Hemingway Stories
"A Day's Wait"
"Cat in the Rain"
Read both stories--twice if necessary. Comment on both stories. What mood is created? What do you notice of Ernest Hemingway's style? What do you like about them? Write something insightful and edit carefully.
Make certain that your ideas are posted before 7 am Friday the 13th.
An eerie mood is created from Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain.” The mixture of rain, and the strange maid convincing the woman to go back inside caused a feeling of distress to the reader. Though the initial mood was was something to be aware of, the reader soon got a feeling of relief and calmness when the cat was brought to the door of the American woman. “A Day's Wait” had a similar mood in the beginning; the boy’s worry created a sense of fear for the reader; however, again, a feeling of relief arose when the boy was told he was not going to die. Hemingway used similar style when writing both stories. Using dialogue among two characters, he developed the conflicts, but he also used narration to make sure the reader understood the plot. Personally, I enjoyed “Cat in the Rain” more because it was a short story with a clear climax and resolution. It was an innocent tale with a deeper meaning than others. The American woman wanted the cat and decided to go get it herself; however, the maid interfered with her plan. This symbolizes the idea of Americans not doing anything for themselves and letting others do the work so they can receive the benefits. Because it was raining, the woman went back inside; however, she still got the cat she wanted from the beginning of the story.
ReplyDeleteHemingway uses the dialogue in his stories to imply certain moods and ideas. I like the way that he uses the dialogue to do this. At the end of “A Day’s Wait,” it is revealed that Schatz thought that he was going to die from his illness. Rereading the short story, I noticed that in Schatz dialogue this was implied several times. After the father asks Schatz how he feels, Schatz says that he feels “Just the same, so far” (Hemingway). The “so far” implies that he is waiting for it to change. The fact that Schatz wanted to stay awake also implied what he thought was going to happen since he wouldn’t want to go to sleep out of fear of never waking up again. He also tells his father that he “doesn’t have to stay if it’s going to bother [him]” (Hemingway). Thinking that he will die, Schatz spends the story trying to be strong for his father and tries to make it easier for him. A lot of Schatz’s dialogue creates a despairing mood. The dialogue from “Cat in the Rain” creates a sad mood as well which is complemented by the rain and the depressing atmosphere associated with it. A lot of the woman’s dialogue suggests a longing for a better life. She isn’t happy with her life currently because her husband is dismissive of her which is implied by his short responses. The line that the husband’s detached nature obvious is when he tells her to “shut up and get something to read” (Hemingway). It is also implied that he doesn’t care about his wife’s wants since, after stating a desire to grow out her hair, he tells her that he likes the way that she looks, implying that her hair is short because he wants it that way. Much of the story suggests that the wife likes it when people are attentive towards her which is probably a result of her relationship with her husband. She probably wants the cat so that she has something that she can do since her husband doesn’t do much with her.
ReplyDeleteThroughout “A Day’s Wait,” the mood is solemn at first until the ending, which is more lighthearted. As the father worries over his son’s fever and sickness, I felt as sad as the father did and hoped that he was going to be alright. The son is portrayed as brave and selfless, for he thinks about his father’s emotions rather than his own. After he returns from hunting, when he learns about his son’s misconception of his fever temperature, I felt a sense of relief. In “Cat in the Rain,” the mood is more gloomy and downcast with the rain as well as the unhappiness the wife conveys. She, without directly admitting it, reveals her unsettling feelings about her life with a small conversation to her husband about their opposing opinions regarding her hair length. Hemingway utilizes short and simple phrases to communicate information to the reader through dialogue. In both stories, he depicts to the reader the husband’s detachment and the son’s innocence through narration and characters’ interactions. For example, when the maid brings the wife the cat they could not find before, the wife’s demeanor changes to become more positive. I enjoyed reading “Cat in the Rain” the most because it develops more underlying messages that intrigued me during the story. The description of the way the wife views the hotel manager almost hints at something more between them, which I believe may be the result from the unsatisfying life she has; while the wife craves more, she knows that if she had a cat it might fill what is missing in her marriage.
