narrative perspective on "a very short story" by ernst hemingway
A Very Short Story; Analyzed through a Narrative Perspective
Often times, in the heat of the moment, we are blinded by what is real and what is just an illusion. At the same time this could be as a result of one’s maturity vs. immaturity. This story by Ernst Hemingway portrays what seemed to be real love by the American solider and the European nurse however, turned out to be lust because of a lack of maturity, hegemony and quench for power. This short story will be analyzed through a narrative perspective where the setting and characters are analyzed to demonstrate the themes of real vs. illusion, maturity vs. immaturity, hegemony and quench for power.
The setting plays a key role in this story. The American solider is positioned in Europe where he meets a European nurse named Luz. They fall in love and desire to get married however, soon as the American solider returns to America, Luz is having an affair with a European major and the American solider is diagnosed with gonorrhea from a sales girl. The weather coincides with their feelings as it was hot in Padua initially just like their love, then lonely and rainy as soon as they split ways displaying their separation. I believe that Hemingway is implying that America is still immature and young in its values and beliefs. This is because as soon as the solider returns to the States, everything goes downhill. Whereas, Europe is very mature and almost “manly” because Luz claims after meeting the European major (a “man”), that this was real love and theirs was just boy/girl love. The soldier’s relationship with Luz is a depiction of the youth of America. America is much younger and immature than Europe because they are still striving to become a major player in worldly affairs. Thus, when the Italian major portrays himself as more of a man than the American solider, Luz is attracted to it and is depicting that America remains young and immature. Another example displaying America is still immature in its
Often times, in the heat of the moment, we are blinded by what is real and what is just an illusion. At the same time this could be as a result of one’s maturity vs. immaturity. This story by Ernst Hemingway portrays what seemed to be real love by the American solider and the European nurse however, turned out to be lust because of a lack of maturity, hegemony and quench for power. This short story will be analyzed through a narrative perspective where the setting and characters are analyzed to demonstrate the themes of real vs. illusion, maturity vs. immaturity, hegemony and quench for power.
The setting plays a key role in this story. The American solider is positioned in Europe where he meets a European nurse named Luz. They fall in love and desire to get married however, soon as the American solider returns to America, Luz is having an affair with a European major and the American solider is diagnosed with gonorrhea from a sales girl. The weather coincides with their feelings as it was hot in Padua initially just like their love, then lonely and rainy as soon as they split ways displaying their separation. I believe that Hemingway is implying that America is still immature and young in its values and beliefs. This is because as soon as the solider returns to the States, everything goes downhill. Whereas, Europe is very mature and almost “manly” because Luz claims after meeting the European major (a “man”), that this was real love and theirs was just boy/girl love. The soldier’s relationship with Luz is a depiction of the youth of America. America is much younger and immature than Europe because they are still striving to become a major player in worldly affairs. Thus, when the Italian major portrays himself as more of a man than the American solider, Luz is attracted to it and is depicting that America remains young and immature. Another example displaying America is still immature in its