Ernest Hemingway. In my high school it seemed that I was the only one that liked him after reading The Old Man and the Sea. Everyone else said Hemingway was so boring. Now I agree. These stories we have been reading, although they are short, have been killer for me to be interested in (and get through). The short dialogue and non-necessary descriptions are really starting to get to me. “Fathers and Sons” was not as bad as the other ones we have been reading this past week, but it still will not going to be on my top reads list.
In this story I feel like we got to see a different side of Nick. Normally, he is very short and we don’t really get to see his feelings, except for the occasional cry. In “Fathers and Sons” he is very reflective, and he tends to show more of what he is thinking. First, they were driving along the roads, and while his son was sleeping he was thinking of how beautiful the town was, even though it wasn’t originally the town he called home. He actually seemed interested in something for once. Since we have started reading about Nick Adams, I always felt like he was distant to everything and everyone: like he really did not care about anything. This story seems to show that Nicholas has indeed grown up quite a bit since his days with Prudence.
When Nick begins reflecting on hunting and his father, it reveals another side to their relationship. In the other stories, Nick always seemed to be torn down by his father, or his dad would do something that was not ethical. It seemed like he didn’t really care about his dad that much. However, he starts thinking about his father, and how he was a great hunter: the best he had ever known. I think he actually was closer to his dad than he made it seem.
Now what really got me in this story that I was completely confused on was Billy and Trudy. Why did he bring that up and why did he tell of all the things they did together? I feel like that was a very random and awkward memory to put into this story that is supposedly all about fathers and their sons. I mean, I get that Billy was Nick’s hunting partner when they were younger, but why add in the part about Trudy? I don’t think it really added anything to the story.
I liked the way that Nick’s son asked him questions in the end. It seemed like a very real situation to me. He is just a curious little boy. However, the ending was a little tense for me. I don’t understand why Nick would not want to go take his son to the grave where his own father is buried. I just feel like that is something that should not even need to be asked about. But it took Nick quite some time to even say maybe. Overall, the story was not my favorite by any means, but it was better than the others that we have been reading.
I know we have talked a lot about this story in class and in all of our presentations, but I totally agree when you talk about how it is a much more descriptive Nick that we see in this story. He finally gives us a bigger chunk of him instead of just crumbles of his feelings that we may or may not receive in his other stories.
ReplyDeleteEven though it is just a story, I think how Nick acts in this account with his son is hopeful. As we have read multiple times, Nick's father was not a real father at all. Nick could have been just like his father in that sense, because many people do follow in their parents footsteps. Nick chooses to be different though and show nourishment and love to his young son. I hope more fathers do this in real life.