Nature is an aspect of life that is conflicting. At times, its complexity serves to confuse those who try to understand its mysterious ways while at other times, its simplicity adds an element of solidarity to one’s life that is both calming and relaxing. Nature, similar to life, endures obstacles and dark times, while also shining bright in times of happiness. Nature surrounds us all and can both represent the trials and tribulations of life, but also serve as an escape from the real world. Although the healing power of nature often goes unnoticed, in Ernst Hemingway’s In Our Time, the element of nature serves to heal the wounds of emotional turmoil and provide an escape to clear one’s mind. In the short story titled, “The Doctor and the …show more content…
Nick starts the book as a young boy, but the reader is able to watch him grow as the stories progress. Nick’s favorite pastime to partake in includes fishing at the lake. Surprisingly, Nick even breaks up with his girlfriend, Marjorie, at a lake in the short story titled “The End of Something.” Like his father, it was easy to identify that Nick is not completely comfortable with his emotions. Marjorie sensed that something was wrong when they went fishing together and Nick wasn’t hungry and “they ate without talking” and “sat on the blanket without touching each other” (34). Nick was emotionally wounded when realizing at the lake that his love with Marjorie wasn’t “fun anymore” and when Marjorie left in the boat, Nick laid at the lake for a “long time” and processing his decision. Ironically, it was only a few days after he ended things with Marjorie that he soon questioned his decision and once again, looked to nature to comprehend and better understand his true thoughts along with fill his vulnerable …show more content…
This example solidifies the fact that the lake and nature as a whole is Nick’s way of escaping the world and being one with his emotions which is honestly quite hard for a male, especially during the time period of this book during the 1920’s when men were looked at to be dominant and nearly emotionless. When Bill addresses Nick’s situation with Marjorie, Hemingway exposes Nick’s vulnerability by his responses to Bill. After each opinion that Bill spoke to Nick, Nick “said nothing” or “nodded” or “sat quiet” (46). These actions by Nick were very repetitive throughout this conversation and displays the emotional wound that Nick was facing by being wrapped in his own thoughts about Marjorie. Just as the “liquor had all died out of him and left him alone,” so had Marjorie. “He might never see her again. It was all gone, finished” (47). Nick’s love of nature throughout the compilation of short stories adds an abundant amount of meaning to nature and its place in
In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, there are many themes, symbols, and motifs that are found throughout the novel. For my journal response, I have chosen to discuss nature as a prevalent symbol in the book. The main character, Montag, lives in a society where technology is overwhelmingly popular, and nature is regarded as an unpredictable variable that should be avoided. Technology is used to repress the citizens, but the oppression is disguised as entertainment, like the TV parlour. On the opposite end of the spectrum, nature is viewed as boring and dull, but it is a way to escape the brainwashing that technology brings. People who enjoy nature are deemed insane and are forced to go into therapy. Clarisse says “My psychiatrist wants to know why I go out and hike around in the forests and watch the birds and collect butterflies,” (Bradbury 23) which shows she is a threat to the control that the government has put upon the people by enjoying nature.
The viewpoint of the world that the narrator has, completely alters as certain events take place throughout the story. His outlook on nature transforms into a wholly different standpoint as the story progresses. As his tale begins, the narrator sees himself as a tough guy or “bad character”. He believes he is invincible. There is nobody as cool as he is or as dangerous as him and his friends are. With his followers, the narrator goes to Greasy Lake, he takes in the nature that surrounds him. He thinks of himself to be a kid who knows everything. To him, the lake represents a night of misbehavior and partying. The unhealthy, treacherous atmosphere of Greasy Lake is alluring, fun, and exciting to someone as threatening as he is. “We went up to the lake because everyone went there, because we wanted to snuff the rich sent of possibility on the breeze, watch a girl take off her clothes and plunge into the festering murk, drink beer, smoke pot, howl at the stars, savor the incongruous full-throated roar of rock and roll against the primeval susurrus of frogs and crickets. This was nature.” This quote gives a clear idea of what the narrators perception of what not only nature is, but of what the world is. He lives to have fun. He is fearless and lives for the moment. All that life is to him is sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
I really liked the book because I can relate to how Nick can feel. The author’s writing style was really good for me because it makes the book feel like it goes by fast and I like books that feel like they go by fast. The characterization was really good it gave an explanation of who the characters are and how they act. The theme of the book doesn’t camouflage your feelings. The conflict is between Nick and his feelings because ever since his parent’s divorce he doesn’t know how to feel to situations that happen in the book. The beginning plot of the story is when the parents get a divorce. The middle plot of the story is when Nick’s appendix burst and Nick’s mom comes from Kentucky to check in on him, and later Nick’s parents announce that they’re getting back together. The ending plot is when Nick gets in a fight with Dean and Don twins that have bullying Nick and Coby for a while although Nick loses he scared Dean and Don away and he got his bike back that they stole from him. I would recommend this book to a friend. I would recommend this to a friend who can relate to
In nature, someone can hear the sounds of a creek flowing and birds chirping and insects buzzing; in civilization, someone can hear engines roaring, people chattering, and buildings being built. In nature, one feels happiness and contentment; in civilization, one feels guilt and misery and sorrow. These simplicities of nature are what appeals to William Cullen Bryant in the poem ‘Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood’. The poem tells the reader that nature is a happier place than civilization and that nature gives one the answers to their existence and problems of life that civilization created. Civilization is ugly and corrupt while nature is beauty and tranquility.
