Fourthly, the scene in the swamp is the scene in part two of “Big Two-Hearted River” that shows Nick developing psychosis. The swamp serves as a reminder for Nick of where he was wounded, for “a change in the width of the river is what made the swamp horrible,” for he had been wounded “at a narrow place on the Piave River…near Fossalta” (Young 47, 54, Adair 584-5). This narrow place is the same place that Nick in “A Way You’ll Never Be” has dreams about, the “mosquito marshes” where he “wad[es] waist deep in swamp water, holding high a rifle (rather than a fishing rod[, as he does in “Big Two-Hearted River”])” (Adair 585, see Hemingway 409). This additional occurrence of similar events in the Nick Adam stories continues to show a negative development …show more content…
When Nick begins to fish in the river, he acts instinctually and does not consider the temperature of the water. As a result, he has a physical and mental shock, which is evident from the narrator’s double usage of the word “shock” in an equivocal manner: “He stepped into the stream. It was a shock. His trousers clung tight to his legs. His shoes felt the gravel. The water was a rising cold shock” (224, italics added). William Bysshe Stein agrees with this assessment, stating that Nick was “deliberately executing every detail of baiting, casting and reeling with meticulous care,” but only to his chagrin and disappointment for what the fishing did do (failure) and did not do (stop his thoughts) for him (559). I argue that the secular rituals Nick completed are meant to help him not think because of the unsaid psychological understanding that habits are second nature and thus do not require thinking and the reality that for Nick, the rituals of fishing and setting up a tent are habits in the sense that they are a series of repeated actions. Furthermore, I argue that these rituals and habits also contribute to Nick’s healing process in “Big Two-Hearted
In passage one it shows respect for the unique environment of the swamp "floating mats of peat" are not at home in the midst of rivers as they are in Passage 2. In the first Passage since it was here to inform, they were given a scientific name, "hummocks," and they are accepted as part of the terrain. Additionally, the mental picture each purports is entirely in contrast with the other's Passage 1 yields "extensive prairies," "bald cypress trees festooned with moss," "meandering channels of open water," and "exotic flowers." The imagery that is pictures in the firs passage is of freedom, of beauty, of the easygoing simplicity and relaxation we seem idealize in nature. The moss "festooning" the "bald" cypress trees lends a sense of spirit and independent joy to the life in the swamp, a high order, but a place still flowing as freely as the water in its trees. the second passage, however, is not home to flowing water, it is home to "muck, mud, slime, and ooze." There are no flowers in this swamp, there are only "leaf-choked acres" yearning to end. Here, there are not "rare" species of flowers, but "seething galaxies of gnats... paramecia that exist only to compound the misery of life." Here, the swamp is not a place of joy or idealism, but a place of punishment, of agony, of torture and ugliness which is the imagery that the author chooses to show
In the Maclean family, fly-fishing was portrayed as the link that brought the father closer to his two sons. Not only did the family strongly believe in their Presbyterian values, but they believed that fly-fishing was an important way to release their frustrations and just relax together every Sunday after church. In Norman Maclean’s novella, A River Runs Through It, a sport that started out as a hobby transformed into a tradition that brought discipline and structure into a family that seemed as though they would never be able to get along. In everyone’s life there is one activity that brings him or her these same feelings and emotions, it is just up to them to find it.
Among the first indicators of Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is shown through his extreme misunderstanding of his father’s advice. When Nick’s father told him that “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had” (1) he most likely meant not all people have the same opportunities in life. However, Nick perverted his father’s meaning and understood it as “a sense of the fundamental decencies us parceled out unequally at birth” (2). Nick’s interpretation of his father’s advice provides insight into his conceited, somewhat supercilious attitude, as he believes that not all people are born with the same sense of manners and morality.
Additionally, Nick’s ultimate goal for the fishing trip is not simply catching trout, but rather gaining internal stability and peace. Although he finds satisfaction in this activity, enjoyment alone is not a deciding factor in his choice to travel without other fishermen. Regardless of his reasoning, this decision is important as it provides him with a much-needed feeling of security and simplicity. As the only human character to directly appear in “Big Two-Hearted River”,
The maturation of Nick begins with his description of his time leading to his arrival in West Egg, “I graduated from New Haven in 1915, just a quarter of a century after my father, and a little later I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War” (Fitzgerald, 3). The protagonist comes into the story having not lived much of his life in the normal world that he desires to successfully conquer. He goes directly from schooling into the war, where he found heroic satisfaction. Yet, somehow, Nick is able to keep part of himself innocent and pure despite being in the horrors of war. It is not long after attending his first party at Gatsby’s that Nick confesses that “Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known’ (Fitzgerald, 59). The level of Nick’s idealism and virtuousness begins at such an innocent pl...
