Teaching Hemingway: So Ugly, So Beautiful | Mark Ott | TEDxDeerfield

Dr. Ott compares Hemingway's carefully constructed public persona to the careful construction of Hemingway's prose. A true master of the topic, Mark Ott draws connections between Hemingway's style, Cezanne's paintings, and the idea that composition applies similarly to painting, writing, and life.
Mark Ott is the author of A Sea of Change: Ernest Hemingway and the Gulf Stream, A Contextual Biography, co-editor of Ernest Hemingway and the Geography of Memory: New Perspectives and Hemingway in Italy: Twenty-First Century Perspectives. He is also the editor of the “Teaching Ernest Hemingway” series for Kent State University Press, and was the co-director of the XVI Biennial Ernest Hemingway Society Conference in Venice in 2014.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@mjaware]

Let's not forget that while Hemingway was passing out chocolates, he was hit by a mortar and even though both his legs were severely injured, he dragged the soldiers to safety before seeking treatment for himself. That's not a, "manufactured image." That's the actual image of one brave dude! Hemingway wasn't a bad man; he was a man of his times--and a damn impressive one at that.

[@Napalm6b]

I think the key to what you are saying is that it is not fair to look at people who lived in prior eras and apply the value system of your society to their's, it's like comparing apples and oranges. Value in Hemingway in my opinion should be measured in reference to how he communicated the values of his time. He did an amazing job of doing just that!

[@SirRaxos]

Brave and prejudiced are not mutually exclusive. You can make the argument that his time made him what he was and that is a reason to not blame him if you want, but being a brave person does not make you a good one.

[@shangrila73eldorado]

thank you. the professor suffers from self-loathing, which he then projects onto Hem

[@shangrila73eldorado]

@@SirRaxos bravery is a good thing, no?

[@siensefreekz]

@@Napalm6b I think MJ was just pointing out how Ott is misrepresenting Hemingway to fit the image he's trying to portray of him

[@bardmo216]

Describing Hemingway's persona as a manufactured image is a pretty tough critique. The guy did what he wanted, flawed or not, and people respected that and still do. While his dry, honest and clear writing style is a factor, I read his books because of his passion and values. I hope your students don't think of him as anti-woman propaganda who wouldn't be a notable author if it weren't for Cezanne, but of an adventurer who could tell a great story.

[@thetributary8089]

I agree. You don’t hunt and gut big game in Africa, set fishing world records and obsess over bullfighting unless you are a bona fide man’s man. The modern critique that it was all a facade is vomit worthy and dishonest. Hemingway is probably turning in his grave over this stuff.

[@costa328]

Hemingway wrote about his experiences and what he knew about. Nothing more. He was great in doing so.

[@marknewton6984]

Even beyond great!

[@Kyethebaughs]

You can not speak in absolutes when referring to the ideas of another especially through art. Kills me that this dude is a professor.

[@carltondabott8909]

Yes the best Professors today get cudos for being comformist to the status quo - Would he have the same speech if he did his critique 50 years ago. To say he was a narcissist and a war hero seems like a contradiction.

[@AnamariaAndreeaL]

I've got a feeling Hemingway would have loved Twitter.

[@synthemetcalf2979]

Yes, actually he/she did the initial research manipulating the hashtag. A Computer programmer in this lifetime. Peace. 💜

[@BlackMasterJoe89]

I think he might be a frequent target of cancel culture.

[@DanielePagnin]

I would say Instagram as well

[@pattonjames8060]

Somehow I can't see Hemingway writing a Tweet, or even speaking that silly word.

[@jenspinkernell]

Or TikTok

[@hounamao7140]

Judging people from the past with trend values of today is pretty lame. The deconstruction of his writing was interesting though.

[@1DrOnline]

Ageed. Those who can, do; those who can't do, teach; those who can do neither become critics, hence Ott.

[@carraway8084]

They were often considered as jerks back then too.

