Big Two-Hearted River

It is unclear whether or not they will stay that way permanently, but Nick has hope that they will overcome their unfortunate situation; when he wonders how long they will be stained, Nick is insinuating that there will eventually come a day, be it in weeks or years, that the grasshoppers will return to their natural state. Hemingway uses this metaphor to parallel our perception of Nick himself. The trauma Nick has endured throughout his life has impacted him as well as his identity significantly, but there is hope and the promise of a better future if he is willing to withstand the burden in the meantime. This sentiment is echoed by Nick when he lets go of the grasshopper, instructing it to “fly away somewhere” (212). The message conveyed here is that life goes on; though the grasshoppers are sullied by their experiences, as they might be for a while, there is a way for them to be free and thus, there must be a way for Nick to be free as well. The rewards that follow in the wake of a negative or traumatic event are earned by the mere fact that an individual was not willing to be swayed from their path or to give up simply on the basis that it was difficult. Nick himself sums it up rather nicely when he states that he’s “...got a right to eat this kind of stuff, if [he’s] willing to carry it”(215) - referring to, of course, his backpack full of food and supplies that he’d been shouldering for

A vital part to Nick’s growth was his time in the war. While this is only shown through short vignettes, they convey a powerful story about the events that transpired and how they changed Nick so greatly. Some stories aren't shown to be about Nick, but can be presumed to show what the war did to those who fought in it. One story is about a war chef and his French comrade who got drunk before they reach the front (Hemingway 13). The front was a hellish place where many horrors were endured. In the heat of battle, men like Nick revert to prayer and religion as an act of desperation. Even though a promise was made to spread the word, Nick was ashamed for falling apart and chose to break the promise (Hemingway 67). This could be related

Nick is ashamed of his life. He looks back of how the living in the lifestyle of the rich and famous has shaped his behavior. He thinks back of his life before moving to the East and wished things could go back to the simple carefree lifestyle.

Ernest Hemingway’s semi-fictional short story The Nick Adams Stories chronicles the life of Nick Adams, a complex character whose life progresses from infantile innocence to a mature cynical existence. The stories unfold analogous to an iceberg; the real meaning is cryptic and lies just beneath the surface. Hemingway uses this iceberg analogy in the section “A Soldier Home” with images and symbols to convey a deeper meaning. In this section, Adams is returning home after the war and is still recovering from its atrocities. He has experienced many traumatic things while at war, so nothing seems innocent to him anymore. Throughout this section, Adams is recuperating and longs for a semblance of a normal life to find peace.

In her discussion of shell shock, Elaine Showalter writes, “Men were silenced and immobilized and forced, like women, to express their conflicts through the body. Placed in intolerable circumstances of stress, and expected to react with unnatural ‘courage,’ thousands of soldiers reacted instead with symptoms of hysteria” (Showalter 171). In Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River: Part I,” Nick Adams embodies this symptom of hysteria. His actions and interactions with his belongings and surroundings showcase different dimensions of his recollection of the “intolerable circumstances” which he faced in the Great War and the ways in which he seeks to “choke” his thoughts of the experience.

He started to walk through the ferns and jack pines and Nick was becoming exceedingly content. Nick was thinking that, '…the country was alive again,'; (474). Hemingway left the country untouched by the fire because he wanted to show to the readers that Nick was trying to the war behind him and get on with his life trying to enjoy it to its fullest, ';Nick tries to put everything behind him, which is shown by his happiness and excitement…'; (Annelie Lewis).

While the journey-to-find-a-self-motif is not uncommon in American literature, this journey mostly goes in the other direction, from the East Coast to the western part of the country. Nick, however, leaves the West to establish his self in the ordered East. The main reason why Nick leaves the West is that he has to leave his home, with its extended family of aunts and uncles, in order to become independent. Furthermore, nature, especially wild and untamed nature, like that of the West, is linked to women and femininity (Flannigan-Saint-Aubin 244). By moving to the City, which he perceives to be the center, Nick attempts to escape the feminine realm. It is not, however, just

