The Nick Adams Stories by Hemingway - Research Paper Example

How does Earnest Hemingway use elements such as light and dark to foreshadow specific plot in his shortstory “The Nick Adams Stories”? The compilation of Earnest Hemingway’s short stories “The Nick Adams Stories” presents an account of the progression and the growth of the male main protagonist throughout the texts. His life as a young boy and the events he encounter during his life is captured in different series presented in the form of “The Nick Adams Stories”. Hemingway gives the name Nick Adams to his fictional character which exhibits the autobiographical implications in the text. Just like the author the character is the son of a doctor who relishes hunting and fishing. The character is romantically involved with a young girl Marjorie. He serves as a soldier and suffers from a knee wound just like Hemingway (“Character Analysis Nick Adams”). So in short Hemingway uses this fictional character Nick Adams to reiterate his life as a child and young man. He spent his youth serving in army. He has made this a part of his short stories. This autobiographical representation of events gives an insight into his mind that brings out the memories of his life and one can interpret the implications that he is trying to show in his text. Hemingway uses the elements of light and dark in his short stories to work as an important force that brings out the concerns in the text and plays an essential role in the narrative structure of the text. Arthur Miller in “Death of a Salesman” makes use of light to take the readers into the insight of the characters often revealing the important events or for foreshadowing. Miller often uses light to divide the stage for two different actions taking place at the same time. Similarly, Hemingway uses light in his texts but mainly for a different purpose. He makes use of the light as a technique of foreshadowing to develop interest and to highlight the prevailing or underlying themes. Hemingway in his short stories often uses light and darkness to bring out the thematic concerns of the text. His short stories are full of examples where he uses light and dark to foreshadow or to highlight the themes or motifs in the text. “The Indian Camp” presents an account of a young Nick who travels with his father on boat to an Indian Camp where Dr. Adams performs a Caesarean to deliver a baby boy. The use of light and dark in this story symbolizes the racial bias and foreshadows the personal growth of the protagonist. The darkness that prevails during the journey symbolizes Nick’s own lack of awareness. It foreshadows the bleak and grim reality of life that he is about to encounter when he will reach the camp. The Indians who carry the lantern and give light to the doctor and his son are unaware of the fact that they are seeking help from the callous white men. Hemingway by presenting the white and dark colored men tries to convey the suppression and subjugation of dark men by whites. The lantern and the blowing off the lantern by white men foreshadow the suicide of the Indian American husband. As the wife is in labor for two days and the husband has been listening to her screams, he has become vulnerable. It is vivid that he listens to the indifferent and callous remarks of the doctor about the wife who is in labor. The American Indian husband shortly after listening to his remarks commits suicide. This can be taken back to the blowing off of the lantern by the doctor who has played an important role in the suicide of the American Indian husband. Uncle George’s cigar spreads light in dark. It symbolizes the decadent world of white men where the dark skinned men are exploited by the white men. As light spreads through the darkness it can be said that it foreshadows the revelation of the biological father of the baby boy. The text indirectly suggests that George is the father of the child. So a white man indulges in a sexual relationship with a black woman showing that the white men are responsible for exploiting the blacks for their own benefit. He can even be considered responsible for the husband’s death who commits suicide out of shame. The light of the new day symbolizes the epiphany that Nick has reached. The chance to witness the reality so closely and to resolve not to succumb to the fear of death to an extent that he denies the natural phenomenon of death shows that Nick has come out as a grown man in one night. The fact that he was in his father’s arms on his way to the camp and when he returned he sat far from his father shows that he has accepted the fact that now it is time for him to grow up and instead of seeking protection from his father he is on his own to explore the world. This again can be taken as foreshadow. The light foreshadows his later expeditions that will fill him with the sense of responsibility and will teach him new lessons of life. So Hemingway uses light and dark not only to foreshadow but also to show the growth of Nick and the racial bigotry (Light and Dark Symbolism in Hemingway’s Indian Camp”). “The End of Something” is also a vivid representation of the use of light where he foreshadows the breakup. Nick now a grown man is romantically involved with a girl Marjorie. On their way to their destination Marjorie points out the ruins and the bleakness of the Horton Bay. The metaphorical representation of darkness in the form of the ruins of Horton Bay foreshadows the end of relation between Nick and Marjorie. The story reaches its climax when Nick puts forth his decision to part his ways from Marjorie. In this story Hemingway makes use of darkness to foreshadow the break up. The ruins show the stalemate and rotten relation that has developed between them and that needs to be finished. Earnest Hemingway’s style is famous for his uniqueness. He does not give long descriptions of geography and the psyche of the characters and avoids giving direct statements and does not describe the emotions of his characters (Mammadov 4). Even in his short stories he adopts and simple style of narration and does not use the complex structure of the sentences. He writes short sentences and the compound sentences are often joined by “and”. He often uses the same sentences to repeat the same thought again and again. For instance when Bugs tells Nick about Ad’s wife in “The Battler” he describes her by saying “Looked enough like him to be twins” (Hemingway 9). He then repeats the same sentence many times. So Hemingway often repeats the same sentences instead of changing it. Hemingway‘s short stories are not filled with excessive vibrant imagery or colorful locations. The reason being him the product of lost generation avoids the use of vibrant colors to maintain the melancholic tone of the text. There is no significant colorful imagery in any of the short stories. The stories are filled with accounts where the characters find themselves in miserable conditions but with the thin ray of hope they find a way to bring themselves out of the pit. Another theme that is prevalent in his short stories is the absurdity of life. Absurdism is the belief that to search for meaning in life is totally futile and fate shapes the destiny of man (“Existentialism and Absurdism”). The sense of futility in life and the fate that matters can be clearly seen in “The Indian Camp” and “The Killers” where despite being having the chance to escape from the situations the characters readily succumb to the death without making an effort to change their fate. The husband in the camp commits suicide without making an effort to live with what fate has offered him. The apparent reason shown for his suicide is the condition of his wife in labor however it is revealed in a concealed manner that the reason of his suicide is his wife’s sexual infidelity. So here the characters become slave to the fate and do not try hard to change the course of the action. The husband without testing the validity of the truth decides to end his life. This shows that characters are the representation of the idea of Absurdism. The second example can be taken from “The Killers” where Nick rushes to Ole’s house to warn him about Al and Max. To his utter disappointment Nick finds out that Ole is satisfied and composed and shows no fear over the fact that his life is in danger. He in a composed manner continues to lie in his bed. This shows that life has to offer what fate has decided and the mere will of man will not alter that. So Hemingway throughout the stories uses different techniques to narrate the changes in Nick’s life. The stories present an account of the character’s life. Hemingway often uses light and dark to foreshadow the important upcoming events in Nick’s life. This technique helps the readers to set the mood and the engaging tone enables them to sense the sinister mood of the text. Hemingway is famous for his unique style of writing and adopts the same uniqueness in his text that presents the vivid narration of the events. References "Symbols and Symbolism - Light and Dark in Hemingways Indian Camp :: Ernest Hemingway, Indian Camp." Symbols and Symbolism - Light and Dark in Hemingways Indian Camp :: Ernest Hemingway, Indian Camp. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. . http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id+20282. "Hemingways Short Stories By Ernest Hemingway Character Analysis Nick Adams." Nick Adams. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. . http://www.cliffnotes.com/literature/h/hemingways-short-stories/character-analysis/nick-adms. Hemingway, Earnest. "The Battler." The Battler. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. Mammadov, Ruslan. "American Writer Ernest Hemingways Life Style and Its Influence to His Creative Activity." American Writer Ernest Hemingways Life Style and Its Influence to His Creative Activity. 2009. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. . "Existentialism and Absurdism." - Mr Reidys Notes. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. . Read More