A Moveable Feast Quotes

Quotes

"Do not worry. (…) All you have to do is write one true sentence.’’

The narrator, chapter 2

Just like every other author, Hemingway sometimes has to deal with writer’s block. In those moments, he found it hard to write and to compose anything and he would find himself wishing he could find ‘’one true sentence’’ that would help him get rid of his block and help him create literature once more. By using this technique, Hemingway continued to write when other writers became too stuck to do anything and he maintained a steady peace that made him one of the best American writers.

"Standing there I wondered how much of what we had felt on the bridge was just hunger.’’

Chapter 5, the narrator

Even though he was regarded by many as being a literary genius, the narrator suffered a great deal of pain because he never had enough money. When Hemingway moved to Europe, he worked for a while as a foreign correspondent and during that time he had enough money to sustain himself and his wife financially. When he was advised to stop being a journalist and focus only on writing, his main source of income disappeared and he and his wife found themselves in the position to not have enough money for food. Hemingway tried to turn his lack of basic things into inspiration but sometimes he admitted that it was hard to work when he was constantly hungry and had to endure the cold in his apartment.

''In the three or four years that we were good friends I can not remember Gertrude Stein ever speaking well of any writer who had not written favorably about her work or done something to advance her career (...) .''

Chapter 7, the narrator

Stein is one of the authors who influenced Hemingway the most and who acted as his literary mentor. At the time when the two were friends, Stein was a lot more successful than Hemingway and she found ways to make money out of her art. She tried to influence Hemingway to do the same but he was bothered by the fact that Stein was an opportunist who only praised those who spoke well of her writings and only those who helped her advance her career. She was also bothered when other people would talk about various authors who disliked her writings and Hemingway soon learned to avoid talking about various writers because he knew that Stein will be bothered by it. Despite this, Hemingway continued to be friends with Stein and the two continued to collaborate during the time Hemingway spent in Paris.

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