As much as generous and honest Nick Carraway is, he still needs a few important improvements in himself. Nick went to Yale, fought in world war one and moved to East of New York to work in finance. After moving to New York, Nick faces tough dilemmas throughout the story such as revealing secrets, and witnessing betrayal. His innocence and malevolence toward others was beyond his control. He did not have the ability or knowledge to know what he should have done in the spots he was set in. He seemed lost and having no control of what went on- almost trapped- but indeed, he had more control than he could have ever known. Because of the situations he has experienced and the people he has met, such as Gatsby, Tom, Jordan and Daisy, his point of view on the world changed dramatically which is very depressing. Trusting the others and caring for them greatly has put him in a disheartening gloomy position.
Nick enjoyed going out in public with Jordan since she was a famous athlete. Yet Nick finally realizes she is not in love with her due to her dishonesty. Jordan is egocentric of her reputation as seen in her cheating scandal when she used her superiority to display her win as a fait accompli, even though she evidently cheated. Thus, Jordan lies to get away from her problems and keep her reputation spotless. Fitzgerald juxtaposes Nick with Jordan, “She was incurably dishonest. She wasn’t able to endure being at a disadvantage and...in order to keep that cool smile, insolent smile turned to the world and yet satisfy the demands of her hard, jaunty body...Dishonesty in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply--I was casually sorry, and then I forgot...I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (Fitzgerald 58-59). Even if Nick is fastidious about Jordan and her imperfections, he is still fond of her due to her physical attributes. Nick was intrigued about her physical appearance, being with her due to her reputation, and hedonistically attracted towards her. On the other hand, Nick has evidently proven he has moral values such as honesty. Nick has been honest throughout the novel and evidently he has a sense of self-worth since he has never doubted himself for his opinions or his actions. Throughout the novel, Nick has evidently displayed personal integrity and a sense of right or wrong unlike the
Among the first indicators of Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is shown through his extreme misunderstanding of his father’s advice. When Nick’s father told him that “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had” (1) he most likely meant not all people have the same opportunities in life. However, Nick perverted his father’s meaning and understood it as “a sense of the fundamental decencies us parceled out unequally at birth” (2). Nick’s interpretation of his father’s advice provides insight into his conceited, somewhat supercilious attitude, as he believes that not all people are born with the same sense of manners and morality.
The speaker in “Five A.M.” looks to nature as a source of beauty during his early morning walk, and after clearing his mind and processing his thoughts along the journey, he begins his return home feeling as though he is ready to begin the “uphill curve” (ln. 14) in order to process his daily struggles. However, while the speaker in “Five Flights Up,” shares the same struggles as her fellow speaker, she does little to involve herself in nature other than to observe it from the safety of her place of residence. Although suffering as a result of her struggles, the speaker does little to want to help herself out of her situation, instead choosing to believe that she cannot hardly bare recovery or to lift the shroud of night that has fallen over her. Both speakers face a journey ahead of them whether it be “the uphill curve where a thicket spills with birds every spring” (ln. 14-15) or the five flights of stares ahead of them, yet it is in their attitude where these two individuals differ. Through the appreciation of his early morning surroundings, the speaker in “Five A.M.” finds solitude and self-fulfillment, whereas the speaker in “Five Flights Up” has still failed to realize her own role in that of her recovery from this dark time in her life and how nature can serve a beneficial role in relieving her of her
Ernest Hemingway uses the various events in Nick Adams life to expose the reader to the themes of youth, loss, and death throughout his novel In Our Time. Youth often plays its part in war, and since In Our Time writes very frequently about war; it is not a surprise that the theme of youth is seen in many of the stories. In “Indian Camp” the innocence of youth is shown in the last sentence of the story: “In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he would never die.” (19) When this sentence and the conversation Nick and his father have before they get on the boat are combined in thought it shows that because of Nicks age at the time that he does not yet understand the concept of death.