[@hounamao7140]

@@carraway8084 That's up to the people from that era. What I see nowadays are things like students unbolting statues of the great individuals who funded the university they are currently attending because these figures didn't fight against racism during their time (or whatever wokist reason they come up with). Constantly throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

[@JoeLackey]

How is it that average KZbinrs provide better discussions of Hemingway and his writing than academics? There are much better videos on Hemingway than this one.

[@johnpepito6514]

Yeah. To me this was incredibly boring. Can you recommend some videos on Hemingway?

[@georginadelpino5104]

Yeah! But you´re not one better provider

[@daviddemar8749]

I totally agree that this guy is mediocre. see my comment above.

[@daviddemar8749]

@@johnpepito6514 Absolutely. watch the PBS/Ken Burns 2021 documentary. It's 6 hours and worth every second.

[@jamesreape2613]

Some useful points. The Hemingway and Cezanne on repetition. The pics and words interwoven was illuminating. My disappointment, He never mentions that Hemingway used his art to address eternal themes of facing our own mortality and finding meaning in the face of an insurmountable situation. Who did that better than Hemingway?

[@samsum3738]

If i did one tenth of what of what Hemingway achieved , i would consider my life well lived .

[@marknewton6984]

The last great American man.

[@joshuagayouauthor8401]

Manufactured persona? Did he or did he not do those things? Oh, he did? I see. Well, just a moment while I discount your whole damned thesis. The distance between a man who acted and a man who thinks about a man who acted is a very great thing.

[@scottsandora3951]

Well said.

[@kutsbothways]

A chasm.

[@selmag3284]

I like the part of the analogy between how Cezanne paints and how Hemingway writes. However, I disagree with the accusations because, to me, Hemingway is a reflection of his time.

[@hilarywyllie2983]

This wasn't even about his work, he just disparaged the man for 9 minutes, then said you can't excuse it, but look at the art.

[@johnrinton5669]

A journeyman teacher ripping on one of the greats. Good going.

[@marknewton6984]

That proof doesn't know what he is talking about.

[@JamesSaintRave]

Mark Ott was clever to get the downsides of Hemingway's personality stated and out of the way so that he could focus on why "Papa" Hem is the most influential writer of the 20th Century--and hopefully stave off the burning of his books for a few more years!

[@codynunez5246]

Absolutely abhor deconstructionist teaching of great authors.

[@celticpridedrums]

so did Hemingway

[@marknewton6984]

Hemingway too.

[@VicLabs]

A lecture about the most interesting man in the world by the most boring man in the world.

[@shangrila73eldorado]

hahahahahahaha! you're right!!!

[@marknewton6984]

You are right.

[@liper13]

He makes some good points..... confined within the repressive box that is political correctness in modern day academia.

[@dobgood]

The professional forensic psychiatrist and amateur literary researcher Andrew Farah said something perceptive about this: Artistic creation is a transcendent activity. Attempting to find the meaning of artistic creation in the artist's biography is like trying to disassemble the TV in order to find the football game. The football game isn't in the TV and creativity is not in the artist. Both are somewhere else.

[@StrippedCoverLitMedia]

This guy was so boring I started reading the comments. Only to find that everyone else thought he was boring too. It is a harsh judgement but it is fair and bold and true.

[@yungyosef]

I didn't find him boring, but I don't have much a case, seeing that I listened to him while getting ready for a nap.

[@georginadelpino5104]

You´re not so interesting

[@jorgesoteloiii1084]

Stripped Cover Lit hahaha same

[@marknewton6984]

Exciting writer. Boring lecture. Typical...

[@NoPrivateProperty]

Hemingway was a great man. He was the original anti fascist. The US gov wanted Hem to publicly denounce Castro, and he would not comply. Not only was he a creative artist, but he had more character than most Americans of today.

[@nadapuesnada7716]

¡Viva la República Española!

[@bteasley99]

And Castro stole Hemingway's house in Havana and they still have it today.

[@marknewton6984]

We need Hemingway today.

[@daveoneshot5681]

Something else to consider : Ernest, a few days after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 in the Florida Keys, got up to Key Largo to assist cleaning up piles of bodies.....imagine that scene.

