ipl-logo

Big Two Hearted River Analysis

1133 Words5 Pages

Big Two-Hearted River In the short story Big Two-Hearted River written by Ernest Hemingway a man named Nick attempts regain a positive mental state by isolating himself from the destructive aftermath of WWI by connecting with nature. Mark Cirino author of "Nick's Psychology of Mental Control," describes, "Mental control, a slippery concept in the philosophy of mind, describes when people “suppress a thought, concentrate on a sensation, inhibit an emotion, maintain a mood, stir up a desire, squelch a craving, or otherwise exert influence on their own mental states” (Mark, 116). Nick leaves for a camping trip somewhere in the woods of North Michigan searching for a way to restore his mental well-being and put this horrific ordeal behind …show more content…

Perhaps, bonding with nature, being in isolation and living off the land, would bring a sense of peace to his otherwise crazy mental state he was in. His journey begins in a deserted area of northern Michigan, where from a hilltop he can see a lake. There is no town, just a charred over country, this was all that was left of a town called Seney. Nick is hoping to leave behind his past of desperation to find a new rich, colorful life. On the way to the river, after leaving he train, he stops at a bridge to watch the trout in the stream below. The trout in the stream symbolize life and give Nick the hope that there is a chance for healing. As he is gazing at the fish, a bird called kingfisher, with brightly-colored feathers, dips into the water to grab a fish. Light hearted and free, the bird helps to set free the unpleasant thoughts of his past. Leaving the burnt and charred ashes of what use to be the town, made Nick happy. From here, Nick knows that the river is only a mile or so further upstream. He takes off his backpack and sleeps almost until sunset. After awakening he smoothed the ground and

Show More
Related

  • The White Heron And Cathedral Literary Devices

    1124 Words  | 5 Pages

    Stories and poems utilize literary devices to deepen the meanings of their tales and keep the reader thinking. “The White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, and “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver exemplify masterful use of symbols in their stories. The symbols in these stories further expand the character’s narratives and drive a more meaningful message to the reader. “The White Heron” follows a young girl, Slyvia, who encounters a hunter searching for the coveted white heron. Being a girl with little companions besides her cow, she finds fancy with the hunter and you believe that she will hand over the innocent bird to the man.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Into The Wild, By Jon Krakauer

    492 Words  | 2 Pages

    From their he hitchhikes across the northwest, where he mostly lives on the streets and takes up a few jobs for little money.. On his journey he meets a few people who he grows close relationships with and maintains in contact with for the remainder of his short life. After two years pass of his freestyle traveling, McCandless gets the idea of pushing his mind and body to the extreme by living deep in the Alaskan wilderness, alone and with the little supplies he has. He prepares himself by researching edible plants as well as hunting. He then leaves South Dakota, the place that he has been working the past few months, to head up north.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Soldier's Home And Alfred Prufrock '

    323 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nick Adams from “Big Two-Hearted River,” Krebs from “Soldier 's Home,” and Alfred Prufrock all share the similarity in the sense that they are simply ordinary people who seem to be in a constant state of isolation, despite their many different and intricate personalities and circumstances. Nick Adams finds himself in the wilderness of Michigan completely alone. In fact, it is stated that, “There was no town, nothing but the rails and the burned-over country. The thirteen saloons that had lined the one street of Seney had not left a trace… Even the surface had been burned off the ground (Hemingway).”

    Read More

  • The River Runs Salt Runs Sweet Analysis

    278 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book The River Runs Salt, Runs Sweet depicts the time of the division of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian war. The book contains a number of stories that tell the readers about the life in Bosnia and the desire of people to survive. The historical landscape at the time covered in the memoir is characterized by the disintegration of Yugoslavia that was strengthened by the beginning of the intolerance among the races. Those factors influenced the lives of people and broke many of them.

    Read More

  • John Mandel's Station Eleven

    757 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his memory, it is a small, boring place enveloped by the darkness of death. (A woman died in the only lake on the island and her corpse disappeared.) As a result, he leaves as soon as he gets the opportunity. Mandel creates Arthur’s thoughts on leaving to reflect some people’s inner feelings in this busy world. The tedious daily life eliminates passions for pursuing futures.

    Read More

  • Blood On The River Analysis

    712 Words  | 3 Pages

    Did you ever wanted to sail to the new world to get gold and other treasure’s. In 1607 John Smith (Captain Smith) brought some colonist with him to build the new world. .

