaves upside-down and newspapers across the avenues. When skies are grey and greying, or even tinged with a menacing green, I internalize a certain excitement that anticipates the electrical storm that is to follow. When the air is cool and brisk I want to play; when it is hot I am miserable (and not just, I think, because of the uncomfortable temperature or the too-bright sun); when it snows I am happy.
This is not entirely crazy. I may be highly attuned to the weather, but everybody is somewhat attuned to their environment. When lights are bright, we are all less likely to sleep (and this explains the well-lit garishness of malls and casino floors); when it's warm, we're more likely to be drowsy; if there's techno music and strobe lights, our pulse is likely to be relatively fast (even if we're not dancing); if we smell food, we're more likely to salivate and to feel hungry.
Still, I can't help but think that I take this to a strange extreme. So I don't think books have moods, and I certainly don't think rain makes this day sadder than the next (even if I do think Hemingway uses the conceit to excellent effect). But I do like to entertain the notion that I am myself a metaphor for the environment around me, that my moods reflect the world (and not the other way round). It is a nice reversal of the literary.
posted by Skay @ 4:50 PM
2 Comments:
Skay!!!!!!!!!
How u been lady? its been ages!:)
Have u ever taken up philosophy? cause ive come to notice that u have a real philosophical outlook on life - thats so awesome!
If u havent taken up philosophy sometime or another, maybe u should consider taken up a course...i tink da lecturers will be able to learn a lot from u!;)
books have moods? hmmm, to be honest never really thought about it but interesting idea:)
as for environment changing our moods - couldnt agree more.
im the happiest in Autumn for some strange reason. i like the sun and the rain makes me miserable:(
so its true that the environment has an effect on us.
In fact, there was a study that showed that ppl tend to be more depressed in dimly lit suburbs/homes as oppossed to suburbs/homes that are well lit.
However, the skeptic in me says that u cant just take a single factor into consideration when trying to determine the going ons of the human mind - what about social factors like poverty and the like?
surely, a number of dimly lit suburbs/homes in the study was due to the fact that those ppl may not have been able to pay too much for electricity and cost saving becomes an issue - instead of having two lights switched on, rather use one - sort of a thing.
take care.
I had a philosophy class in high school, Zee, and it was fantastic. I probably learned more in that class than in any other class I've ever taken--both factual knowledge and ways of thinking about that knowledge, as well as more about myself and what I personally think about things.
When I went to college, I thought I'd major in philosophy. I took one class my freshman year and hated it. It could never compare with my high school class. And I've never felt the desire to take another philosophy class ever again.
I guess that's kind of a sad story, isn't it?
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