In Our Time by Hemingway - Book Report/Review Example

In Our Time: Hemingway’s reaction towards Fear Introduction Hemingway’s attitude towards fear is significantly evident“In Our Time”, where the theme of fear with respect to death, unknown and violence is depicted among characters in different stages. Nick is one of the characters who are associated with fear in various occasions; a reader can appreciate the response of Nick to the harsh reality of fear in various roles he has played In Our Time. In his narration, Hemingway demonstrates that he admires individuals that face fear with courage and do not accept defeat in the light of fear; the great Villalta is one of the characters who face fear with enormous bravery and courage, and finally becomes “one” with fear. The question is, how should we survive in a world like this? And how should we cope with such fear? Burhans argues that the stories written by Hemingway in the book “In Our Time” are unified and balanced from “war to crime to bullfighting to crime to war”—these scenes are associated with fear; and he shows that individuals have to learn how to live in the world which is characterized by war, crime and bullfighting (15). When confronting disaster, Tetlow Wendolyn argues that Nick’s temporary relief is experienced by escaping to nature; in a number of occasions an escape is perceived to be far from a solution—this escape is depicted in “Big Two-Hearted River” and “Doctor and Doctor’s Wife”(11). On the other hand, Baker draws attention to a number of remarkable metaphors in “Big Two Hearted River”—the dark swamp and the active stream. If the dark swamp and the active stream represent the fear of unknown in front of Nick, though he does not go into swamp immediately that night, the story did mention that, “there were plenty of days coming when he could fish the swamp” (Hemingway, 156). That is to say, he will, sooner or later, face the fear instead of running away from it. Both of two critics show convincing evidence regarding their claims; and they show that Hemingway has different ways to cope with fear at different scenario; and, both of them could be right. So, why would Hemingway have such different attitude towards fear? And which one is his true and final reaction? There is rather no doubt that fear is the chief theme which is depicted in various stories that constitute the book written by Hemingway; it is on this ground that the fear of Hemingway is significant. However, none of the aforementioned scholars evaluate how the narrator confronts fear explicitly. Thus, what I am going to do in this essay is try to come out a rough speculation on how Hemingway react towards fear, and to examine which reaction is his final decision. I think Hemingway’s attitude rather changes over the course of the book, and his reactions are associated with three stages. The first stage is escape, which is shown in the beginning of the book as far as Nick is concerned. For example, in “Indian Camp”, the harsh reality of fear is notable with respect to death and suffering. Additionally, there is evidence of how the husband and doctor cope with other individual’s suffering. In fact, the Indian husband escapes from the fear by taking the most extreme reaction—he cuts his throat “from ear to ear” using a razor blade (Hemingway 18). The second scenario is ignoring; this is evident in unknown speaker in “On the Quai at Smyrna”, where a fear is characteristically ignored, and further developed to a mock. Just like Nick’s father says, “it is not important,” people attend to ignore the disaster after they are tired of escaping (Hemingway 16). The last stage is confronting; the attitude of confronting is portrayed in bullfighter Villalta and Nick in “Big Two Hearted River”. Hemingway demonstrates his final attitude of confronting fear through the priest’s mouth, “Be a man, my son”—he wants the readers to face the ultimate fear like a real man. The Attitude towards Fear Hemingway demonstrates the intent of individuals to escape fear with respect to the attitudes and behavioral reactions of Nick and other characters in various occasions. The Nick’s escape attitude with respect to fear is shown in a number of stories by Hemingway. For instance, while Chapter VI speaks about the physical injury that Nick has experienced, Nick Adam explains to Rinaldi that he is happy if he would be freed from the war; this scenario denotes the fear of Nick of facing constant pain in war. In other words, an escape of fear is given in this scenario given that Nick is happy to keep off from the violence and possible death. The theme of fear is also notable among other soldiers; for instance, in chapter vii a certain soldier prays that if he is protected from death he will respond to any matter that God presents to him. The soldier is not courageous to face the war; similarly, Nick is also afraid of facing the war. Additionally, Hemingway explains a criminal who loses control of himself after learning that he is facing an execution; this indicates that even a criminal is afraid of death and would attempt to escape or lose consciousness in the event that there is no way of escaping. Hemingway adds that a king who was caught up in a revolution thinks about being shot and evades to America. Hemingway indicates that any individual is likely to experience fear; however, individuals react differently to a given fear. For instance, although the criminal associates his life with crime, he does not face an execution with courage. On the other hand, after being caught up, the king thinks about being shot or evading to America as opposed to facing the consequence of the capture with courage and confidence. The concept created at this point indicates that men usually react to a harsh reality with fear, disillusionment, and, other moments, with drunkenness. There is no doubt that escaping is not a feasible and permanent solution, and it is why some characters in Hemingway’s story choose to ignore the disaster. The escape of Nick from war demonstrates a personal gain and does not lead to total solution of the war and suffering that is facing the community; in other words, a partial solution is realized by (soldier- Nick) escaping from the war. For instance, the escape from the war after an injury saw Nick avoid a possible death. However, Hemingway demonstrate the importance of war fighters in