The difference between Hemingway’s “Shortest Saddest Story” and Beaniebabybot’s “Trap the Mouse” tweet is that Hemingway’s story implies the existence of an event and a tangible object- it feels like a longer story condensed into one sentence, a fragment of a larger picture that can be easily put together- in an easily recognizable format- and leaves an unsettled feeling.
Beaniebabybot’s “Trap the Mouse” tweet is cold and unfeeling- it simply implies the existence of the subject- Trap is an action, a name, and an object- the tweet connecting them all in minimal, robotic language, cold, raw, stripped bare. The line “No Birthday” leaves the reader feeling strangely unsettled until they realize the context- even then it further alienates the reader from the work. There isn’t anything humanlike to cling to in Beaniebabybot’s work, while Hemingway’s work seems like a bite sized piece of melancholy human mourning.
