Like Nick and George in the story, I went skiing over spring break. I really enjoyed myself - skiing is wonderful. I'm not sure that I'd call it "too swell to talk about," the way George does in the story, but I suppose that Hemingway's men don't ever really talk about their feelings. They make references to their feelings, but they rarely come right out and talk about them. Everything is implied and understood.
As I was reading the story, I was remembering how it felt to go rushing down the slopes, picking up as much speed as possible. Skiing really fast downhill is sort of addicting - you never want it to stop. George and Nick never want to stop, either - they never want to grow up. Nick really doesn't want to go back to the United States, because the skiing is no good there - though I have to ask, where was he skiing? Because it sure wasn't Colorado, as the skiing there is awesome. I digress - Nick doesn't want to go back the the United States because his wife is having a baby, and he's not ready for the responsibility yet. He just wants to stay and have fun.
Also, I have to ask, why did George keep calling Nick Mike? Was it some sort of nickname? Really weird nickname if you ask me. . . Or was there something else going on? Why would Nick lie about his name, though? That whole thing made no sense to me whatsoever.
I also felt really bad for the poor waitress. The two men had absolutely no sympathy for her, and judged her immediately - "No girls get married around here till they're knocked up." I really hate double standards, and the stigma that goes with being an unwed mother or pregnant woman is one of the worst there is. The fact that there is such a stigma attached to that situation, and little or no stigma attached to an unwed father, strikes me as extremely unfair.
Julia,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed your spring break! I have never been skiing myself, but I can only imagine that the feeling is awesome. I do completely agree with the double standards thing. Why is it so absolutely awful for a girl to get knocked up, but no big deal if a guy knocks a girl up? Quite silly to me. With the way he is acting, that girl should have knocked him down a long time ago.
Hey Julia, I went skiing over spring break too! Skiing is definitely the best vacation ever, I’m glad you had such a good time n in Colorado. I experienced the same nostalgic longing to be back on the slopes after reading the story. In regard to the characters though, I agree with your thoughts on the conversation between Nick and George. Being a guy, it’s comical to see our interactions from this perspective, and it is even funnier because so much of it is true. The fact the George kept calling Nick “Mike” really bugged me too. Hemingway is probably just having fun here, using his reputation as the king of the “ice berg” technique to mess with all of us out there trying to discern actual meaning from the nickname.
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