Symbolism in Big Two-Hearted River Essays

Symbolism in Big Two-Hearted River Essays Symbolism in Big Two-Hearted River Essay Symbolism in Big Two-Hearted River Essay Essay Topic: The Heart Goes Last Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Symbolism in Big Two-Hearted River The story, Big Twos of these include symbolism, paradox, metaphors, onomatopoeia, irony, and imagery among others (Brooke and Carpenter 15). In this story, the writer makes use of the various literary elements to piece together a convincing image in the reader’s mind, one such element used extensively by the writer being symbolism. When Nick, the main character, comes home from the war, he expects to gain peace in his home. However, he finds the whole place burnt down and the previously old familiar surroundings inexistent. â€Å"There was no town, nothing but the rails and the burned-over country†, (Hemmingway 253). The state of Nick’s home symbolizes the state of despair that is experienced by most war veterans when they return home after the war. Their emotional state is ruined and unstable showing a similarity to the demolished state of the place. The place is deserted when Nick gets home and throughout the story, he remains on his own. This can also be a symbolic sign to portray the feelings that soldiers have when coming back from war. Most soldiers go through painful ordeals, and it is impossible for any other person to relate to what they feel. Hence, the lonely picture shows their solitary emotions. Nick’s actions are also symbolic. Nick carries a large hiker’s bag on his back and purposely walks away from the road into the woods. He knows what he wants at this point and knows where he is headed. Even when he is tired, he presses on past a pine island towards a certain spot on the riverbank. â€Å"His muscles ached, and the day was hot, but Nick felt happy. He felt he had left everything behind, the need for thinking, the need to write, other needs. It was all back of him,† (Hemmingway 254). Symbolism is used here to represent freedom. The war is over, and there are no boundaries as to where he can or cannot go. There are no rules dictating the food that he can carry and which he cannot. He is also free to decide where to pitch his tent. This part of the story symbolizes the freedom soldiers experience once they get out of the war-torn areas where their every move is dictated. At the beginning, when Nick gets to his home area and goes to the river on the log bridge, he watches the big trout racing upstream. Nick picks up his backpack, walks up the road and turns heading towards the woods. He only takes short rests and even when he is tired, he continues walking. â€Å"He was tired and very hot, walking across the uneven, shade-less pine plain. At any time, he knew he could strike the river by turning off to his left† (Hemmingway 255). Once he arrives at the riverbed, he observes that the trout would race upstream and jump to the surface to catch insects, but after some time, they all settle and easily feed from downstream as the insects settle on the surface (Hemmingway 256). This is symbolic to Nick’s situation. Initially, he was troubled and needed peace of mind, which led to him to go into the woods and to the riverbed just as the trout have to race up the river and jump out to catch the insects. The situation where the trout later calm do wn downstream, and do not have to jump out of the water to catch insects is used to symbolize Nick’s situation. He finally begins to get the peace of mind that he was after; as he had reached the riverbank, he yearned for and embraced his freedom. However, Nick realizes that not all is lost, as the pine trees and the river still exist. Nature is often used for healing processes as a means to attain calm and peace from man-initiated troubles such as wars. Thus, Hemmingway uses nature in his plot to signify that Nick finds the peace he is looking for in the woods, regardless of the derelict state of the town. When he gets to the pool, looking at the trout moving up against the current in the stream gives Nick a renewed feeling. He gets an illusion of the peace he is in search of, the feeling that he once had before the war. This is explained in the quote â€Å"Nick’s heart tightened as the trout moved. He felt all the old feeling† (Hemmingway 253). In the story, Nick noticed that the grasshoppers were sooty black, in contrast to the grasshoppers that he remembered from his childhood. Those from his childhood were either black and yellow in color or black and red. Initially he did not pay attention, but once his mind settled down, he realized that they were black because of the soot from the fire that burnt down the town. The fire had occurred the previous year, but the grasshoppers were still sooty black. This is a form of symbolism since, wondering how long the effects of the past destruction would last on the grasshoppers could be alluded to wondering how long the effects of the war that Nick had just come from would last on him. â€Å"He realized that the fire must have come the year before, but the grasshoppers were all black now. He wondered how long they would stay that way†, (Hemmingway 254). The second part of the story talks about renewal and Nick finding the peace he sought. By being able to pitch his own tent and make his own fishing rod, Nick felt more like the man he should be. There were no rules to govern him or anyone to dictate to him what he was expected to do. This symbolizes a new beginning for him, and a chance to be his own man. â€Å"Nick felt awkward and professionally happy with all his equipment hanging from him†, (Hemmingway 260). In this part, he is enjoying himself, savoring the river’s feeling and fishing. While he throws in the hooks for the second catch after throwing the smaller fish back into the water, there is a great resistance as he hooks a big trout that is not willing to lose the battle. He struggles with it until he reels it. In the shallow waters near the swampy shores, he reels in yet another big trout. The two trout put up quite a fight before they are eventually captured. This struggle is a symbol of the struggle that Nick had gone through in his life. This is further emphasized in that the trout are both male. He does not fish for the small trout as by now he has recognized that bigger risks bring with them greater rewards. â€Å"Nick fought him against the current, letting him thump in the water against the spring of the rod. He shifted the rod to his left hand, worked the trout upstream, holding his weight, fighting on the rod, and then let him down into the net† (Hemmingway 263). In both parts of the story, the writer makes great use of symbolism. The story has a flow and compels the reader to think deeper into the meanings of the words. This makes it an interesting and educative read. Literary elements give a story more meaning as it is subject to various interpretations based on the person reading it. This makes it suitable for a diverse crowd. Hemingway masters the art making him one of the recognizable writers of his time. Work Cited Brooke, Stopford A, and George R. Carpenter. English Literature. New York: The Macmillan Co, 2000. Print. Hemingway, Ernest. The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. Simon Schuster, 1938. Print.