Passionate about Syntax

Okay, chapter thirteen is decently long and contains many points I want to address, so excuse me if these next two blogs seem random and jumpy! :)

"Aficion means passion. An aficionado is one who is passionate about the bull-fights. All the good bull-fighters stayed at Montoya's hotel; that is, those with aficion stayed there," (page 136).

Hemmingway completely read my mind on page 136. There was all of this talk about aficionado, and quite honestly I was not sure what he was referring to. I have heard of the word before, and I'm assuming it has been a previous vocabulary word at one point in time or another, but providing the definition was genius! It made understanding the rest of the chapter easier. Actually, I was surprised Hemmingway was so straightforward. Most of TSAR is kind of cloudy, and requires some knowledge on French culture.

"'How did you go bankrupt?' ...'Two ways, Gradually and then suddenly,''' (page 141).

I absolutely adore this quote. It is another perfect example of how timeless this novel is, and relates to modern day life. Last year, when the economy took a swift blow to the stomach, I remember my mom informing me of how we needed to save our money and where we were going to cut expenses. It not only hurt my family, but many of my friends' families, too. At first, the downfall did not make much of a difference in our every day lives, but after a little time passed, it made a huge impact. Many of my close friends had to transfer schools due to payments, vacations were no longer a luxury, and eating out was very rarely an option. I think Hemmingway includes lines like this to find a short, simple way to describe a disaster. The way he words these bold phrases makes the tragedy seem less painful and easier to talk about. Which would be the syntax, correct? Very rarely does he use long and complex sentences, unless he is describing the setting. Which makes perfect sense, actually. I mean, the characters' reactions to Paris are never exciting or enthusiastic; furthermore, Hemmingway uses lengthy and boring sentences to inform the reader of the surroundings.