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The End of Something

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Submitted By iva1991
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The End of
Something
How does Ernest Hemingway express the emotions state in the story through the action and the setting?
Hortons Bay used to be a prosperous lumber town, but nothing was left from it anymore. The title refers to the end of an old-fashioned way of living, and bringing of a new modern life. In the 19th century mills were an important part of production and many American towns were built around mills or factories. But in the beginning of 20th century such remote mills were closed, and people need to find new ways of making a living.
Also the title refers to the end of a love story between Nick and Marjorie. Nothing is clearly said about the past of the couple, but Hemingway technique of objective correlations leaves space to the reader to guess the story. It looks like Nick and Marjorie have been together for a long time, since they recall their house in this old town which no more exists. Also there is intimacy and routines between them, which points to what once could have been an important and solid relationship. Nick and Marjorie have gone for fishing; Marjorie loves fishing with Nick, while nothing similar is noted about Nick. The author is reserved, he describes the conversation between the couple, but he doesn’t add anything which can explain their feelings or their thoughts. This task is left entirely to the reader. The settings that Hemingway uses provide the reader with a vivid imaginary of the scenes. Contrary to the emotions of the characters, the fishing moment is described in details. Marjorie is delusional in thinking that the fishes are feeding and that they will soon be captures. However, Nick tries to explain to her that the fishes are not interested into striking. The whole fishing process can be interpreted as a long metaphor, where Nick is the fish who is not ready to make a commitment, and Marjorie is hoping that he will.
In the story, we can see since the beginning that Marjorie has a positive attitude and she’s happy. Nick on the other side doesn’t talk much, and it is implied that something is in his mind. After Marjorie insists on him telling what is wrong, he finally confesses that nothing is fun for him anymore, not even love. No arguing, no fights, no crying….Marjorie just leaves without saying goodbye. Hemingway manages to grasp our emotions and we feel Marjorie’s pain even though no words are used to describe it. He masterly uses the Aisberg’s theory; tells us only a small fraction of the story and leaves it to our intuition to guess and feel the rest.

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