Reading the opening sentences, grand visions of my childhood danced through my head. The story took me back to happy times of summers spent alone with my grandfather in the mountains of West Virginia. Like Nick, the camping and fishing trips were a welcomed relief from the city life and school for me. Although we were in a different area of the country the wilderness seems to be the same. Like Nick I remembered being dropped off near the edge of the wilderness to hike in and go camping near the river. “The river just showed through the trees” (Hemingway 480). As with the main character the river always intrigued me as a child. It was many things such as the smell, the sound, and the being apart of nature that I liked. Most of all I really loved having the one on one time spent with my grandfather. Just as Hemmingway describes, we to would tromp through the mountains for what seemed like forever. We make the trek all in order to find that perfect spot to set up camp. I often felt as Nick did “His muscles ached and the day was hot but…felt happy” (Hemingway 468). When we came across that spot, a quote from the story says it best “He was there, in the good place” (Hemingway 471), and “The river was there” (Hemingway 467). A sense of happiness filled my body because I knew what was soon to come. We would set up the camp and get something to eat. I could feel Nick’s pain of being “very hungry” (Hemingway 470); this was one of the down sides of the trip. My grandfather would not stop just to eat we would have to find are site then we would take a break for a quick snack before setting up camp. First we would survey the site and plan the best placement for our things. Hemingway wrote “He pegged the sides out taut and drove the pegs deep” (470), this passage brought flash backs of my grandfather telling me how important it was to get the lines tight and drive the tent pegs deep into the ground.
Have you noticed that we feel a powerful desire to connect with nature during difficult times? Whether we are injured, depressed or sad our inclination towards nature increases. Patients in hospitals recover faster if they are in a room with a nice view. Why? Because nature is so pure and powerful that can restore our spirits and heal our bodies and minds. The beauty of nature has been praised in art, poetry, writings and films. Naturalists, poets and writers have documented the many benefits of spending time in nature. "Calypso Borealis" by Muir and "I wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by Wordsworth are two great pieces of literature where our hearts are filled with an indescribable emotion. John Muir and William Wordsworth express their relationship
The world in the story exists as two separate but connected places. The first that Nick encounters is the charred remains of the town of Seney, where there is “nothing but the rails and the burned-over country.” The second place is the “alive” pine plain. The river, interestingly, runs through both parts, showing how they are interconnected. The river is a means of natural connection, while the man-made railroad is another form of connecting one town to the next. By combining these two forms of connection, it could be said that every place is interconnected. Using only the river as the natural form, it connects all forms of life within the world to one another.
...eep my refuse away” (Pg. 177). This shows Nick’s sense of decency and friendship. He realizes that fast carousing life of the East Egg is a terrifying cover for moral emptiness from inside just like the valley of ashes. Before leaving to go back home he took care of all unfinished business. He ended his relationship with Jordan and walked away from Tom Buchanan who he only shared college experiences with. Nick needed to go back to a cleaner simpler time in life away from East Egg and the Great Gatsby. At last his greatest fear came true; he became all alone by himself. At the end he realized that he has been changed and won’t be able to go back to how he used to be. Even though his personality remains the same he is stronger from inside; not afraid of anything.
Ernest Hemingway uses the various events in Nick Adams life to expose the reader to the themes of youth, loss, and death throughout his novel In Our Time. Youth very often plays its part in war, and since In Our Time relates itself very frequently to war throughout; it is not a surprise that the theme of youthful innocence arises in many of the stories. In “Indian Camp” the youthful innocence is shown in the last sentence of the story: “In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he would never die.” (19) When this sentence and the conversation Nick and his father have before they get on the boat are combined in thought it shows that because of Nicks age at the time that he does not yet understand the concept of death.
Oak Park, Illinois greatly influenced the writing world on July 12,1899. For on that day Grace Hemingway, the wife of Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, gave forth to the writing world a baby boy by the name of Ernest Miller Hemingway (Young 82). He would, later in his life, compose the most powerful literary impact upon the new generation of American writers with his plain, factual, but evocative style (Morris 863). No one in America would ever influence the writing world like Hemingway.