reducing the level of suffering given that war happens on a regularly basis among the civilians; he notes that “Symryna, Adrianople and cabinet sketches vulnerable civilians and animals are usually caught up in war and revolution” (Burhans 18). In this respect, the failure of the war-fighters to face the war with courage might result in significant suffering among the majority (civilians). The evidence of men facing war is also emphasized with respect to the bullfighting scenario. Hemingway shows that war, suffering and pain is common in the world and fighters should not be associated with fear because a nation has to fight a war to protect its citizen; otherwise, significant deaths and destructions would be experienced. As far as the bullfighting is concerned, Hemingway demonstrates that the first “bull wounded two bullfighters”; given that there were three bullfighters and six bulls, the uninjured has to fight the five remaining bulls after the first one is taken away for a killing. The situation demonstrates that a fighter should not give up under any circumstance. There is a need to develop an attitude of fighting to the end of a war; in this relation, Hemingway believe that life is associated with war and pain, and an attempt to escape may result in significant loss (the destruction and death of civilians) rather the death of a few individuals (the men in war). With respect to fear, Hemingway demonstrates the fear of men in war via the demonstration of various characters. Given that Hemingway believe life is associated with human and world conditions- suffering, pan and war- it is prudent to face war with courage; the attempt of illustrating behavior that does not support the spirit of fighting would result in defeat, and consequentially, a loss. For instance, Hemingway shows concern when men face war while drunk, fearful or attempt to evade; these scenarios are evidence in “A Very Short Story” and “Soldier’s Home”. For instance, he noticed that various officers who matched to the front “are drunk, officers and men”; one of the officers is scared to an extent that “he wants the kitchen fires put out even though the front is fifty kilometers away” (Burhans 19). Given the fact that Hemingway emphasizes on the inevitability of war and suffering in the world, the escape of fear by an individual would not add value to the society since it would be perceived as a personal gain. The king In Two-Hearted River Nick faces situations that are associated with fear. The book begins with a scenario where Seney is deserted after the town was burnt; only the rail road is visible. This scenario demonstrates a state of loneliness and helpless; the emotional trauma is notable. However, it is shown that Nick attempts to console himself that he is happy—he immediately tries to transfer his attention from the burned-out country to things that he loves the most, fishing and trout. “Nick watched (the trout) a long time” the story says, “(…and) he felt all the old feeling”. Hemingway spends three paragraphs talking about Nick observing the fishes in details, so that the readers can see how alive and vivid the fishes are. And he did that immediately after he gives the reader the image of a destroyed, burned town. Hemingway use such a contrasted images to imply Nick’s mental statement and the fact that Nick fails to face the fear given that he is afraid to think. This instance demonstrates the Hemingway’s perception of fear and how individuals are willing to console themselves; individuals fear to establish solutions to various problems. The narrator adds that Nick occupies himself with the immediate present; this implies the Nick’s fear about reminding himself regarding the significant difficulties of the past and the substantial problems that are ahead of the immediate present. The Nick’s state of mind denotes that he is psychologically traumatized by war and its aftermath; in this regard, Nick ignores the past and the future to experience relatively stable emotions. Nick’s ignorance about fear is also shown in “a very short story” especially with respect to inner suffering and pain. Notably, various characters in “In Our Time” experiences fear of failed and unsatisfied relationships; this results in emotional traumas and fear. Just like Nick is left in a sense of loss and emotional trauma that he puts hands on his head when Marjorie breaks up with him, he also faces a double tragedy in “A Very Short Story”. After experiencing a wound, Nick falls in love with a nurse. However, the nurse insists that he has to wait until he gets a good job back home. When Nick leaves the nurse, she falls in love with an Italian; Nick loses the love which results in an emotional torture. Nick does not reply the letter and ignores the fear of the loss of love; Nick believes that “love comes and go” similar to the “sales girl in a loop department store”, the gonorrhea he contracted, or I say, the leaves in fall (Hemingway 66). Nick adds that the world is butchery; this also indicates Nick’s ignorance of the physical injury and lost love by associating them with normal daily happenings—this attempts to reduce the emotional pain he suffers. It is shown that if Nick attempted to convince the nurse to marry him (Nick), he (Nick) may face a significant psychological pain since there were chances that he (Nick) would be denied given the fact that she termed the relationship a puppy love. Hemingway shows that men should practice ignorance in a number of suffering circumstances to reduce the level of the inner suffering. In the “End of Something” Nick demonstrates ignorance with regards to his distressing relationship; he is unwilling to endure the suffering in the relationship with Marjorie, and attempts to ignore all affairs that are related to the romantic relation—Nick suffers an inner suffering when he puts his hands on the head—it demonstrates a sense of loss of love (Tyler 61). Although Nick is illustrated an escaping fear and ignorance, this notion does not hold true in a number of circumstances. For instance, in “big two-hearted river” when mosquito buzzes close to the ear, Nick does not withdraw from facing fear. He rather confronts the fear by lighting a match and burning the mosquito (Cohen 24).Hemingway narrates that during a bullfight, there is always death, and after the bullfight is over, the corpses neither wake up nor go for