On Hemingway and Nature

Ernest Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River” is a story that definitely had me empathizing with the main character. A major theme I found in this short story was the tranquility of nature. Reading this story really made me realize how much I miss camping, hiking, and being in the wilderness. I know that when I’m surrounded by nature alone, I feel better about what ever has been bothering me lately and from what is presented in the story I can tell that Nick feels this same way. Even though his dead friend Hopkins is brought up and is obviously an issue that Nick reflects on, Hemingway repeatedly shows that Nick seems to be mostly in good spirits while on his trip:

"Nick was happy as he crawled inside the tent. He had not been unhappy all day. This was different though. Now things were done. There had been this to do. Now it was done. It had been a hard trip. He was very tired. That was done. He had made his camp. He was settled. Nothing could touch him." (Hemingway, p. 984)

There was plenty of symbolism present in the story, an example of this would be Nick's heavy pack which could definitely be seen as a representation of the emotional baggage he is carrying with him. Considering this symbol, I found it interesting that since much of what Nick is carrying in his pack is food, the longer he stays on his trip the less his pack will weigh. Nature is truly the perfect escape and this is because while surrounded by it, it simply makes sense, there are cycles that can clearly be seen everywhere. I think that a major focus of Hemingway's with this story is that this simplicity of nature can alleviate the burdens that weigh down the soul.