Big Two-Hearted River

Hemingway employs a minimalist style that aims to capture Nick’s experience in vivid and precise imagery, without extraneous description. The simple words and short sentences can evoke a sense of contemplation (e.g., when Nick looks out over the valley), mirror the deliberate methodical pace of Nick’s activities (e.g., when Nick builds his campsite), or recreate the urgency and elation of struggle (e.g., when Nick catches a big trout). The staccato rhythm of short sentences mirrors Nick’s mental state and emphasizes his focus on the immediate and tangible instead of on past traumas. By isolating each sentence, Hemingway both magnifies the significance of what is being described and draws attention to specific details or emotions.

“Big Two-Hearted River” is told in the third person; however, the story often blends the narration seamlessly with Nick’s thoughts. This is called free indirect discourse. Rather than signaling the character’s thoughts by using attributive tags like “he thought,” Hemingway often narrates Nick’s emotional experience directly through Nick’s perspective: “I won’t try and flop it, he thought” (Paragraph 43). However, with free indirect discourse, readers see sentences like this: “He tested the knot and the spring of the rod by pulling the line taut.