Cristina Parra Quijada

Anglo-American Modernist Fiction

Ernest Hemingway
Big Two-Hearted River II

ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1899-1961)

1. Biography
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American author and journalist.

Strong influence on 20thC fiction.
Life of adventure.
Works between mid-1920s and mid-1950s.
Nobel Prize of Literature in 1954.
7 novels, 6 short story collections, 2 non-fiction works.
Lost Generation (Gertrude Stain, James Joyce, Ezra Pound).
World War I & World War II.
4 wives: Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gellhorn, Mary Welsh.

2. Big Two-Hearted River Part II

2.1. Summary
Hemingway relates in detail Nicks preparation for fishing before the wades into the river. He
successfully catches two trout and begins to gather sufficient courage so that in the days ahead,
he can easily fish across the river, in the dark swamp, a symbol of Nicks fears ending with a
sense of hope.

2.2. Analysis
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Nick is trying to enjoy himself being happy to be alive.

Fraternal battle = ritual dance between the fish and Nick= they became one = two hearts of
the river.
The river is the central element.
Nick as a survivor.

3. Themes
3.1. General: love, war, wilderness, loss.
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Nature: a place for rebirth, therapy, moment of transcendence by natural landscapes

and wholesome surroundings.
Masculinity: killing animals is a test of masculinity.
Death: nihilism. Resistance to death is futile.
Fatalistic heroism: death is certain to come. Resisting death is futile.
Disillusionment: Nicks experiences during World War I.
Animals as symbols : grasshopper and the trout

3.2. In Big Two-Hearted River

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War: World War I. Nicks experiences.

Nature: as a source of refuge and rebirth, as good and civilization as bad.

4. Metaphors
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Up/down movements: whenever Nick stands and climbs, his spirits are likewise rising.
If he sits or descends, he is feeling badly about himself.
Good: biblical creation story to demonstrate how Nick creates his own paradise on
Earth.
River: renewal for Nick Adams like Hemingway found escape from his suffering.

5. Symbols
5.1. Iceberg Theory (theory of omission)
The hard facts float above water while the supporting structure, including the
symbolism, operates out of sight.
5.2. Tangible objects:
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The burned town = shock from his war experience.

Burning and heat = his memory of war.
River = time and eternity, healing and the natural cycle of life and death.
Christian symbolism of the fish.
Bird = happy days, peace and calmly.
Camping = safety.

6. Czanne
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Hemingway established a representation of form, space and light.

Hemingways landscaped are vague and do not represent any specific place.

7. Bibliography
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/ernest-hemingway/reflections-onernest-hemingway/629/
http://salempress.com/Store/samples/critical_insights/hemingway_reputation.htm