“When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.”

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Meaning

The quote says fiction should feel human and believable, not like a set of fake types. It contrasts real, complex people with flat figures that seem exaggerated or simplified. Hemingway is arguing that a writer's job is to make characters feel alive.

When It Was Said

1932

Who It Was Said To

Not documented yet.

Historical Context

Not documented yet.

Source

Ch. 16

Original Language & Translation

Originally said in English.

Did They Really Say It?

Listed with a cited source on Wikiquote: Ch. 16.

Did You Know?

The quote is cited from Chapter 16.

About Ernest Hemingway

American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist

Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His work belongs to the 20th century, and he is widely known for a spare, understated style that shaped later writers. He has 257 quotes on the site. He wrote seven novels, six short-story collections, and two works of nonfiction, several of which became classics of American literature. He was also known for an adventurous public image and a blunt, outspoken manner, and he received the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature.

More from Ernest Hemingway (257 quotes) →

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Books by Ernest Hemingway

The Old Man and the Sea

A short novel, quick to read.

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