Theme Of Loss In Ernest Hemingway's 'Big Two-Hearted River'
“Loss and Loss of Innocence”
Each and every person in this world will someday experience loss. Whether it is a loss of dignity, purpose, love, material, or something else, each person will have to deal with loss. Perhaps the ultimate and most tragic loss would be that of death, and it is in dealing with this loss that changes the way a person looks at the world. It is this very idea that is explored in the works of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway is aware that everyone will lose something, and sought to show how it changes a person. Being the brilliant writer that he is, Hemingway often used subtle but carefully crafted language to portray exactly what he was trying to get you to understand about his story without explicitly stating it. The language used in “Big Two-Hearted River (Part I &II)” shows that loss changes how one looks at even the most mundane parts of life once loss is experienced.
Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River” is seen through the eyes of one of his recurring short story characters, Nick Adams, as he returns to his favorite fishing spot, but this is no ordinary fishing trip. Adams is …show more content…
The only thing said in response to these memories comes while Nick is drinking his coffee. It states, “The coffee was bitter. Nick laughed. It made a good ending to the story.” (Hemingway, 169) Again we see Hemingway using subtlety to point to something. In the case of the coffee being bitter being a good end to the story, it is because his friends are dead, and probably countless other friends are also dead. Nick had lost many friends due to the war or other tragic circumstances. This would explain why he felt guilty for eating his meal, because there were many who died while eating pathetic soldier rations. Even the way that Nick viewed meals had been changed by his experience with loss, and we see this through Hemingway’s use of
Each and every person in this world will someday experience loss. Whether it is a loss of dignity, purpose, love, material, or something else, each person will have to deal with loss. Perhaps the ultimate and most tragic loss would be that of death, and it is in dealing with this loss that changes the way a person looks at the world. It is this very idea that is explored in the works of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway is aware that everyone will lose something, and sought to show how it changes a person. Being the brilliant writer that he is, Hemingway often used subtle but carefully crafted language to portray exactly what he was trying to get you to understand about his story without explicitly stating it. The language used in “Big Two-Hearted River (Part I &II)” shows that loss changes how one looks at even the most mundane parts of life once loss is experienced.
Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River” is seen through the eyes of one of his recurring short story characters, Nick Adams, as he returns to his favorite fishing spot, but this is no ordinary fishing trip. Adams is …show more content…
The only thing said in response to these memories comes while Nick is drinking his coffee. It states, “The coffee was bitter. Nick laughed. It made a good ending to the story.” (Hemingway, 169) Again we see Hemingway using subtlety to point to something. In the case of the coffee being bitter being a good end to the story, it is because his friends are dead, and probably countless other friends are also dead. Nick had lost many friends due to the war or other tragic circumstances. This would explain why he felt guilty for eating his meal, because there were many who died while eating pathetic soldier rations. Even the way that Nick viewed meals had been changed by his experience with loss, and we see this through Hemingway’s use of