User:JBawlson/sandbox: Difference between revisions

== The Disturbing as Artistic Duty ==

Although critics often misunderstood Hemingway and Mailer’s obsession with death, their work was never about glorifying violence—it was about confronting reality. They rejected the comforts of illusion and asked readers to do the same.Mailer may have felt he couldn’t match Hemingway’s reach, but Sanders argues—and rightly so that An American Dream proves otherwise. In fact, by Hemingway’s own definition of a great artist one who takes what has been known and “goes beyond to make something of his own” (Death 100) Mailer earned his place as a guide and prophet for his generation.For existential thinkers, death is not the end—it's a mirror. Hemingway and Mailer use this mirror to inspire art. Death urges individuals to examine life as a whole, not just as fleeting moments. That "whole" gives life meaning, and it’s what both authors chase in their writing.Hemingway’s bullfight captures this unity of life, death, and immortality. Mailer, meanwhile, looks for it in personal and cultural violence. In both cases, death becomes the key to authenticity.True artistry, Hemingway believed, involves stating the “real thing” purely enough that it endures forever. This blend of the eternal and the immediate defines his mission. Mailer mirrors this, understanding that art must express something lasting—even if it emerges from a specific, time-bound experience.Their existentialism isn’t abstract. It’s felt in every line, every scene, every confrontation with death. The artist becomes the author not just of work, but of life.

== Art, Anxiety, and Mortality ==