Through Nick’s stream of unconsciousness in the following lines: "Yet high over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life,” (p. ) the reader learns how Nick is completely lost as he cannot identify himself apart from the others. Nick continues this idea as he says how he “felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others.” This line shows how Nick justifies his lifestyle as he suggests other have it too.
There is a theory that dream and myth are related which is conveyed through the writing of Douglas Angus’ Kafka's Metamorphosis and "The Beauty and the Beast" Tale and supported by Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. The stories are very symbolic when conveying the metamorphosis of a human being. Unlike Beauty and the Beast, in the Metamorphosis some suggest love is received through acts of cruelty yet in actuality it appears that cruelty results in heartache. Due to being a beast, the repulsiveness requires genuine love which can achieve the “magical transformation.” This “magical transformation” is not achieved and creates a twist in the plot derived from the concepts in the “Beauty and the Beast.”
Nick notices that although the characters had lived in the east they were not truly from there. “I am part of that”, he mentions as he realizes he is a part of the West and not the East. Fitzgerald also adds realization that “this has been a story of the West, after all.” upon having Nick reminisce on his origin and that of his one time friends (176).
This passage shows Nick making his way through New York at night, seeing the sights and narrating the way this external stimuli makes him feel. It exemplifies the manner in which Nick interacts with the world around him, often as an observer, rather than participant, and is integral to the development of his character. Fitzgerald utilizes vivid imagery throughout the paragraph, paired with a strong narrative regarding Nick’s experience in New York; furthermore provoking the audience to ponder a theme central to the novel.
Coming home from the grueling experience of being a soldier in World War I, he felt ecstatic when he saw a trout swimming in the stream. The perils of war took a devastating toll on Nick, as he suffered from a physical wound while in action. The camping trip here is like an oasis, which will let Nick to recover from all the distress. “Nick looked down into the pool from the bridge. It was a hot day. A kingfisher flew up from the stream. It was a long time since Nick had looked into a stream and seen trout. They were very satisfactory...Nick’s heart tightened as the trout moved. He felt all the old feeling.” (178) The healing process begins here with Nick re-acclimating himself with one of his favorite hobbies: fishing. “He started down to the stream, holding his rod...Nick felt awkward and professionally happy with all the equipment hanging from him...His mouth dry, his heart down...Holding the rod far out toward the uprooted tree and sloshing backward in the current, Nick worked the trout, plunging, the rod bending alive, out of the danger of the weeds into the open river. Holding the rod, pumping alive against the current, Nick brought the trout in...” (190,193,195) Nick finally reels in a trout after the big one got away, getting to the feeling of relaxation and washing away the horrors of war. By pitching his tent out in the forest and being able to function by himself so smoothly, Nick shows how he represents the trait of stoicism. He did not complain or stop living, coming back with the trauma of war. Going camping, he is able to relieve himself through using all the nature around him, showcasing his
Nick compares himself to a “casual watcher in the darkening streets” (Fitzgerald 35), reminding the reader that he is impersonal, and, “I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (Fitzgerald 59). Although Nick persistently defends his character as a spectator, it’s clear Nick is desperate to demonstrate the outlook of events based on his point-of-view.
The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka both incorporate “irreal” elements throughout their works. These elements provide an alternative point of view where the lives of main characters are recreated and imagined as part of their surroundings. It’s almost as if the characters are watching their lives from an outside vantage point, rather than living in the moment, which makes it easier to cope with their difficult circumstances. These two works are complementary in establishing relationships, exposing internal conflicts, and escaping the reality that these characters yearn for in their lives.
Seney exists as the wasteland, having been ravaged and destroyed by fire to the point of complete desolation. The town is described by what it is lacking as a contrast to what Nick had remembered to have been there, yet Nick does not display any sensation of loss. He had merely “expected to find” the town as it was before the fire, but when he does not, he simply goes to the river to watch the trout. It the trout that s...
house. This way of narrating it is very opened to us, and makes us feel like we
Life is a never-ending metamorphosis. It is always changing, always transforming. Sometimes a change is followed by positive results, but on the darker side, a metamorphosis can lead to damage or suffering. But of course, the concept of metamorphosis can also be related into the wonderful yet unrealistic world of magic and sorcery. Metamorphosis can mean a rapid transformation from one object to another or a distinct or even degenerative change in appearance, personality, condition, or function. The concept of metamorphosis is commonly used in pieces of literature to describe an extreme change in character or form.