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What's this Eugene O'Neill style stuff all about anyway?

I had never made that connection before, Stephen; I'm going to keep my eyes peeled this time through.

It is Mystery -- the mystery any one man or woman can feel but not understand as the meaning of any event -- or accident -- in any life on earth ... [that:] I want to realize in the theatre. The solution, if there ever be any, will probably have to be produced in a test tube and turn out to be discouragingly undramatic.

EUGENE O'NEIL

i didn't mind the flashbacks but sometimes, they got a bit distracting for me...like there were too many or perhaps too long in detail. i found the truest flashback was when he thought about the time he was at war and saw his comrade blown apart tangled in the barbed wire. when i flash back to memories, its lightening fast. but then again, i'm not nearing death as far as i know.

I read this story again in July of this year. This last time through, the flashbacks acquired a more humanistic meaning. They seemed to represent that twilight period that exists between consciousnesses and blackout. In essence, they played into Harry’s ever worsening condition that ultimately led to his death.

That's a very good point Daniel. The flashbacks eventually merged with that last flight to the mountain, eh?

I agree...even before the final merger, the frequency of the flashbacks increases as Harry’s condition worsens. For me, this overlying structure served to emphasize the hopeless and imminent conclusion to the story.

the flashbacks to me seemed to be him going through hallucinations,due to his illness. i finally had a chance to reread the story this morning. i'd love to see the movie with ava gardener,and is it gregory peck to see how hollywood handled the story.

hemingway likes to kill his characters off, doesn't he????

Gary, I don't know if likes is exactly the right word. Do you think he ever does it unnecessarily?

Every character's got to get "killed off" before long. I actually think he is quite judicious about it.

I think Hemingway enjoyed danger in his daily life,and i think he faced the idea of death often in his personal life,and dealt with it in his stories. i mean look how his life ended. tragic,and all his characters meet a tragic demise.

have you read A FAREWELL TO ARMS, michelle? are you familiar with it's history,and the ending??? if you've read it, great. i can discuss the theory on that book, but if you haven't, you must read it. it's one of his best!!

If you notice, each flashback mentions death or is about death. Harry is dying and I personally think that he is looking back at his life and realizing that he has become nothing. Most of the flashbacks deal with his war days when people were dying as hero's. Now Harry is dying a failed writer who's only support is a woman he doesn't really care for.

I really like the flashbacks and i find them to be very informative. While you are in the present with the characters, you don't get a really good sense of who they are. But in the flashbacks you are able to see Harry for who he really is. He's not just a gold digger waiting for the next ride but a man's who been through hell and back, a man who has hope and dreams.

I think the flashbacks were a great way to flesh out his character.

Allison,I totally concur. Well, done!