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Six-Word story----Papas gift to the posterity.
Indranil Sarkar
A biography of Ernest Hemingway is no less
interesting than all the novels and stories, he wrote. In many
ways, the life-story of Ernest Hemingway is more fascinating
than his novels. Hemingway is undoubtedly the icon to the
post-war Americans. Hemingway fought in the battle-field as
a soldier and ambulance driver in the 1st World War. He was an
amateur bull-fighter, a big game fighter in Africa, a war-
journalist in the 2nd World War, had the experience of
marrying four times, won Nobel Prize for literature in 1953
and committed suicide like his father in 1961. Both in life and
in works, Hemingway expressed the dreams and frustrations
of the after-war American society in a vivid and lucid
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language. This Light & shade approach reached the climax in
his winning of the Nobel Prize for literature.
His literary career is blessed with seven novels, six short
story collections, and two non-fiction works. Three novels,
four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works
were published posthumously. Hemingway was often censured
by many for writing bad stories but some of his writings like
A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the bell Tolls , The Sun also
Rises and The Old Man and the Sea are considered classics
of American literature. This is because in most cases it
becomes very difficult to demarcate the point where the The
Hemingway hero andthe Code hero fuse together. Moreover,
his Ice-berg theory of the language of prose-fiction has been
proved to be the most authentic literary theory.
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Beside his memorable novels and numerous short stories,
Hemingway is endearing to the modern readers for one of his
lesser known innovative literary techniques, his invention of
writing novels or stories with just six-words.
Long before the literary critics could foresee the approaching
death of novels in modern or postmodern world, Papa guessed
it. From his personal life he learnt the dearth of time in a
modern mans life. At the same time, he knew that men must
satisfy their literary thirst in order to remain human in a
mechanical world. So, he invented a technique of writing
novels with just six-words for the postmodern men. However,
he never claimed the credit of such a unique gift he offered
to the modern world (which may be compared with the most
sophisticated invention of the modern science.)
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And everything in this regard happened quite playfully.
Hemingway hated to be called a traditional good-man. Like
many other American vices, he had a habit of spending time in
the cafes and restaurants with his friends. He had also the
habit of indulging in Bets which was very popular in those
days. (Anton Chekovs short story of the same name may be
recalled). It is said that sometimes good comes out of evil.
The birth of Six-Word novels is obviously one such. And it
got its birth in one such gathering in 1930.
Papathe great
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Earnest Hemingway used to attend round table
meeting at the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan regularly. In
most of the occasions he was accompanied with William
Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker and a few other
literary notables of the time. In one such gathering in 1930,
Hemingway proclaimed, "I'll bet each of you ten dollars that I
can write a novel in only six words. Place a ten dollar bill in
front of you. I'll write the words on this paper and fold it.
When you hear the words if any of you disagree with my
statement, I'll pay each of you ten dollars. If there are
no objections, I take your money." Everybody obliged.
Hemingway took the pen and wrote his story on the napkin and
passed it for judgment. Faulkner unfolded the napkin and
read: For sale: Baby shoes. Never used." Everybody
accepted it a novel having all the characteristics of a good
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novel. The six-words provides the beginning, the middle and
the end of a thought provoking story. Hemingway won the bet
and collected the money. It is said that Hemingway later
called it his best. .
Although the authenticity of the story has not yet
been proved, it is assumed to be correct. In this regard the
opinion of two great writers may be cited. Vignette Circa
cited an anecdote of Hemingway in 1974 claiming the
authorship of the first Six-Word story to Hemingway. And in
1992, the Canadian literary figure John Robert Colombo
printed part of a letter that he had received from the famous
science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke who was residing in
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Colombo, Sri Lanka. Clarke was familiar with the Hemingway
anecdote and suggested a setting of the Hemingway legend. In
1997, a piece in the New York Times also mentioned the yarn
with Hemingway.
Thus quite playfully Hemingway gave birth to a new genre of
novels which have been flourishing since then. William
Faulkner once said that a novelist is a failed short story
writer, and a short story writer is a failed poet. Hemingway,
with his creation of the six-word story, combined poetry and
drama into a short form and thus showed the path to be a
successful novelist at the same time. It would not be wrong to
say that present day flash fiction, micro fiction, sudden
fiction, short-short fiction, postcard fiction, minute fiction,
quick fiction, furious fiction and skinny fiction----all have
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their roots in Papas Six-Word novel. Likewise, it would not be
an over-estimation if he is called the pioneer of the 21st
century Word Sonnets. Rather than embracing the flowery
prose of the literati, he chose to write in a very simple and
clear manner.
The baby shoes story was earlier referred to as a "short-
short" story, but the general conceit of trying to tell a story
with the absolute minimum of words is now known by the
general term of flash fiction. Again, the six-word limit in
particular has spawned the concept of Six-Word Memoires
also.
In recent times it has become a pastime for the intelligentsia
to write six-word stories. It has become so tempting and
challenging that even the established authors cannot show
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reluctance to this. They are also trying their hands in this new
heart-throb of modern literature. A number of websites are
over-crowded with hundreds of unique six-word stories. A
number of such websites are engaged in promoting regular
competitions. The following stories by revered authors may
provide an elaborate idea of the overwhelming nature of six-
word stories:
Found true love. Married someone else. Dave Eggers
As she fell, her mind wandered.Rebecca Miller
With bloody hands, I say good-bye.- Frank Miller
It cost too much, staying human.- Bruce Sterling
Thought I was right. I wasn't.- Graeme Gibson
Poison; meditation; skiing; ants nothing worked.Edward Albee
Bad brakes discovered at high speed.J. Baumeister
I came. I saw. I conquered. --William Shakespeare Julius Caesar
"Tried hard to be clever, failed."
Set sail, great storm, one survived.-John Banville
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One bullet. Ten enemies. Kills himself.--Xia Chen Hao
Best friends. Circumstances change. Worst enemies.Nikita Bhosle
Mad-making mechanism fails. Functionaries got scolded.Arrogance, Abuse, admonition, assaults; aggravated attraction.
While studying the innovative changes in literary techniques, a
very surprising phenomenon was revealed. It is really amazing
to notice that almost all the innovative literary techniques had
been experimented by William Shakespeare in his writings in
some way or the other. Truly speaking, the Bard left no way
untrodden for the posterity. So, every debate or discussion on
literary creativity ends with him as somebody said We begin
only to return from where we began.
The case of Six-Word story is also no exception. It is quite
debatable whether Hemingway really invented it in 1930 or
not, but we have a definite proof of Shakespeare using the
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technique nearly 500years ago in his Julius Caesar, although
not as a present day six-word story or Flash fiction but as a
metafiction or meta-narrative. (Ceasars comment: I came, I
saw, I conquered in Julius Caesar.
References & links:-
1.www.creative commons.org
2.www.sixwordstories.net/about/3.www.smithmagazine.com
4.www.sixwordstories.co.uk/
5.www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/sixwords.html
6. www.wikipedea.org
******Indranil Sar ar
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