dinner. The fact that the bullfight takes place below a hot sun indicates a sense of harsh reality that is associated with inevitable death, violence and anguish. The bullfighting is related to the world and human condition; men are bound to suffer pains and death that are associated with violence. Similar to the bullfighters, Hemingway believes that men should face fear with courage and confidence as opposed to escaping it. The bullfighter is always ready to fight to death; a man should have the attitude of facing fear with a view of experiencing success or loss; this is due to the fact that the world is associated with constant suffering and violence, as a result, weak and fearful individuals are likely to perish. Hemingway views that the bullfighting is associated with war of order; this war implies a meaning to the world which is characterized by bloodshed and war, although a disorderly war. It can be argued that with respect to the bullfighting, he can learn about the First World War, as well as how to live in the world that is characterized by war (Burhans 17). There was a believe that provided the father to Nick is associated with the role of doctor and executes the rituals for healing one would be able to control the forces that are related to life and death. The failure of Nick’s father to sustain the expected role leads to a number of questions by Nick. And the latter asks his father whether dying is hard (Hemingway 19). This peculiar experience at the camp indicates that Nick is unable to withstand the considerable exposure to suffering and death. Nick fails to admit the experience he witnessed at the camp, as well as the insensitivity of his father with respect to death and suffering suffered by a patient. This indicates that Nick is associated with fear with respect to pain and suffering. On the other hand, the father does not fear sufferings and death; this fact forces Nick to question about his insensitivity with respect to pain and death. The readers can see how the young Nick seeks for his father’s protection after seeing the horrible and unexpected scene (Tetlow 7). Hemingway denotes that an individual should develop courage since one can save a situation with confidence than with fear, such as the doctor (father) attempting to treat the suffering patients. The husband inner pain due to his wife physical pain denotes that the failure to face the suffering with courage led to death: on the contrary, the woman faced the labor pains and emerged successfully in the end. Additionally, the scholar shows that the swamp represents the darkness of death and the principal life’s mystery, situations that Nick has to face as a man (Baker 152). It is evident that the river is associated with two hearts, the dark swamp and active stream; the two represents the good and evil respectively. “The Big Two-Hearted River” implies life and death; in this respect, life is associated with peace while death is closely associated with violence and suffering. Nick is constantly pursuing peace. The situations demonstrate the Heming’s tendency to relate to various attitudes of fear; the attitude of confronting a fear with courage, ignoring and escaping with respect to inner and outer sufferings. Conclusion Various scholars who assess “In Our Time” agree that the world is associated with a number of human and world conditions such as war, violence, disorder and failed romantic relations, which result in outer and inner sufferings; it is with respect to the inner and outer sufferings which Nick attempts to develop varied attitudes towards fear. In a number of circumstances, Nick attempts to escape from fear—in the war when he succumbs to a physical injury where Nick wishes to be freed in order to avoid facing constant suffering and violence that characterize the war. In other circumstances, Nick ignored fear when he was faced with a struggling relationship, a situation that led to a break-up. On the other hand, Nick also experienced a woman who despite a severe labor pain endured the suffering in her attempt to deliver a child; her husband did not bear up with her wife’s suffering that he executed his life. While the woman was courageous to face the fear of pain, her husband escaped to nature. Although Hemingway narrates the varied reaction to fear among various characters, he believes that the world is characterized by both outer and inner sufferings; for instance, Hemingway relate the bullfighting to the human and world conditions. The human and world conditions are associated with suffering and pain; similar to a bullfighter who should faces a war with courage, Hemingway views that a person should face the worldly suffering with valor since it is inevitable to live in the world without experiencing both inner and outer pains. The courage of an individual is argued in relation to the war and suffering which seems to be endless. The attempt to escape fear may result in personal gain; however, in a number of circumstances it would also result in a loss, for instance, Nick’s loss of his lover, Marjorie. Moreover, given the fact that Hemingway discuses the aspect of war and pain from the perspective of the total collective gain experienced by individuals, such as lovers, friends and community, the narrator believes that facing war with courage is the best option any person should consider. Works Cited Baker, Sheridan. "Hemingway’s Two-Hearted River." The short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: Critical Essays (1975): 150-158. Print. Burhans,Clinton. "The complex Unity of In Our time." The short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: Critical Essays (1975): 15-29. Print. Cohen, Milton A. "Soldiers Voice in In Our Time: Hemingways Ventriloquism." The Hemingway Review 20 (2000): 22-29. Web. 27 July 2014. DeFalco, Joseph. "Initiation: “Indian Camp” and “The Doctor and the Doctor’s Wife." The short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: Critical Essays (1975): 159-167. Print. Hemingway, Ernest. In our time. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1930. Print. Tetlow, Wendolyn E. Hemingways In our time: lyrical Dimensions. Cranbury: Associated University Presses, 1992. Print. Tyler, Lisa. "How Beautiful The Virgin Forests Were Before The Loggers Came": An Ecofeminist Reading Of Hemingways "The End Of Something." Hemingway Review 27.2 (2008): 60-73. Read More