ReplyDeleteHemingway creates a unique and comforting way of telling his stories. He uses a sort-of observationalist style that is very natural and lacks the ‘fluffy’ and ‘poetic’ language that often feels more unnatural than fitting in a narrative. Hemingway’s style is very easy to understand and follow along with without the usual heady language. The mood created in “A Day's Wait” is identified as somber and dreary, yet it retains an odd lightheartedness that allows the reader to be comfortable. The tone of “Cat In the Rain” is significantly more pleasant and upbeat than the other story. Hemingway uses short and descriptive details about the scenery and the appearances within the story to rapidly build a simple to visualize environment. I personally really enjoy Hemingway’s style as I think my own writing is similar in its sharpness. I would like to read other pieces by the same author in the future and could see myself studying more of his work.
ReplyDeleteBoth short stories of Hemingway's have similar plot development and writing styles. In "A Day's Wait," for example, his writing concerning dialogue is very short and choppy; compound sentences are not used often in the dialogue and it makes for unrefined sounding sentences. The same can be said relating to "Cat in the Rain" where not only the dialogue is choppy, but the story is as a whole. Regarding plot development, both stories revolve around a seemingly irrelevant scene; however, he creates a warm tone in both. The stories go from one scene to the next without a rising action, climax, or falling action, remaining static in its progression. It was an interesting distinction from previous short stories, yet it left me feeling unsatisfied; maybe I did not fully grasp his intentions of writing the works.
ReplyDeleteHemmingway's style is like the steel skeleton of a highrise; the characters' emotions are evident through their actions and the mood created by the descriptive settings, but Hemmingway forces the reader to create a mental picture in order to fill in the blanks he purposefully leaves. In "Cat in the Rain," the woman is reflected in their vacation. She has the potential to see herself as beautiful if she grows her hair out like a girl and wears new clothes, but much like the beautiful beach and ocean view turned ugly and somber by the rain surrounding it, the woman lost all her beauty and joy to her inescapable loveless marriage. The idea that she cannot be her true self is further reinforced by the fact that even speaking her own language scares off the maid, crushing any hope of real human connection, deepening the wound of not being able to connect with the cat. The padrone, the only person who actually cared to please the woman, acted as a double edged sword: cutting through the somber veil surrounding her to make her feel important but also stabbing her in the heart by illuminating just how horrible her life truly is. He came through in the end by finding the cat though, concluding the story by giving the woman a small consolation for her depressing situation. I did not appreciate "A Day's Wait" anywhere near as much. It's sad that the boy misunderstood his friends and thought he was going to die all day. I understand that he must have felt terror to the point where he chased everyone away and wanted to die already but failed to simply give up his will to live by falling asleep. The dangerous icy setting showed how the boy felt a cold paralysis, preventing him from doing anything other than just sitting, thinking, and waiting to die. I just thought that the story was boring.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to both stories, Hemingway writes in a succinct style; and I interpret his writing as medical in the sense that he only focuses on the details relevant to the situation. In "A Day's Wait," the mood created was one of misery and coldness. Based on how the boy's face was described at the start and how his health never seems to get better, the miserable mood carries throughout the story even though the narrator informs the kid of his overreaction to failed unit conversions. Furthermore, when the narrator steps away to hunt, the outside environment takes on a cold description and his lack of success adds to the misery of the story. I didn't like "A Day's Wait" that much because of how it was a bit confusing at parts and how it was generally depressing. In "Cat in the Rain," Hemingway also establishes a negative mood; however, the story has a lighter overall mood than "A Day's Wait." The rain amidst a tropical-esque vacation created a sense of isolation that is highlighted through the fact that the couple are the only Americans in the Italian village. Additionally, the town is bordered by an ocean which means leaving forces them to go deeper into the foreign area. Readers see how the wife's English causes discomfort to the locals adding to the isolation she feels as she is already part of a one-sided relationship. Yet the story concludes with the wife receiving the cat she saw at the start which contrasts the constant bleakness of the other Hemingway piece. I liked "Cat in the Rain" the most since the feeling of isolation in a foreign place is universally relatable.
