"The Big Two-Hearted River" Questions

1.     The barren landscape, lack of people, and remembrance of fallen partners are all examples of how this story could relate to WWI. The man in the story has PTSD from the war. This is apparent in the negative way he views his surroundings, such as the black and burnt landscape he discovers when he returns home. It reminds him of the bombed landscape he was attempting to get away from. This area, which used to be full of vegetation and life is now charred and full of ruin- just like the soldier is after going to war and coming back. The lack of other characters in this story is reminiscent of the loneliness soldiers feel when returning to war, because no one else understands what he went through. He feels he cannot reconnect this location, or the people there, with home because it is too similar to what he left behind.

2.     In my opinion, reading “The Big Two-Hearted River” before “The Sun Also Rises” would be a good idea because they have similar themes and characters. Much like “the Sun Also Rises”, “the Big Two-Hearted River” has a main character that has returned from war with PTSD. Also, both are written using the “iceberg theory”. This theory is that the author should describe one thing (Nice Adams fishing, Jake being an aficionado of bull fighting) when an entirely different thing occurs beneath (concentrating on fishing so he doesn’t have to think about anything else, Jake being into a masculine sport to make up for his own castration).

3.     Hemingway shows the theme in “Big Two-Hearted River” by paralleling and contrasting Nick Adams experience in World War I with his return to home. When he left the war, he was in a place that was burned and charred, and now, his home is too. This represents Nick because he is emotionally destroyed, just like his hometown, by the PTSD he is struggling with. Seeing the trout in its’ rightful place, the river, makes Nick want to fit in, and the river represents his journey to finding himself again.

4.     The first section focuses on Nick’s homecoming, and more intimately, how veterans returning from war feel that their homes have been metaphorically (or physically in this case) destroyed. They can no longer associate their past abodes with the safe and carefree place they left, and the fact that no one in their community really understands what they’ve been through makes them feel as though they might as well be alone. This creates a sad and desolate tone since Nick feels as though he is still in the war. The second section, however, creates a more positive tone. Nick sees the trout in their natural habitat, and feels envious. The river represents the journey he will need to take to recover the feeling belonging, and the grasshoppers represent the reformed person he will come out as on the other side, because they too have found

5.     The combination of Hemmingway’s simplistic diction, short sentences, and varied syntax made “The Big Two-Hearted River” very simple to read and comprehend. One thing I noticed while reading this story was that it was much easier to focus on the images that writing invoked because the writing was very straightforward. It seemed Hemmingway was going for the illusion that you are bobbing to the rhythm of the river mentioned in the story because it was very melodious and resembled a calm flow.