What is essential to understand is that Hemingway provides his readers’ with a guide to cope with these often-times cynical theories. By shifting to the philosophy of pragmatism, Hemingway is able to establish values, morals and live a practical way of life through his work. McDermid explains the philosophy, “Pragmatism is a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected. Pragmatism originated in the United States during the latter quarter of the nineteenth century” (McDermid par.1) When all morals and values are shifted, it is up to the writer to decide how the character will cope with these shattered ideals. One of the ways that Hemingway evokes pragmatism in his writing, is in the short-story titled, “Big Two-Hearted River.” In the story we are introduced to Nick Adams who is returning back to Seney, Michigan after his time in war. Although it lacks a central plot, there is plenty going on buried beneath the surface. This is one of those stories that Hemingway executes his iceberg theory quite perfectly. Upon returning to Michigan, Nick is left to discover that all the town has burned down. This immediately signifies that everything has to be rebuilt. Another signifier that values are morals have been destroyed by the war. Again, not overtly present, but when

This river is clearly a source of guidance or direction for him, as shown by the statement that “He did not need to get his map out. He knew where he was from the position of the river” (Hemingway 163). This description of Nick's story brings up an important point. How exactly do the two men compare, and what does it mean for the “modern”

His lack of confidence provoked him to rely on his friend’s misleading advice to make choices. Nick faced death, dealt with complicated relationships, violence and suffrage at a young age. These emotional events molded him to an utterly wounded man internally, but a dictator externally. Some people say “You become the person that you surround yourself with”.

According to Hemingway biographer James R. Mellon, Hemingway regarded "Big Two-Hearted River" as the "climactic story in [his short story collection] In Our Time and the culminating episode in the Nick Adams adventures that he included in the book."

He refuses to close his eyes because he believes In the hospital, his roommate John asks Nick about his inability to rest: "Say, Signor Tenente, is there something really the matter that you can't sleep? I never see you sleep. You haven't slept nights ever since I been with you" (Hemingway 150). Nick's restlessness is due to his worrying and inactivity as he spends most of his time thinking about fishing and remembering his childhood. Nick finally leaves the hospital to see old friends at the batallion, and the first thing he sees is bodies of dead soldiers everywhere: "They lay alone or in clumps in the high grass of the field and along the road , their pockets out, and over them were flies and around each body or groups of bodies were the scattered papers" (Hemingway 154). Hemingway's immediate imagery of the horrors of war helps Nick to realize that he is lucky to be alive. The physical and mental toll the war takes on Nick and other soldiers is way too big to ignore. Throughout Nick's experiences in the war and in the hospital, nothing beautiful comes out of the war, only death and

Nick begins the novel by declaring his neutrality in the narration of the story, this however should be the first red flag in his unreliability. He seems to be either defending himself in the presence of the reader because he knows that his reliability could come into question during the remainder of the novel or he is reassuring himself that he is in fact apt enough to convey the story accurately. This perception given to the reader that he is unfit to tell the story is realized in the course of the novel.

Hemingway allowed some of his personal experiences regarding war to influence a major theme of his writing, and he situated this theme throughout his works. Hemingway’s initial attitude towards war and gender was exhibited in “A Simple Enquiry,” where he has sexual feelings towards a higher-up member of the army. War and gender, especially regarding the absence of the female and the male’s strength, are two key themes that are displayed in Hemingway’s works. “Big Two-Hearted River” is a short story written by Hemingway that showcases a scene of Nick Adams being without love. In this case, war is not directly mentioned, but it serves as a point of explanation in Nick’s life and his duties as a hero. Hemingway was an advocate of the male image

Ernest Hemingway’s short story collection is, in part, about being initiated into adulthood. Hemingway elucidates the development into adulthood in the short story, Indian Camp, through the young boy, Nick Adams. The introduction begins with an adolescent boy, who had not yet grown to be an adult. This is first shown when Nick and his father were going to the Indian Camp. “Nick lay back with his father’s arm around him” (Hemingway 91). When Nick cuddled up in his father’s arms it indicates to us that he has still has not matured because of his high dependence on his father and it additionally demonstrates a young boy with little obligation. Nick’s immaturity is also seen when he asks his father, “Where are we going, Dad?” (Hemingway 91). This