Week 4: February 20-26

It is quite interesting to me that Hemingway would leave their child, Bumby, home all alone with the cat. If there were some sort of emergency, what would the cat be able to do? Nothing. It seems to me they don't really care that much about their child. Also, who names their cat F. Puss and what does the F stand for? Feline? Ferdinand? In a quick google search, it seems the cat's name is Feather Puss. In this book called "Hemingway's Cats," it says that Hemingway often gave his cats strange names and shortened them to nicknames easily remembered. Remembered by whom? Is he losing his mind/memory? Does he forget names easily? Is this why his son's name is Bumby? It also says in the book that he was reluctant to become a father because he thought it would interfere with his writing. I guess this is why he leaves Bumby at home all alone? On another note, it seems that Hadley and Ernest leave Bumby behind a lot. In Schruns he is watched over by someone else while they go skiing and such. They spend an awful lot of time together to not have a good marriage. I think Hemingway just likes the sex. He mentions sex more than once earlier in the book, but says nothing about Hadley. He just says that sex is nice. Maybe he's an addict. Perhaps this is why he has many wives throughout his life. He liked sex so much that he couldn't just have it with one lady.

Fitzgerald is just strange. I have never read The Great Gatsby, but I imagine it is strange if Fitzgerald wrote it. All great writers must be insane because every famous writer we have come across in this book is insane. Something weird always happens, like Fitzgerald with the champagne. If he is a writer, he should be able to hold his liquor because that's all writers do in this book--sit in cafe's and drink and write.

Hadley and Ernest apparently split up in this part of the book. I read it like there was another woman and it was all his fault. He apparently wrote about it and left it out, however, I would love to read it. I wish it was included in this book.