The "Fruits" of Society
In part one of Big Two-Hearted River, the weight of the pack on Nick’s shoulders is mentioned time and time again. It is described as “much too heavy,” and causes pain and soreness in his shoulders.
As Nick tried to escape all the conventions of society to live self-sufficiently off of the land, he couldn’t help but burden himself by bringing the fruits of this convention with him (in cans). It even says (of the canned fruit), “They were better than fresh apricots,” (fresh apricots obviously not having been processed by other people). In this way, Hemingway is saying that man will not strike away completely from society because he will always prefer to bring its “comforts” with him, though they burden him and thus prevent him from experiencing true freedom.
2 comments:
Hmm, I like that metaphor for the fruit. Unprocessed by human hands--that's a good one. It could also be that the "much too heavy burden" of the pack refers to the less tangible weight Nick shoulders, such as his past.
I agree with the fact that he was reluctant to give up his processed apricots and coffee. However, it may be assumed that he will be by the river longer than his provisions will last. It would be interesting to see if he attempted to then live off the land and the trout or if he would regress back to a society where he no longer felt comfortable or at home. That leads to the question... Does Nick feel free by the river because he believes he broke away from society or simply because there are no other humans around?
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