"Big, Two-Hearted River" begins with a train dropping off Nick Adams near the
wilderness of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. What follows is a straightforward
narrative of one of his days camping alone near the river. Nick is most intrigued by the
river, which he uses to provide food for himself and much more: he finds healing through
the river.
Much like Hemingway himself, Nick Adams finds himself continually haunted
with frightening flashbacks to his past suffering and grief. As he alludes to in other
stories, Nick turns to fishing (especially fishing with grasshoppers) to release his mind
from the terrible pressure of his life. As he makes coffee, for instance, he is reminded of
his old fishing buddy and oil tycoon, Hopkins, who Hemingway suggests took his own
life a few months before, after receiving a disturbing telegram, perhaps about his lover.
Other disturbing flashbacks in Big, Two-Hearted River, include a tragic execution scene
where the man waiting to be hung loses control of his bladder.
English: Nick Adams' death certificate.
English: State of Michigan historic marker for the...
The Two Hearted River/Where the river and Lake Sup...This is bad form,
Hemingway suggests, since the man does not possess the author's famous "grace under
pressure" ideal.
Throughout Big, Two-Hearted River, as Nick constructs his tent, fishes in the
nearby river and cooks his catch, Hemingway describes his mood in two ways--up and
down. If he stands up or climbs up a hill (on his way to build his tent, for example), he is
in good spirits; but if he sits down (as he thinks about Hopkins, his friend who committed
suicide, for instance) or descends, his mood is falling. Thus, Nick's mood follows his
actions--form follows content.
Nick seems to deliberate on awful circumstances in the past; Hopkins suicide, and
the terrible execution scene. Nick's friend, Hopkins, suicide definitely had an effect on
the outcome of...