F. Scott Fitzgerald's Big Two-Hearted River

Hemingway develops the fictional character Nick Adams, a protagonist in a collection of his short stories, who parallels him and his own life experiences. Many stories in the Nick Adams collection demonstrates an initiation or new experience that matures Nick, pushing him closer to adulthood. Critic Arthur Waldorn believes that the Nick Adams stories illustrate “the terror of learning to live with the terrible.” Hemingway utilizes motifs, dialogue, and the setting in “Three Shots,” “The Battler,” and “The Three-Day Blow” to justify Waldorn’s perspective of learning to live with the terrible reality of the nada, violence, and heartbreak.

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

He was returning to his passion. Fishing and being out in the wilderness is how he recovers. "The rod bent in jerks, the trout pumping against the current" (191.) Hemmingway is describing the current of the water but it also describes nicks post war feelings. It's his present life and the rush of the water are his memories, they are leaving him and letting him relax back home. "Nick worked the trout, plunging, the rod bending alive." (195) The rod blinding alive signifies nick. The adrenaline rushing inside of him and the pure energy that his pumping through his body. Coming to what you loved and miss is a good transition on how to move

Ernest Hemingway's "Big Two-Hearted River"* is such a rich text that it has probably received more literary critical attention than many novels of several times its length. Hemingway's ardent use of intricate detail and his intentional, calculated use of short, simple sentences help to make "River" a treasure chest of critical ideas and possible interpretations. Historically, much of the criticism of "River" has examined the dark underlying themes of the story, such as the alleged omission of some preceding, devastating event and Nick's wounded spiritual and mental state. These sentences, such as "There was no town, nothing but the rails and the burned-over country," are

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.

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

He seems so be acting different than many war veterans would. Most veterans are very paranoid and worried about everything they do or go after returning from battle. Nick on the other hand, seems to be the outcast and to have no worries in his life. Another quote found in “Big Two Hearted River” is seen as Nick preparing to fish for his food as he takes his pole out of his case and prepares to set out for his dinner. “Nick took his fly rod out of the leather rod case, Joined it and shorten the rod case into the tent.” In the story it seems as if Nick is taking a break from society and living life freely in the wild and that seems to be a very calming experience and surrounding for him to be in after his return from battle. In the quote, “Nick swung the rod back over his shoulder and forward and Hyde like curring forward laid the grasshopper down on one of the deep channels in the woods.” Nick shows his fishing and later in the quote it shows the excitement. He gets after catching the fish as he see it as the “biggest trout he has ever

Ernest Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River” uses language to explore Nick’s carefree attitude. Nick’s actions, speech, and thoughts validate this claim.

With the availability of mass media in these times, we can view the horrors of war on a daily basis. During World War I (WW I) these were only in the minds of our veterans. Mr. Hemingway’s story of a returning WW I soldier, “Big Two-Hearted River”, parts one and two, actually may be representative of his own life experiences. The story starts as Nick, returns to his home after presumably fighting for his country in WW I. He decides to return to a favorite place of his youth to go fishing and decompress from the toils of war. Throughout this short story, he uses symbols of how war can influence the environment, man’s internal struggles, and one man’s struggle to return to normalcy.

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

Hemingway doesn't include, "he thought," or, "he said to himself," and so it is unclear. The result is the same regardless. Using first person narration at this point serves to make the story more alive, more personal. It jolts the reader into realizing the humanity of Nick; he is no longer the object of a story but a real person. If Nick is making so much stir over it that he speaks directly to the reader, he must feel passionately about it. Or if Hemingway is so moved by the size of the trout that he exclaims at its size, I can only accept that Nick also feels this excitement.

Two Ways of Viewing a Job In “Two Ways of Viewing the River”, Mark Twain has two different ways of viewing the river, first as new and beautiful, and then as practical or functional after time passes. In general, it is possible to view most things in different ways. When everything is new, people want to enjoy and explore their surroundings. Once things are familiar around people, they tend to respond less to the view and more to their personal viewpoint; they relax and become part of the scenery instead of just watching the scenery. The theme from “Two Ways of Viewing the River”, by Mark Twain, can be applied to many different situations, such as getting a job.

First on Hemingway symbolism is river. The river is something that Nick can rely on, like a certainty, or like a insurance. Now, while Heraclitus

The immersion in “Indian Camp” is different from “Two Words”. Hemingway uses simple imagery to engage the reader. “Nick heard the oarlocks of the other boat quite a way ahead of them in the mist. The Indians rowed with quick, choppy strokes” (91). He keeps the description of the scenery simple,

A lot of Hemingway’s stories relate to the war somehow, whether it is directly or indirectly or through symbolism. He normally writes about himself too. The main character, in some way, is usually he. I believe that having a rough childhood and not the best of luck with the ladies left Hemingway without anyone to talk to. After witnessing so much death and destruction, he couldn’t just keep that all bottled up inside. So I think that his stories that are about the war, is his way of getting all of this death and destruction off of his chest. It is a way for him to talk about what he went through. Take his story “Big Two Hearted River” for example. That story right there is about himself. He was expressing how he feels through Nick. In this story, the character, nick, describes the town he sees as burned over, and all of the buildings burnt right down to their chipped foundation, nothing was left. What Hemingway was describing here is the war, but in a way his own self, his soul. He had been burnt down, right to his chipped foundation. Hemingway uses the character Nick to represent himself. Hemingway writes stories with Nick, using it as a way to heal, a way to get all of these feelings he has from the war to the surface. Hemingway knows that he can’t be totally hurt by the war, he knows that there has to be something left in him and that is what e is looking for.