[@adamnasser8707]

Hemingway was a free man of liever fully to his potentials . Hé lived a life most people would like to have but few have enough courage bring into partice

[@patrickleary4330]

We need more Hemingways.

[@marknewton6984]

And no more Otts...

[@MrInterestingthings]

Excellent comparison btw Cezanne's new technique and Hemingway's conciseness and realism .

[@jimcoyle4453]

When I think of the characters Hemingway portrayed I think of people who served in the military or sacrificed in some way. I also think of the detail that went into his writing and how when I read his writing I am transported to the times he wrote about, such as the period of WW 1 and what that must have been like. I myself was a competitive swimmer in high school and college and a certified scuba diver. Once I was diving in the Caribbean and I was swimming past an Atlantic barracuda and those are deadly. Somehow I passed without being bitten and was amazed by the powerful beauty of the animal, but those experiences remind me of the writing of Hemingway: dangerous, awkward, or dubious. If he had been a family member, he would have been a valued uncle if I had one such as him. A little crazy, almost untouchable, but always interesting. 😊

[@jmichaelortiz]

"He enlisted in the Italian Ambulance Corps..." Actually, Hemingway enlisted with the American Red Cross Ambulance Service who helped out in Italy.

[@bteasley99]

Yup. When you start a presentation with several slanders - and then get a material fact wrong - it says much about the presentation.

[@treid100182]

I can write too much on this subject (including his mistakes - themselves minimal), but I'm glad to see this subject on a TED.

[@reneetrosper-jones4650]

We cannot judge people of the past by our current social standards.

[@questinfarrow]

"Manufactured image"...........Really?

[@lordmonty9421]

Really.

[@tylernorrick3882]

Wish I could have been there for this lecture

[@flyboy1c]

Intersting and enlightening; but, I'm PRETTTTY sure this guy is on valium.

[@internetenjoyer1044]

That's what accepting this gender ideaology nonsense will do to you. He basically lives his entire academic life apologising for his skin colour and debasing himself. That's gonna do something bad to you psycologically.

[@marknewton6984]

The lecturer was goofy.

[@Torakan1]

Professors... those who can’t do

[@chrishugs6173]

My dad always said it the other way, “those who can’t do, teach.”

[@CacaoGuru]

You may want to praise Joan Didion in '98 for a meaning full breakdown of his first paragraph. Foot noting should be a virtue. Good will using chocolate should be applauded in all circumstances.

[@jesuschild935]

There will never be another Hemingway.

[@superokapi5950]

No comments on that microphone?

[@scottmuck]

Wow. The comparison to Cezanne. Amazing. Now I'll never look at Hemingway's writing quite the same again.

[@kevgh3869]

There is always this contrived speaking style with all TED Talks stuff. They must tutor them in how to act and speak unnatural and boring. I'd rather the guy just stand at a podium and act nervous. At least it would seem authentic. Authentic is always more interesting.

[@charlespeterson3798]

The first five adjectives brought tears to my eyes.

[@japhetzayas7194]

"Great men have great faults." I judge Hemingway strictly on the basis of his art, an art that took modern American literature in a new direction. He was imitated but not duplicated by an entire generation of writers. Today, Hemingway would be diagnosed as manic/depressive, bipolar, a family trait: no less than five Hemingway's committed suicide. He was as pure a writer as they come. He had a specific philosophy about writing that he practiced until the day he took his own life. Hemingway's writing style reflected his physical ethic: short, clear sentences, devoid of the cluttering influence of subordinate clauses. Each sentence flowed into the next sentence to describe action as only he could experience and describe it. The comparison to Cezanne is instrumental. Cezanne was the father of modern art just as Hemingway was the father of modern American literature. Cezanne's little cubes (the forerunner to Cubism) are analogous to Hemingway's compact sentences that left things unsaid, (read "Hills Like White Elephants"). The reader sensed the meaning of the story without it being overtly stated. Like an iceberg, where the bulk of its mass is under water, Hemingway's style gave you the tip of the iceberg, while simultaneously conveying meaning without actually stating it. Gabriel Garcia Marquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude), a South American writer who is credited with bringing literary modernism to the fore, stated that he learned more about writing after reading Hemingway, than any other writer before or since.