ReplyDeleteWith a grave tone throughout the text, Ernest Hemingway’s ‘A Day’s Wait’ shines light on the darkness of reality. It highlights the grim nature of illness, and an ultimate fear of death and or the unknown. Rather than identify the narrator immediately, Hemingway reveals them through dialogue. While the ending is far more lighthearted than the beginning, the piece reveals hope for a better end result - in this case, the narrator’s son’s return to health. It was almost an emotional rollercoaster - which I do enjoy every now and then. As suggested in ‘Cat in the Rain’, the American wife clearly longs for more in her marriage. She believes that materialistic things, such as a cat or a haircut, will change both her and her relationship with her husband for the better. Personally, out of the two texts, I prefer this one. While it is indeed more depressing as it grasps the dark parts of life and personal relationships, I enjoy the way it was developed and Hemingway’s writing techniques. In the end the wife did get her cat; however, she never truly got the enjoyable marriage she longed for.
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ReplyDeleteIn each of his pieces, Hemingway sets the scene in creating a more somber atmosphere. A lonely wife wishes for company in “Cat in the Rain,'' while a young boy awaits death in “A Day’s Wait”. However, by its end, each story concludes with a more light-hearted feel to it. The wife receives just as she desired, and the young boy discovers that he has many more years to live on. As a key aspect in developing his work and conveying various moods, Hemingway utilizes dialogue. Conversations play a major role in these developments, simply due to how often characters are speaking to one another. I personally like this style used to portray an idea because I find it more interesting and entertaining to visualize just how characters interact with one another.
ReplyDeleteThe mood created by Hemingway in both stories is somber. In “A Day’s Wait,” the imagery expresses a cold and stressful atmosphere; chilly weather and sickness provide the serious tone of the passage. By comparison, “Cat in the Rain” has a mixture of mystery and seriousness. Hemingway creates a somber mood through the imagery of a wet, rainy day, and the mood of the characters. Hemingway’s style centers around well placed sentences through both passages. In “Cat in the Rain,” the maid does not seem mysterious until “the maid’s face tightened” upon hearing the American girl speak english. In “A Day’s Wait,” the reader’s first clue as to why the sick child refuses to relax comes when the boy tells his father “No, I mean you don’t have to stay if it’s going to bother you.” Both passages express complex ideas and themes through carefully placed sentences that are easy to overlook. I enjoyed both stories, although I am still not certain what the point of “Cat in the Rain” was. My favorite was most definitely “A Day’s Wait.”
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ReplyDelete"Cat in the Rain" opens with a description of a scene that, in better weather, would've drawn tourists and locals alike to admire its beauty. This is important because it sets the tone for the following events; much like the environment, the exchange between the Americans has every opportunity to be a thoughtful and caring exchange between people who love each other, but unfortunately the gloomy mood prevents them from having much patience with each other. Though it reads as somewhat staccato, the curt dialogue lends itself to expressing this dynamic. Without many dialogue tags, I could easily sense the absence of compassion from the husband and the growing mania of the woman as boredom consumed them. I relate heavily to the woman who goes to seek out the kitten in the rain, as I believe that she was searching for a source of comfort in a disappointing moment of her life. My dogs always provide that comfort for me. Additionally, Hemingway delays the gratification of his audience by showing that the American woman couldn't initially save the kitten. Instead, the kitten is given in the form of a gift from their italian landlord, who, I assume from his old age, knows what it is like to feel lonely. All in all, I enjoyed this story for its relatability in my own life and the simple sentimentality of its ending.
ReplyDelete"A Day's Wait" is oddly comedic. The use of dramatic irony is very effective, and as someone who didn't expect it from Hemingway, it certainly threw me for a minute. Hemingway's use of diction is essential in contrasting Schatz's anxiety about his fever and his relief after he realizes he is in no danger. The staccato dialogue serves a slightly different purpose in this story than in "Cat in the Rain". Where "Cat in the Rain" uses dialogue to highlight emotional distance, "A Day's Wait" uses dialogue to show the contrasting emotional stakes between the boy and his father. This is especially touching because of Schatz's young age, but it also provides a comedic slant because of the drama of the boy's perspective while the reader knows that the boy isn't seriously ill. In sum, this story was sweet but also somber. It's a reminder that anyone could have to face this kind of fear of death at any point. In general, this made me sad.