English 201
English Composition 2
Spring 2002
Professor David A. Salomon (davidsalomon@bhsu.edu)
Extra Credit Essay–"Big Two-Hearted River"

This essay option is available for extra credit. It must be submitted on Wednesday, April 3 in class. Essay submitted at any other time will not be counted for extra credit. These essays will help to rescue poor grades on the John Fante Essay.

Write a complete and thoughtful response with a clearly-defined thesis statement. This paper should be no shorter than three full pages and no longer than four full pages (double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font). Essays must be typed or printed from a computer.

When you submit this paper, also submit the paper on a floppy disk (the paper should be the only file on the disk). The paper must be saved in either .doc or .rtf format. Clearly mark the disk with your name on it. Disks will be returned with papers.

Make sure you download the "Paper Checklist" on the class’ home page. Complete it and staple it to the front of your paper.

Proofread your work very carefully.

1) Identify three symbols in either part of "Big Two-Hearted River" that indicate how Nick is feeling and why he is off in the wilderness by himself. For example, what might the charred landscape symbolize? How about the swamp? How about the river itself? Why is the river "big" and "two-hearted"?

2) Malcolm Cowley describes "Big Two-Hearted River" as a "waking dream," a story in which the fishing is meant to be an escape "from a nightmare or from realities that have become a nightmare." Recall that, although Hemingway does not tell the reader directly in the story, Nick has just returned from the War. Discuss the importance of fishing in "Big Two-Hearted River" and what it says about Nick’s emotional and psychological state.