’s Stories Essay, Research Paper
The Nick Adams stories were my favorite of the collection because I got to know Nick through
the reading. I started to understand Nick and I could anticipate the actions and feelings that he
was feeling. I am not sure if this is because I became familiar with Nick or because I have done
many of the things Nick has done and was able to understand what he was doing.
“Big Two-Hearted River: Part I and II” were the most enjoyable short stories of the ones I
read. The language that Hemingway uses is ideally suited for describing Nick’s activities by the
river. Hemingway’s simple declarative sentences are all that is needed to convey the wonderful
scene of Nick struggling with his pack, setting up his tent, and cooking his food. I have also done
all the things that Nick was doing by the river and I was able to understand his satisfaction at
pulling up a sound tent. Little sentences like “He was careful not to let the hook bite into his finger”
convey so much meaning to anyone who has ever tried to tighten a fishing hook on a line that you
can only help but nod your head in agreement.
I must admit that despite not being at the center of your course I could not help but think of how
much Hemingway’s content was influenced by his life. Many of the stories like “The Doctor and
the Doctor’s Wife” were based directly on personal experiences of Hemingway’s life. Since it is
not the focus of your course, I am trying to just accepted the content and concentrate more on
writing style and the way Hemingway writes something. I have found it difficult to pay close
attention to both the story and the writing at the same time and have had to reread several times.
“The Three-Day Blow” offered an interesting irony to the title “In Our Time”, but maybe it is
just my jaded view of the television. Nick and Bill sit and discuss intelligently on various topics like
books and baseball, but I fear this sophisticated discourse is becoming rare in “our” time of cable
television which has done much to dry up serious dialogue.