This six word “novel” written by Ernest Hemingway is one of the most famous examples of flash fiction to this day. He wrote these words sometime in the 1920’s. There is also an alternative text written after, replacing “baby shoes” with “baby carriage” and “never worn” with “never used.” This story is interesting because it is only six words, yet tells such a heart wrenching story. It lets your mind wander to the possibilities of what could have happened to the baby. The story makes the reader feel the emotional pain of a miscarriage, or the sorrow of a sudden infant death. There are endless contexts for a piece like this, such as a father losing his wife and baby during childbirth complications. It makes the reader think about whose baby it was. It opens the possibility to go deeper into it, like questioning where the shoes are being sold. No matter how many times I read it, I get chills every time and my mind creates new stories. This piece allows a world of curiosity and creativity.
I think the same thing, but I have seen people with a different idea. In the case of the baby shoes, what if the shoes new fit the baby? if the parents bought them before birth and the baby is unusually big or small the shoes wouldn't have been worn right?
ReplyDeleteI think this 6 word story is so powerful even though it is so short, this story has inspired so many people, I have seen many 6 word stories that people have written to try to create as meaningful a sentence as this one. I think that all of them are so powerful because they say so much and leave so much to the reader's imagination.
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