[@stephenbarnes904]

Wow, so disappointing to see a "professor" judging a master of 20th Century writing by the liberal politics of today. What a shame!

[@bigphilly7345]

Stephen Barnes yep. I saw it coming a mile away. All these sissy left wing lit professors despise Hemingway.

[@faatimahfarhad1523]

Philip I'm sorry I thought he was admiring him?

[@kevinreily2529]

EXACTLY.

[@davidmitchell9987]

pretty tough critique from a professor. Those who can, do. Those who can't teach.

[@LlyleHunter]

I couldn’t help but think while watching that those who have little to say speak painfully slow.

[@hounamao7140]

Those who can't do either become critics

[@marknewton6984]

He proves it. Boring lecture on a great writer.

[@kalokaloqnov2354]

Let's not Forget what Ted talks is about

[@ceranko]

You can learn a lot from people. Hemingway was a man of his times.

[@nadapuesnada7716]

Sometimes when reading Hemingway I will stop and exclaim, "oh, damn you anyway", because the writing is so beautiful that I almost can't stand it. Then I'll read it again.

[@kevinreily2529]

Hemingway's weak willed father committed suicide because of his overbearing, wacko wife. His domineering mother caused irreparable damage in his early childhood . She tried to turn him into a girl, made him wear girls clothes even calling him and his sister my girls. What happens to a child in their formative years they never get over. It's amazing how all these people who write bad things about Hemingway's masculinity leave out his mother's corrosive, lifelong influence over him. How many sons are ruined by their domineering, selfish mothers?

[@anitatang8000]

everyones saying he's so boring. I had a camp and listened to him talk for like 3 hours

[@zigaudrey]

It's difficult to study the minimalist style in France. With all the research in English and reading multiple genre, I started to understand how this particular style work. For amusement, I rewrite original text in Minimalist form and understanding its impact. Each element is classed as Description, Thought, Action or Dialogue but I realize they are more like Exposition, Comment-like (alias 4th wall breaking) and Questions. Thoses are the elements we should remove, along with Thought. Characters psychology are expressed throught Actions and Dialogues. We should keep in mind that Ernest was a journalist 1:32 which is my least favourite job because they tend to modify the narrative to creates superficial emotions but this isn't the case with Ernest. By describing only the surface, it allows the reader to feel emotionally invested with a neutral narrative. This isn't like popular genre which characters are selling point thanks to deformation. I learned that the smallest, the most banal thing, should not be avoided. And also treating words as tool of description, not decorative. 2:38 Award can be painful. Really painful. Psychologically painful. 7:48 This is fascinating! Cezanne also treats technic as tool of expression!

[@samiro76]

Yes this ted talk is So Uglyfor literature So Beautiful

[@b.f.burton6888]

Despite the monotone ... I actually became more absorbed coming to the end and sadly wanted to hear more ... how ironic😔

[@ST-beach]

ugh, the pandering to this era.

[@garyczosnykowski7882]

Contrived drivel.

[@manuelacorreia1]

Beautifull talk! Thank you

[@kevinreily2529]

I used to used to think TED talks were enlightening, Hemingway was one of the premier writers of the 20th century. This knob is one of the premier posers of left wing, politicaly correct academia.

[@pattonjames8060]

Academia cuddles crtiics - those who can't teach - those who can do - i.e. live and if so inclined write.

[@moo.johnference869]

There is no wonder the students of today are so confused.

[@theviolatedtwinky]

This lecturer demonstrates everything wront with professors. He ignores every great contribution Hemmingway made to literature, and instead focuses on ideological nonsense. Don't send your kids to college.

[@morpheuse4670]

Thanks for the arabic subtitle

[@andrewdabar2230]

I'm sorry twenty-first-century liberal professor but Hemingway wasn't issuing Identity or gender statements in his writings. He was just writing. He was just being who he was. Even loaded with basic human flaws, someone like him would be so refreshing today. The world is full of sissies and snowflakes.

