Big Two-Hearted River

Examine the symbols in “Big Two-Hearted River” (e.g., the burned town of Seney, the grasshoppers, the river, etc.). How do they contribute to the story’s meaning?

Why do you think the narrative recounts all the minute details of Nick setting up camp? Consider the words of the narration when he is finished, “He had made his camp. He was settled. Nothing could touch him. It was a good place to camp. He was there, in the good place. He was in his home where he had made it” (Paragraph 26). What might he fear that could touch him and why can’t it now? Why is this a “good place”? Why is it “home”?

As he makes coffee, Nick reminisces about his old friend Hopkins with whom he took a similar fishing trip on the Black River. Nick recalls how Hopkins received a telegram telling him that his oil well had come in and that he was rich. The narrator states that, “They never saw Hopkins again” (Paragraph 36). In the next paragraph, Nick drinks “the coffee according to Hopkins” and it is bitter (Paragraph 37), which Nick thinks is a good ending for the story. How does this story align with Hemingway’s “iceberg theory”? How does leaving out key details (such as what happened to Hopkins) increase the story’s impact?

What do fish and fishing represent in the narrative? At one point the text says, “Nick’s heart tightened as the trout moved. He felt all the old feeling” (Paragraph 5). What “old feeling” is being stirred here, why has it been dormant, and why is the fish what brings it back to life?

When Nick catches the big fish that gets away, the narrator tells us that the “thrill had been too much. He felt, vaguely, a little sick, as though it would be better to sit down” (Paragraph 70). What aspects of Nick’s character or unspoken backstory might explain this strong reaction?

Examine how the landscape changes between where the train dropped Nick off and his campsite. How might these changes reflect Nick’s inner struggle? How have they affected him?

Rather than use a synonym, Hemingway repeats many words (like “good,” “burned,” and “heavy”) in the narrative. What effect does this have on the reader? Why do you think Hemingway chose to do this?

Nick Adams is a character in many Hemingway stories, each of which depicts events from Hemingway’s life. Read some other Nick Adams stories, such as “Indian Camp” or “The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife” and consider how what aspects of this character remain constant between stories and how the character changes across them.