Big Two-Hearted River: Symbolisms in Ernest Hemingway's Novel - Assignment Example

The second symbolism was when he caught a grasshopper that was blackened by the same fire which had engulfed the town of Seney but somehow managed to survive. This insect had soot all over it but is otherwise alright.

He had urged the ash-covered grasshopper to “go on, hopper . . . fly away somewhere” which is also perhaps a subconscious reminder to himself to be happy again after witnessing the horrors of the First World War. Asking the grasshopper to fly away somewhere is a command to himself to somehow recover his mental sanity and go on with his life instead of wallowing in self-pity and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The third symbolism is the very fishing trip that Nick Adams took; the purpose of this trip is not merely to catch fish but a way for him to restore his spirit and recuperate his body after witnessing the war first-hand and try forgetting (Benson, 1990, p. 24). This trip is an attempt by him to get back what he lost in terms of innocence and to escape “the need for thinking, the need to write. . .” Going back to Nature on this trip is a restorative process for him in many ways and Nature represented by the forest and river also represents the ingredients for the sustenance of Life.