研究生英语教师用书下.docVIP

Unit One Text A The End of Something Introductory Remarks Analysis of the story (by Norsk Skole) “The End of Something, by Ernest Hemingway, is a short story about two young people who witness how time can change the world and the people in it. Hemingway uses this story to convey how this change happens all the time, and however desperately you cling to the present, the present only lasts for that one, fleeting moment you realize it is there, then it is gone, past, and it can never be present again. To understand this message, one must look at the way Hemingway writes this story, how he uses the broken mill, the fishs not striking, and the characters in themselves to tell us a story far beyond what we read. The broken mill represents Nick and Marjories broken relationship. Once, the mill was the center of a lumbering town, Hortons Bay. The town was a place with people, shops, and activity. In the present of the story, the mill lies deserted, as does the town, for the mill was what had made Hortons Bay a town in the first place. Similarly, Nick and Marjorie were younger once, younger and more careless. Clearly, they are not old, but it seems that quite a few years have passed since they met. At that time, they did not have all that much to think or worry about, and their relationship flourished. It is evident that, in the present of the story, Nick and Marjorie have grown apart. They cannot relate as much to each other anymore, nor can they stay young forever, thus the weak foundation of their relationship is torn down and left in pieces. For perhaps their youth was what made their relationship what it was, just as the mill made the town what it was. As Nick and Marjorie now row along the shore, they troll for fish, but they do not get any. The fishs not striking is a symbol of Nicks lack of interest in their relationship. Theyre feeding, Marjorie said. But they wont strike, Nick said. There are probably things Nick and Marjorie could do, there are probably ways