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Pastimes : A CENTURY OF LIONS/THE 20TH CENTURY TOP 100 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (1296)	11/9/1999 4:06:00 PM
From: jbe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3246

Still can't go along with you, Neocon. Perhaps my problem is primarily with your use of the word "unsettlement", which, in my mind, is connected with subjective psychological distress, dislocation, disorientation. As a 20th century American, I have lived through all sorts of changes wrought by technological innovations of one sort or another, without feeling any distress whatsoever. Frankly, I didn't even notice half the time that they were happening. First there were no PCs, say; then people started buying them; eventually, I bought one too. Seemed natural. No distress, no alienation (just fear that I would never be able to master the thing!). And so forth. To put it another way: most of us in THIS country, in the later half of our century, experienced the "benign" side of the industrialization and/or technological innovation that began in the 19th century. In the last century, people here and in Europe experienced more of the down side: the "dark satanic mills," the dreadful working conditions, the growth of ever-more polluted slums, bitter labor struggles, the real uprootedness, despair, and alienation, -- the "unsettlement," in short. And the impact of Darwinism on religious belief? Many people at the time were simply traumatized by what looked to them like the total disjunction of science & religion. (Remember "Dover Beach.") And the growth of nationalism? And the spread of colonialism in the 19th century? That sure "unsettled" a lot of people around the globe! In the 20th century, I will admit that the peoples of the former Russian Empire, to take only one example, experienced plenty of the "downside" of "modernization." I guess I would conclude by saying that I do not see "unsettlement" (that word!)as a peculiarly 20th century phenomenon. P.S. And I even forgot to mention two major and similar 19th century events: emancipation of the slaves in the United States, and the abolition of serfdom in Russia. Both had an "unsettling" effect, as well as a positive effect.

To: Neocon who wrote (1296)	11/9/1999 4:37:00 PM
From: jbe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3246

A postscript on Hemingway (again). Neo, you write: I think that there were too many American literateurs who took Hemingway seriously, and that it not only harmed prose narrative in this country, but criticism as well. Well, so much for the Nobel Prize Committee, which awarded Hemingway the Literature Prize in 1954 "for his mastery of the art of narrative....and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style. Much as Hemingway's novels bore me (I should make an exception for his short stories, many of which I think remarkable), there is no denying (IMO) that the influence of his prose style has been pervasive, and not just on American writers. And positive, on balance. For one thing, after Hemingway, it has become impossible for most people to even use the word litterateur. Simplicity, directness, economy -- those are stylistic virtues, except when carried to an extreme. As for the machismo, well, it's pretty mild, by today's standards. Give ole Ernie a break. He made up for it by shooting himself. Oh, yes, and web pages, since we are talking influence. Here are a few sites that list other Hemingway sites (not exhaustive, however): members.atlantic.net nobelprizes.com members.aol.com For every C. S. Lewis site, I'll raise you ten Hemingway ones! <g>