    Read More

  • Poem Analysis: The Leaving By Brigit Pegeen Kelly

    807 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the poem, the speaker lived on an orchard farm where work ethic had been developed and strengthened. The speaker has developed a strong work ethic that drives her to stay up all night picking peaches. This strong work ethic encourages the girl to complete her responsibilities. “and the pond was—I could see as I laid the last peach in the water—full of fish and eyes.” The fish in the pond represent how the unseen events can rupture a person’s success within time with people challenging and downplaying one’s hard work and success.

    Read More

  • Ernest Hemingway's Big Two-Hearted River

    153 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the story, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, it is an examination of the tormented personality of the prototypical modern man who is by all accounts overeducated, smooth, demented, and truly stilted. Prufrock, is all in all tending to a potential partner, with whom he might need to "constrain the minute to its emergency" by somehow satisfying their relationship. Big Two-Hearted River" is discussing a respectable man doing whatever it takes not to lose control over his emotions, sentiments that he can't normally explain. Hemingway takes Nick through various periods of life, from youth to adulthood, and in "Big Two-Hearted River" Nick is a young man who has as not long ago went back to Michigan for a calculating expedition resulting to

    Read More

  • Examples Of Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

    1619 Words  | 7 Pages

    As Jack’s moral character deteriorates, it brings his savagery to the surface, allowing the remnants of civilization to be forgotten. In the beginning of the novel, a group of young boys find themselves alone, without any adults, on an island after

    Read More

  • The Bass The River, And Sheila Mant

    472 Words  | 2 Pages

    What seemed to be the biggest bass in the river, snagged on the line. There is no way the boy could let Sheila know of this. The rest of the night, the narrator maneuvers the boat perfectly and somehow manages to keep the fish on the line, without Sheila having any knowledge. They finally reach their destination and the boy is faced with a crippling decision. The boy has to either cut the line, letting the fish go, or risk having Sheila lose all interest in him by reeling in the fish.

    Read More

  • At The River I Stand Analysis

    510 Words  | 3 Pages

    The film At the River I Stand was a very interesting film that went back to the civil rights movement and told the dream that Martin Luther King had and how his dream has come a long way. This film took place in 1968 in Memphis, TN. It focused on how African Americans were excluded out and were paid low wages and worked in poor working conditions. Not only did they go on strike to gain equality, but they also wanted to stand up for what’s right. Being though Martin Luther King was assassinated during this film, African Americans started more riots all over the country to fight for justice.

    Read More

  • David In Walking Out

    533 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The cabin now seemed to be the center of the boy's life. It seemed to stand halfway between this snowbound creek valley and the train station in Chicago. It would be his cabin soon” In the story “Walking Out” David, the main character, goes through a life changing from the start of the movie. In the beginning, he was quiet, jumpy, and seemed to be bored of camping and didn't really want to go, while at the end, he was calm, more composed, and had destined to survive this trip and own the cabin.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: 'To Build A Fire'

    674 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because he is not prepared, McCandless dies in a bus he finds. Chris had every intention of coming back to civilization, but sadly eats something poisonous and is unable to get it out of his system. Prior to eating the poisonous food, Chris tries to cross the river that he had easily traveled through in the spring. Since it is now winter, he is unable to do so and is forced to retreat back to the bus. Though the book focuses on McCandless, it tells brief stories of other men who have gone into nature and passed away as well.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Sacrifice In The Ocean At The End Of The Lane By Neil Gaiman

    1057 Words  | 5 Pages

    The narrator in The Ocean at The End of The Lane, a young male who loved life, always seen immersing himself into book to further his knowledge and greaten his character, sacrificed himself for the better of the commonwealth. When met with the choice of life or death, the narrator chooses death due to guilt for what he has made happen, sacrificing himself to the vicious hunger birds so the world can live on promptly. The thriving decision the narrator made when thinking of the world and hunger birds: “ The hunger birds would-no, they were- ripping the world away, tearing it into nothing. Soon enough there would be no world. My mother, my father my sister, my house... - because of me, all things would be gone, and there would be nothing in their place… I did not want to die at all understand that.

    Read More

  • Louis Sachar Holes

    1205 Words  | 5 Pages

    This book uses the qualities of adventure fiction to create a great plot. A few qualities used are the outdoor, far away setting, travel, and danger (Hintz and Tribunella 195). The main setting of the story, Camp Green Lake, is in a Texan desert, far away from Stanley's home. Stanley travels far away from camp on a dangerous journey to God's Thumb in order to help Zero. This journey to and on the mountain is a major driving factor of the plot for the second half of the book.

    Read More

More about Big Two Hearted River Analysis

Open Document