But can you describe that Moveable Feast in immense detail?

     Ernest Hemingway is known for his arguably excessive use of details and descriptions in order to back up his points in writing. However, in his novel, A Moveable Feast, I feel this extent of detail was almost necessary in order to get across his desired points. Being a reoccurring element in Hemingway’s writing, it comes to no surprise he utilizes in-depth descriptions for topics as simple as his meal for the day. For example, Hemingway reminisces, “…I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine…” (Hemingway, a Moveable Feast). Such details also provide a fairly straight forward, relaxed nature to the book. Considering the premise of A Moveable Feast was to be a recollection of Hemingway’s “better years” in France throughout his 20’s, this kind of straightforwardness allows readers to feel closer to Hemingway as an individual, rather than just as a writer.
     Although it is implied that A Moveable Feast takes place during Hemingway’s early life, a clear statement is never made informing readers as to whether the book is fictional or nonfictional, and what time the stories occur. Therefore, readers are left to interpret each part of the novel in whatever way they feel fit. That being said, Hemingway’s use of details makes it fair to assume the stories he shares are at least memories of actual events that occurred, and would therefore take place around the early 1900s. This fact is important to keep in mind when reading A Moveable Feast, as he discusses taboo topics rather openly, which allows the readers to have an inside look into what social life was like in Europe nearly a century ago, as subjects such as homosexuality, adultery, and a use of drugs and alcohol are discussed fairly heavily throughout the novel. Hemingway’s honesty towards such behavior of even the most patronized artists and intellects allows readers to feel comfortable with the material he writes, and therefore allows the purpose of his documentation of his life to come out very clearly.
     The purpose of reading this novel in our AP Lang class was most likely to both further our abilities to analyze an author’s implied opinions and messages, and also to take note of how different styles used by different authors aid their writing in different ways. I believe Hemingway wrote A Moveable Feast with the intentions of warning younger people to not let the prime of their lives go to waste. Considering the darkness that Hemingway suffered with throughout the latter years of his life, it is relatively clear that he felt he took advantage of the opportunities and people that he was provided with in France. It, therefore, is not entirely surprising that, later in his life, Hemingway would decide to write a book about his favorite or most notable memories of his glory days in Paris: A Moveable Feast.

    Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. A Moveable Feast. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1964. Print.