Warfare and fire share a similar outcome related to death and destruction. Ernest Hemingway wrote “Big Two-Hearted River: Part 1”, with the protagonist Nick Adams on a hiking excursion along a tributary leading to Lake Superior. Once Nick fully understands that he is unable to forget his violent past in war, he must change his disposition on life and start a full body transformation similar to the nature around him. Even though devastation and death are prominent in “Big Two-Hearted River: Part 1”, Hemingway conveys a theme of hope and recovering from the suffering.
Hemingway progressively introduced the necessity of destruction for the rebirth of something new and improved. When forest fires occur they leave behind a trail of ash and soot throughout vast land areas which, consequently, lead to the rebirth of the forest. The smoke pollutes the air and the fire destroys the vegetation, yet creatures small and large are able to adapt. Grasshoppers, a small insect trying to survive, have changed color because of the soot that remains on the forest floor. Their hearts have hardened to the conforming and adapting to their surrounding environment. Similarly, Nick is covered with his own ‘soot’ brought back with him from the war. Hemingway wrote, “These were
…show more content…
As depicted in the Christian Bible, both fish and bird alike are used to metaphorically describe the Triune God. According to the Gospels, Jesus of Nazareth was baptized in the Jordan River and, meanwhile, God the Father sent forth the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. Nick Adams, to some extent, is likewise being baptized to cleanse himself of the old past which burdens him and will be reborn into a life of hope and happiness. The trout also is comparable to the Greek symbol Ichthys which translates to “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior”. As a result, Hemingway used the natural setting as a way to correspond to Nick’s past, present, and future
Charles Yale Harrison’s “in the trenches” and mark twain's” two ways of seeing a river” are both autobiographical narratives that use descriptive language. In Harrison’s “in the trenches,” his brilliant use of sensory imagery lets the readers mind experience the treacherous and horrendous reality of war, with just the use of words. On the other hand, in twains “two ways of seeing a river,” the use of sensory imagery is carefully used to help the reader visualize the change in twains perception of the once “majestic river.” Both authors effortlessly utilize imagery to illustrate the realities of their topics. Harrison uses all the aspects of sensory imagery to display the life men are living in the trenches; meanwhile, in twains essay, he partially
In Big Two Hearted River, Ernest Hemingway used his own experiences he had during the war and the issues he had when injured in the war. As soon as Nick stepped off the train the reader could feel the disappointment that Nick had and the understanding that he was a troubled soul. At the same time this was Nick’s way to treat himself by staying close to nature and the simpler things in life. No matter how happy Nick would get he would continue to have flashbacks of things he has done and friends he has lost along the way. Throughout the short story by Hemingway, Nick will continue to move through his problems from the war by camping and catch his food from the river and the reader will be able to see Nicks pain and happiness.
Life can sometime bring unwanted events that individuals might not be willing to face it. This was the conflict of O’Brien in the story, “On The Rainy River”. As the author and the character O’Brien describes his experiences about the draft to the Vietnam War. He face the conflict of whether he must or must not go to the war, in this moment O’Brien thinking that he is so good for war, and that he should not be lost in that way. He also show that he disagree with the consbet of the war, how killing people will benefit the country. In addition O’Brien was terrifying of the idea of leaving his family, friends, and everything that he has done in the past years.
In his short story, “Big Two-Hearted River”, Ernest Hemingway focuses on the mental and emotional state of Nick, the protagonist, who “le[aves] everything behind” during a wilderness fishing trip. Traumatic thoughts and memories haunt Nick, but the cause of his inner turmoil is not disclosed in the story. Other short stories by Hemingway, however, reveal that Nick Adams is a wounded veteran who served in the First World War. To distract himself from these painful memories, Nick concentrates on the physical details of his journey such as making camp and preparing food. In addition to self-distraction, he attempts to inhibit his ability to think through hunger and physical exhaustion. By examining how Nick uses these techniques of mental control in “Big Two-Hearted River”, one can gain a deeper understanding into his behaviour and fragile psyche. Thus, through analysis of his methods of rehabilitation, this examination will illustrate the central conflict between Nick’s subconscious thoughts and his conscious effort to repress them.
The world of Ernest Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River” exists through the mostly unemotional eyes of the character Nick. Stemming from his reactions and the suppression of some of his feelings, the reader gets a sense of how Nick is living in a temporary escape from society and his troubles in life. Despite the disaster that befell the town of Seney, this tale remains one of an optimistic ideal because of the various themes of survival and the continuation of life. Although Seney itself is a wasteland, the pine plain and the campsite could easily be seen as an Eden, lush with life and ripe with the survival of nature.
From sunrise to sunset, day after day, war demolishes men, cities, and hope. War has an effect on soldiers like nothing else, and sticks with them for life. The damage to a generation of men on both sides of the war was inestimable. Both the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, and the poem “I Have a Rendezvous with Death,” by Alan Seeger, demonstrate the theme of a lost generation of men, mentally and physically, in war through diction, repetition, and personification.