[@KazKasozi]

One could also deconstruct this lecture to bits until it is unrecognizable from what was actually delivered.

[@shangrila73eldorado]

the presentation gets better in the second half and he says some insightful things, but this guy is so ashamed to be a male (what he calls "regressive masculinity") that he projects his self-loathing onto Hemingway. This is a sin. This is trendy scholarship. He should humbly get some balls and recognize that life is not a Maharishi pipe dream. Hemingway was a reflection of his times -- writing his greatest works in between two world wars.

[@MikeConnellComedy]

It's a disingenuous representation for sure. He chooses to highlight his alcoholism while ignoring the very likely fact that much if it was caused by PTSD and that his suicide very well could be attributed to his wife forcing him to go through electroshock therapy after his accident and his inability to think clearly and write later in life

[@scottsandora3951]

You talk about a manufactured image and you never knew the man, weren't even born. Yet you are so sure of his intentions and accentuate his perceived faults. But you are infatuated. Sad, dude.

[@andrieslouw3811]

The political and gendar correct stuf not so relevant. But the cezanne art and the way hemmingway painted with his words very interesting. Would like to go and read a farewell to arms now.

[@thomasquinn284]

The speaker never makes the point of his speech unless the listener accepts the precept that words are like paint. If that was this professor's goal it was a poorly stated one in my opinion. For me the lesson of any of Hemingway's stories is the survival of the human spirit over the tragic events that occur in each of our lives. His final lesson taught when he could not bear the vicissitudes of life that brought old age.

[@leegallatin480]

i bet this guy is the life of parties

[@alanleizerman]

Really loved this talk.

[@SandfordSmythe]

If you have experience with war, he is the one to read.

[@johnfalkenstine8377]

Wow, I feel like I'm back in Catholic Church in the 3rd grade, complete with the echo. Better not doze off because if the jesuit notices he will come and cuff you around the head. How exciting.

[@malumejia8766]

I agree with the previous person Professors.....those who can’t do

[@heroedeleyenda05]

Bro, drink a cup of coffee before you do a ted talk. This is why i love KZbin. There's 3000 videos better than this one done by guys working minimum wage jobs

[@WarrenRoddy]

Such nonsense.

[@carltondabott8909]

Its my opinion if a write loves God and hates mankind he is probably worth listening to. Sometimes contempt can be a form of hidden love. However I don't think I am talking about Hemingway but there are many writers that are misunderstood.

[@CJBradley]

Bukowsi said "Don't be a boring writer, the libraries of the world have yawned themselves to sleep over your kind. This guy must have bored thousands of students to near death.

[@sambarlow9475]

Hemingway had hemochromatosis which lead to his suicide along with several severe head injuries which can make one depressed and suicidal. See the book The Not So Old Man and the Sea for proofs and why the author thinks he was murdered.

[@robbyporter]

This speaker is horrible. Trashing a man that he is making money off of. Often times, the most brilliant artists are also the most troubled individuals. It is just a part of the human condition. You can teach people using negative examples without judge mental tones. Perhaps then society can move forward and learn from genuine people instead of wallowing in misery, and creating a narrative that suits the selling of your latest lecture or ebook

[@hughmanatee7657]

He was a man, with his faults. Like all of us. But very few people have the gifts he had. I could give a better lecture on Hemingway than this person is doing. And I do. To myself.

[@srijanagrawal255]

This guy is too entrenched in (post) modern orthodoxies that he has learned from goofy women and is using them to pass judgement on a man like Hemingway. Be honest sir, forget what you have been taught and accept what you feel

[@9thchild358]

Manufactured? So you've done no actual research into his life. This man was a doer. He went out and did stuff, manly stuff that required hard work and grit. Much more than can be said for you I'm sure.

[@ljiljanavucicevic5072]

Manufactured? I am not sure why this Mark Ott is considered to be a master of the topic. He should bin this thesis and start again.

[@lucasxie1175]

A cheap man taking cheap shots. He thinks TEDx Talks are about cheap thrills. No. Never have I heard a talk that worships entertainment and shock value as much as this. By the time he mentions the "interconnectedness of nature", I just wanted to throw up.

