---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And Barcelona. You should see Barcelona.”…"
description: "\"“And Barcelona. You should see Barcelona.” “How is it?” “It is all still comic opera. First it was the paradise of the crackpots and the romantic revol..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/ernest-hemingway-83_quote_and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-h_692891.jpg"
---

#  And Barcelona. You should see Barcelona.” “How is it?” “It…

![“And Barcelona. You should see Barcelona.” “How is it?” “It is all still comic opera. First it was the paradise of the crackpots and the romantic revolutionists. Now it is the paradise of the fake soldier. The soldiers who like to wear uniforms, who like to strut and swagger and wear red-and-black…” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/ernest-hemingway-83_quote_and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-h_692891.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/ernest-hemingway-83_quote_and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-h_692891.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/ernest-hemingway-83_quote_and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-h_692891.jpg)

> ““And Barcelona. You should see Barcelona.” “How is it?” “It is all still comic opera. First it was the paradise of the crackpots and the romantic revolutionists. Now it is the paradise of the fake soldier. The soldiers who like to wear uniforms, who like to strut and swagger and wear red-and-black scarves. Who like everything about war except to fight. Valencia makes you sick and Barcelona makes you laugh.””

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The passage sat Barcelona as a place that has become a stage for pretentious post, where the romantic idealism of earlier times has turned into a superficial display of militarism and spectacle.

**In simple terms:** Barcelona is portrayed as a comic, superficial stage of false heroism.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and question superficial displays of bravado.

Themes

illusion culture politics identity war society

Mood

wry critical reflective

Type

literary satirical observational

When to use this quote

- travel
- political critique
- social observation
- literary analysis

Key Concepts

postmodernism symbolism satire

Questions to Reflect On

- How does humor reveal deeper societal critiques?
- What does the shift from romanticism to militarism say about cultural evolution?

A Different Perspective

The satire may overlook genuine local struggles and the complexities of cultural change.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Barcelona Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barcelona-comic-5502146/) [Comic Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-opera-1092588/) [Fake Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fake-soldier-5502147/) [Like War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-war/) [Soldiers Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldiers-like-250255/)

## Related quotes

> [“the week of July 24 was a head-slammer. First, it opened the next episode in what had become a comic-opera”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-week-of-july-24-was-a-head-slammer-first-it-opened-the-next/)

[Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/)

> [“I like Italian High Opera, German Comic Opera and the Grand Ole’ Opry – in no particular order.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-l-gammon/i-like-italian-high-opera-german-comic-opera-and-the-grand-ole-opry/)

[C.L. Gammon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-l-gammon/)

> [Eating, loving, singing, and digesting are, in truth, the four acts of the comic opera known as life, and they pass like bubbles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/eating-loving-singing-and-digesting-are-in-truth-the-four-acts-of-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The Fourth Crusade was an epic clusterfuck a comic-opera misadventure a tragic saga with farcical elements.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-fourth-crusade-was-an-epic-clusterfuck-a-comic-opera-misadventure/)

[Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/)

> [I've learned our soldiers are so much like everybody else. They're just put into an extreme situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gauthier/i-ve-learned-our-soldiers-are-so-much-like-everybody-else-they-re/)

[Mary Gauthier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gauthier/)

> [For the army is a school in which the miser becomes generous, and the generous prodigal; miserly soldiers are like monsters, but very rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/for-the-army-is-a-school-in-which-the-miser-becomes-generous-and-the/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Artists like cats; soldiers like dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-morris/artists-like-cats-soldiers-like-dogs/)

[Desmond Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-morris/)

> [We (soldiers) are like cloaks,-one thinks of us only when it rains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-de-saxe/we-soldiers-are-like-cloaks-one-thinks-of-us-only-when-it-rains/)

[Maurice de Saxe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-de-saxe/)

> [Yeah, I know a lot of soldiers. I know soldiers who don't like to hear thank you for your service. And I know soldiers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hedlund/yeah-i-know-a-lot-of-soldiers-i-know-soldiers-who-don-t-like-to-hear/)

[Garrett Hedlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hedlund/)

> [Once I was in the Blink-182, going to Iraq was really touching. It was kind of emo for me, going and meeting soldiers who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hoppus/once-i-was-in-the-blink-182-going-to-iraq-was-really-touching-it-was/)

[Mark Hoppus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hoppus/)

> [One battle doesn't make a campagin, but critics treat one book, good or bad, like a whole war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-battle-doesn-t-make-a-campagin-but-critics-treat-one-book-good-or/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [I always like it at a war. There is always the chance that you will get up the next morning and be killed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-always-like-it-at-a-war-there-is-always-the-chance-that-you-will/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Football is like war. It's about taking territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/football-is-like-war-it-s-about-taking-territory/)

[Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/)

> [“I don't like this war. I don't like the cold-blooded scheming at the beginning and the carnage at the end and the grumbling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-dunnett/i-don-t-like-this-war-i-don-t-like-the-cold-blooded-scheming-at-the/)

[Dorothy Dunnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-dunnett/)

> [There is so much that must be done in a civilized barbarism like war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-earhart/there-is-so-much-that-must-be-done-in-a-civilized-barbarism-like-war/)

[Amelia Earhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-earhart/)

## More by Ernest Hemingway

> [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

[Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

## More Soldiers Like quotes

> [Once I was in the Blink-182, going to Iraq was really touching. It was kind of emo for me, going and meeting soldiers who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hoppus/once-i-was-in-the-blink-182-going-to-iraq-was-really-touching-it-was/)

[Mark Hoppus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hoppus/)

> [Yeah, I know a lot of soldiers. I know soldiers who don't like to hear thank you for your service. And I know soldiers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hedlund/yeah-i-know-a-lot-of-soldiers-i-know-soldiers-who-don-t-like-to-hear/)

[Garrett Hedlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hedlund/)

> [We (soldiers) are like cloaks,-one thinks of us only when it rains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-de-saxe/we-soldiers-are-like-cloaks-one-thinks-of-us-only-when-it-rains/)

[Maurice de Saxe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-de-saxe/)

> [Artists like cats; soldiers like dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-morris/artists-like-cats-soldiers-like-dogs/)

[Desmond Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-morris/)

> [For the army is a school in which the miser becomes generous, and the generous prodigal; miserly soldiers are like monsters, but very rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/for-the-army-is-a-school-in-which-the-miser-becomes-generous-and-the/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [I've learned our soldiers are so much like everybody else. They're just put into an extreme situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gauthier/i-ve-learned-our-soldiers-are-so-much-like-everybody-else-they-re/)

[Mary Gauthier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gauthier/)

[Browse all 7 Soldiers Like quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldiers-like-250255/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“And Barcelona. You should see Barcelona.” “How is it?” “It is all still comic opera. First it was the paradise of the crackpots and the romantic revolutionists. Now it is the paradise of the fake soldier. The soldiers who like to wear uniforms, who like to strut and swagger and wear red-and-black scarves. Who like everything about war except to fight. Valencia makes you sick and Barcelona makes you laugh.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ernest Hemingway"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-how-is-it-it-is-all-still/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Soldiers Like"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-how-is-it-it-is-all-still/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/ernest-hemingway-83_quote_and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-h_692891.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/ernest-hemingway-83_quote_and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-h_692891.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/ernest-hemingway-83_quote_and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-h_692891.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“And Barcelona. You should see Barcelona.” “How is it?” “It is all still comic opera. First it was the…” — Ernest Hemingway",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ernest Hemingway",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“And Barcelona. You should see Barcelona.”...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-how-is-it-it-is-all-still/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/and-barcelona-you-should-see-barcelona-how-is-it-it-is-all-still/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