In “Big Two-Hearted River”, he uses imagery and symbolism to add meaning to In Our Time. As Nick is walking, he observes grasshoppers whose colors have changed. Hemingway writes “he realized that they had all turned black from living in the burned-over land. He realized that the fire must have come the year before, but the grasshoppers were all black now. He wondered how long they would stay that way” (Hemingway 136). Nick notices that the grasshoppers have changed colors from yellow or green to black in order to adapt to their new, soot covered environment. Since the word “black” has a negative connotation, readers can conclude that the grasshoppers symbolize something negative. This relates to Nick because he is now “black”; he is damaged from his experience in the war. He also wonders how long the grasshoppers will remain in this state, similarly to how he wonders how long he will remain in his. Another example is in “Cat in the Rain”. He uses imagery to disclose a young wife’s desire for a child. He says “She held a big tortoise-shell cat pressed tight against her and swung down against her body (Hemingway 94). This reveals to readers the woman’s want for a baby, with the image of the cat on her stomach representing a pregnant stomach. Rather than overtly saying she wants a child in an uninteresting and colorless way, or having her say it to her husband, Hemingway chooses to reveal it in a
Ernest Hemingway uses the various events in Nick Adams life to expose the reader to the themes of youth, loss, and death throughout his novel In Our Time. Youth often plays its part in war, and since In Our Time writes very frequently about war; it is not a surprise that the theme of youth is seen in many of the stories. In “Indian Camp” the innocence of youth is shown in the last sentence of the story: “In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he would never die.” (19) When this sentence and the conversation Nick and his father have before they get on the boat are combined in thought it shows that because of Nicks age at the time that he does not yet understand the concept of death.
The material objects that Hemingway uses to convey the theme are beer, the good and bad hillsides, and a railroad station between two tracks. The beer represents the couple’s, “the American” and “the girl’s”, usual routine activity they do together. This bothers the girl because “that’s all [they] do … look at things and try new drinks.” This shows that the girl is tired of doing the same thing and wants to do something different, like having a baby and a family, instead of fooling around all the time. She wants to stop being a girl and become a woman. Hemingway then presents the reader with two contrasting hills. One hill on one side of the station is dull, desolate, and barren; “it had no shade and no trees”, very desert like. However, the other hill on the other side of the station is beautiful, plentiful in nature, and had “fields of grain and tress along the banks of the Ebro River.” Also on each side of the station where each hill is, there is a train track. These objects are symbolic devices prepare the reader in realizing that the characters are in a place of decision. The railroad station is a place of decision where one must decide to go one way or the other. The t...
I see many people as I wander through the streets, yet I can only hear silence. I see couples getting into a restaurant, order, check their smartphones, eat, and I wonder why they do not look up, face each other and genuinely communicate. What I perceive, are men and women living not with, but next to each other. This is exactly what I imagined when I read Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”. A couple waiting to catch a train and as they sit and drink some beers, they start talking about Jig’s pregnancy and the option of abortion. However, all I can hear is silence because they simply do not speak the same language. They are both living in different worlds filled with divergent ideologies and opinions. As a result, the words do not come across. The American, though, does everything in his power to convince Jig of conducting an abortion, in which he seems to succeed at first. But as the story develops, the divided and childlike Jig transforms into an independent woman, who possesses an internal strength, determination and a mind of her own. Hence, I am going to argue that Jig will not have the abortion and will eventually leave the American.
Sudden and Ironic events that happen to the narrator in T.C. Boyle’s short story “Greasy Lake” are the same type of events that in an instant will change a person forever. The ironic circumstances that the narrator in “Greasy Lake” finds himself in are the same circumstances that young people find themselves in when fighting war.
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
Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1899. He was a writer who started his career with a newspaper office in Kansas City when he was seventeen. When the United States got involved in the First World War, Hemingway joined with a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. During his service, he was wounded, and was decorated by the Italian Government. Upon his return to the United States, he was employed by Canadian and American newspapers as a reporter, and sent back to Europe to cover the Greek Revolution. In the 1920’s, Hemingway was a member of expatriate Americans in Paris. In one writing of Hemingway, it reads, “In the nearly sixty two years of his life that followed he forged a literary reputation unsurpassed in the twentieth century” (LostGeneration). During this time, he wrote some of his most important and successful works of literature. Ernest Hemingway is one of the most influential writers of his time. One biography of him said, “His novels and short fictions have left an indelible mark on the literary production of the United States and the world” (TheEuropeanGraduateSchool).
Ernest Hemingway uses the various events in Nick Adams life to expose the reader to the themes of youth, loss, and death throughout his novel In Our Time. Youth very often plays its part in war, and since In Our Time relates itself very frequently to war throughout; it is not a surprise that the theme of youthful innocence arises in many of the stories. In “Indian Camp” the youthful innocence is shown in the last sentence of the story: “In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he would never die.” (19) When this sentence and the conversation Nick and his father have before they get on the boat are combined in thought it shows that because of Nicks age at the time that he does not yet understand the concept of death.
...o be correct. Hemingway uses rain as a sign of death, sadness or to give one of his characters the state of being afraid. The despair brought by rain, Frederic says „ good-bye to [Catherine], and then „[leaves] the hospital and walk[s] back to the hotel in the rain". The rain described as he walks home represents again a cleansing in which Tenente will be forced to start a whole new life now.