[@decencywarrior9598]

You can't remove the context of the times and use modern labels to define a master of his craft and time , and time after . Attempting to improve your relevance by deconstruction of others is normal - sure you can deconstruct another's life , but be fair and accurate and include context , don't mislead . Toxic masculinity was embedded in America culture long before Hemingway - media was/is/always has been utilized to keep that game going ,because male dominance ran the world ,at a time , that created the men of those times , and the submissive culture that was lived in , tolerated by, the young , woman, people of color , the poor and homosexuals . We have evolved ,Hemingway through his literature helped us with his seeds , he did tremendous good and was just a person of his times , and experienced traumas .

[@user-em5qs9gj2z]

日本語の訳がほしいです

[@nicksegallos2371]

Only a narcissist would give a lecture in which he labels someone else a narcissist for not adopting the speakers own value system.

[@carltondabott8909]

Does anyone know that joke? Why did Hemmingway cross the road? - To die in the rain alone.. - Funny joke in my opinion

[@kelliebeargie1418]

So much toxic masculinity in these comments.

[@Aaron-hq4bu]

...right?...

[@cherrygarcia1]

Maybe a couple tequila shots would of made the man on the stage warm and fuzzy

[@T.D.8]

Such an interesting person spoken about by such a bland guy. Should have called it so fascinating, so boring. "Manufactered image"? Seriously? I'm not a literary scholar or a Hemimgway scholar, but seriously? I hope people aren't getting their only information/opinions about Hemingway from this guy.

[@brettharris4160]

This is terrible. I have spent a great deal of time trying to figure out 1/8 of the iceberg of Hemingway and Hemingway is too big an Iceberg and I can't say it's possible. This man is a pedantic and really does come across as lacking in masculinity and attempting to compensate through a overly academic, postmodernist critical theory, etc etc etc absurd theory about Cezanne. He's like a child trying to get another piece of the giving tree when the very stump has been burned out.

[@andrieslouw3811]

If you cant see the short brush strokes in the read piece go study poetry.

[@viedub]

This guy makes me sick

[@networkus5612]

where is your work? you!

[@tasawarkhan3242]

Worst ted talk of all time

[@peterbellini6102]

More famous than, I don't know, Melville? James Fenimore Cooper? Dom DeLillo? Short Stories, I don't know, maybe Poe? Your bias is not flattering...

[@DanielRButler]

Better if you change the speed of playback to 1.5 or 1.75 - Dr Ott speaks way too slow. Sleepy, slow.

[@quietknight8250]

Indeed, a terrible speaker, right? Falls into one of the classic pitfalls of speaking, right? That of turning a statement into a non existent test or challenge of some kind issued to the listener. I'd hate to be in any of his classes, right?

[@roam4fun853]

I thought he was talking about the Kennedy’s or the Clintons at first.

[@catmatism]

Hunting? Married 4 times? Bull fights? A confirmed narcissist if not psychopath. 😅

[@franciskawiedmer2844]

Why compare it with Cezanne? It seems just so badly interpreted: Why do it then?

[@gaulll]

Soyboy reeeeeeeeeeeeee

[@daviddemar8749]

Hemingway is one of my favorite novelists and non-fiction authors , and undeniable a seriously flawed person. Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Ott has a PhD. I think he is a mediocre teacher in terms of this presentation and his ideas . I disagree strongly with many of the ideas and conclusions that are part of this presentation. I think most high school students would be better served by viewing the PBS/Ken Burns 2021 documentary about Ernest Hemingway. Sincerely, David J. DeMar, Bronx High School of Science '78, Columbia University ' 82 , Duke University School of Law , '87.

[@nostromo4269]

Quack

[@miluhasan349]

Teacher work isn't it. He opened new things one things which is not discover the student not give and give information bcz isn't primary school class.

[@michaellundy8337]

Dr. Ott presents a very interesting lecture on Hemingway. But, as a narrator, he comes oh so close to ruining the entirety. He didn't learn anything from the Old Man.