Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- How do we know from the story that Nick’s trauma comes from his experiences in World War I (barring what Hemingway himself says about it)?
- If the story is really about the war and Nick’s trauma, why choose camping and fishing as the activities (ignoring the biographical aspect for a moment)? What do they allow the story to do?
- In “The Art of the Short Story,” Hemingway famously said of “Big Two-Hearted River” that “there were many Indians in the story, just as the war was in the story, and none of the Indians nor the war appeared.” Is Hemingway being tongue-in-cheek here, or is he serious?
- In what ways does “Big Two-Hearted River” foreshadow later Hemingway works, in terms of subject matter and writing style?
- Why is the story divided into two parts?