Week 8--Rhetorical Reading ResponseIn the essay “Camping Out,” Ernest Hemingway, the author, is describing the process of how to camp out comfortably in the woods. It is clear from his very detailed descriptions of such things as how to make a comfortable bed and how to bake a pie over a campfire that his purpose is to actually teach his audience how to do the process. Given the fact that essay was originally published in a newspaper, it seems that Hemingway wrote this essay for a general adult audience. However, such details as the pervasive use of the pronoun “he” and sentences that mock the non-manly like, “ He’s heard the call of the tame with both ears. Waiter, bring him an order of milk toast” seems to indicate that he had a more male audience in mind, perhaps never envisioning that women would camp. As with much of Hemingway’s writing, I have the distinct feeling that I am not part of his target audience of manly men. The main insights here are the steps in the process, which begins with how to avoid insects then progress to how to make a comfortable camp in order to get a good night’s sleep. Subsequently, he describes how to cook well, giving details about how to make trout and bacon, pancakes and a pie over a campfire. One of the most remarkable aspects of the essay is the tone in the piece, which is a little sarcastic toward anyone who would not be able to accomplish these steps. The way he describes the steps indicates that the steps are so easy that only the most pathetic man would not be able to master them. For example, he asserts that “any man of average office intelligence can make at least as good a pie as his wife.” At the end of the essay, he also says, “It is all right to talk about roughing it in the woods. But the real woodsman is the man who can be really comfortable in the bush.” Even the use of the word “woodsman” seems to emphasize that being able to be in the woods is manly, as compared to the person that only talks about it. The tone of the essay supports his purpose of showing the average male reader that camping comfortably and well is clearly within his capabilities.
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2/16/2021 06:40:33 am
I´m very impressed by Hemingway´s `Camping Out´essay for a long time and acc. to his 60th anniversary of death in 2021 I ´d like to translate it into German. I hope to find a German publisher, two are interested in, but one is not perfect in English. Would you please inform me about the responsible person or office for getting a licence?
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