Hi, Prof. Brooks
I read the short story The Light of the World (Hemingway, 1972), and I talked about it also in the discussion forum. I chose it because I read that Hemingway described this as a story that "nobody else ever liked" (Hemingway, 1998, "Preface to The First Forty-nine", para. 5
). So, I have read this just to prove that Hemingway was wrong. Of course, I failed.
The story is about two young boys who are in transit in an un-named town. It begins with them entering in a bar to eat and drink something. The bartender is suspicious and rude, and he also insults them, so they decide to leave. Then, they arrive at a train station, and they meet a group of people waiting. There are some loggers, a few indians, and five prostitutes. The boys start talking with two of the prostitutes, but when the prostitutes start discussing about a famous man they both say they loved, the …show more content…
Hannum noticed in his review Nick Adams and the Search for Light (1998), the title "The Light of the World" has been "the target of every explication of the story" (para. 19).
Of course, all of the explanations that Hannum report have to do with the obvious reference to the famous step of John's gospel where Jesus say "I am the Light of the World" (John 8,12-20). Anyway, as Hannum explains this passage doesn't seem to apply to the story but in the negative sense (1998, para. 19). In effect, the title of the story seems to refer not directly to what Jesus meant with his words in respect to Himself, but to what His words meant in respect to the context. Jesus told those words at the evening of the last day of the Sukkot. During that evening, people remembered the bright cloud that had accompanied him in the desert making a great luminary. So, during the Sukkot, in the Temple it was all a spark of lights. This is the light of the world that Hemingway is probably referring to. The light you can find in a bar or at the station. And it is a light which is dark as Hemingway paints
I read the short story The Light of the World (Hemingway, 1972), and I talked about it also in the discussion forum. I chose it because I read that Hemingway described this as a story that "nobody else ever liked" (Hemingway, 1998, "Preface to The First Forty-nine", para. 5
). So, I have read this just to prove that Hemingway was wrong. Of course, I failed.
The story is about two young boys who are in transit in an un-named town. It begins with them entering in a bar to eat and drink something. The bartender is suspicious and rude, and he also insults them, so they decide to leave. Then, they arrive at a train station, and they meet a group of people waiting. There are some loggers, a few indians, and five prostitutes. The boys start talking with two of the prostitutes, but when the prostitutes start discussing about a famous man they both say they loved, the …show more content…
Hannum noticed in his review Nick Adams and the Search for Light (1998), the title "The Light of the World" has been "the target of every explication of the story" (para. 19).
Of course, all of the explanations that Hannum report have to do with the obvious reference to the famous step of John's gospel where Jesus say "I am the Light of the World" (John 8,12-20). Anyway, as Hannum explains this passage doesn't seem to apply to the story but in the negative sense (1998, para. 19). In effect, the title of the story seems to refer not directly to what Jesus meant with his words in respect to Himself, but to what His words meant in respect to the context. Jesus told those words at the evening of the last day of the Sukkot. During that evening, people remembered the bright cloud that had accompanied him in the desert making a great luminary. So, during the Sukkot, in the Temple it was all a spark of lights. This is the light of the world that Hemingway is probably referring to. The light you can find in a bar or at the station. And it is a light which is dark as Hemingway paints