Throughout Ernest Hemmingway's two part story from his book In Our .
Time entitled "Big Two-Hearted River" parts I and II, one might convey the stories .
as simply describing a man on a fishing trip, but when investigated deeper, one .
can realize that these stories entail much more than a peaceful getaway. A more .
detailed look at the stories suggest Hemmingway, a war veteran, portrayed by .
Nick Adams, trying to escape the harsh realities of the world, while clenching to .
the tiny remains of sanity that the war didn't strip from him. Nick's fishing trip is .
more than that of leisure, it represents an escape from the thought and .
memories of war, to a peaceful life he once lived. To Nick's surprise, once .
returning home to Seney, things aren't exactly how he remembered them to be .
and don't suggest the peace and hope essential for him to remain out of touch .
with his true feelings and horrible memories of war.
Upon returning to Seney, Adams was appalled to see the remains of what .
was once his playground, the entire town as he knew it was destroyed by the .
means of fire. Nick carried on through the "burnt-over stretch of hillside," but is.
hopeful when his eyes spot the river down the bank, he watches the trout .
"move upstream changing their positions by quick angles, only to hold steady .
in the fast water again." He understands the uphill battle the fish are engaged in, .
and remembers he too has encountered such a fight before, " he [is] happy." .
Watching the fish "he [feels] all the old feeling," he remembers his life during the .
war, his struggles against the current, and how he hopes upon returning here, .
are that he too will find peace and he will be able " to hold steady again.".
Carrying on, Nick arrives, at what he believes is the best spot to set up .
camp, and does so. Every move made by him is greatly detailed by .
Hemmingway, expressing the precision in creating his past fishing trips, Adams .
