Blow in Ernest Hemingway\'s Short

¶ … Blow

In Ernest Hemingway's short story "The Three Day Blow" from his collection of stories called In Our Time, he illustrates the relationship between the two young men, Nick and Bill. Nearly the entire story is a dialogue between the two men in which they discuss current topics of the day such as baseball and popular novels. They also engage in some of the past times for which Hemingway is famous in his writing drinking and hunting. It is, however, what the two do not directly say to each other about Nick's recently defunct romance that is the most telling about the relationship that the two men share.

The setting of the short story signals to the reader that there is some kind of problem for the main character and his relationships. Since Hemingway never grants the reader a single, extra word over what is necessary, the reader is immediately led to believe that some kind of storm hangs around Nick (Johnston 22). He has been rapidly cast into some kind of disappointment as signaled by the rapid onslaught of "fall wind (that) blew through the bare trees" (Hemingway 45).

To continue this idea, the cabin porch is bare and even "the big trees (are) swayed far over in the wind" (Hemingway 45). A sense of disenchantment and a sense that something has been influenced, even pushed around comes through in the opening paragraphs. Hemingway allows much of the story to pass before revealing the source of Nick's disappointment - his failed relationship with Marjorie. Before that can be discussed, Hemingway has to guide the reader into the recesses of Nick's mind and into the nuances of his relationship with Bill.

When Nick arrives at Bill's cottage, the two men seem on exceptionally close terms. They are, in fact, much like old people who are cognizant of each other's habits and needs. One of the first indicators of this in the story is when Bill lends his friend a pair of socks and is genuinely concerned about Nick's welfare. "It's getting too late to go around without socks,' he said. 'I hate to start them again,' Nick said" (Hemingway 47). This solicitude for his friend is quickly followed by a correction to his behavior in regard to propping his feet up on the fireplace's screen. "You'll dent in the screen,' Bill said. Nick swung his feet over to the side of the fireplace." These commonplace remarks suggest a great intimacy between the men as they are very comfortable in each other's presence.

Their conversation soon turns to typical things that young men discuss. The current baseball season and popular books are the focus of much of what they say for several pages in the story as they begin to drink whiskey. On the surface, it seems that they are having a simple conversation about subjects that interest young men. To a certain extent, Hemingway wants the reader to realize how comfortable these men are with each other and how they are concerned with typical young men issues. However, the references to baseball and books are far more complex than a superficial reading of the text would suggest.

Much has been written by the critics about the baseball allusions. It seems that scholars have spent significant time trying to track down the exact year and situation that the men are discussing. Essentially, the critics are trying to give a precise date to the story and connect it to Hemingway's biography (Hurley). As fascinating as that it is, the real purpose behind the baseball discussion is intended to reveal much about Nick's state of mind and his relationship with Bill.

In some ways this common subject and point of interest between the two men serves to relax them and make the situation and their relationship more real to the reader (Hurley). However, an analysis of what the two are actually discussing illustrates Nick's frame of mind more clearly. Most of the allusions refer to the 1916 post regular season play, but it is specific references to people and events that showcase Nick's emotions. The two chief baseball points of discussion are about a Chicago Cubs player named Heinie Zimmerman and corruption in the game.

Zimmerman was famous in baseball for going from one of the best players in the game to a washout (Hurley). Nick and Bill discuss his merits. "He can hit,' Nick offered.... 'He's a sweet fielder, too,' Bill said." (Hemingway 48). Clearly, he's an excellent player, however, the underlying suggest is that he has rigged games. Bill comments, "But he loses ball games'" (Hemingway 48). The idea that he may not be above board evokes the comment from Nick that "There's always more to it than we know about'" (Hemingway 48). The disappointment that both feel about this player indicates a kind of disillusionment with the game. Hemingway intentionally makes this suggestion based on the famous Black Sox scandal of 1919 when the World Series was thrown (Hurley). Americans so often believed in the power of baseball as something good and virtuous. The thought that baseball could be corrupted helps convey Nick's cynicism in this story (Hurley). Nick is a young man with a future and should be optimistic, but he has been tainted by something.

Baseball serves to illustrate the relationship between the men, but so do the novels that they discuss and evaluate. The conversation about books again shows the level of friendship between the men. However, like with baseball, it is not merely that. The content of the books they like and dislike are important in illustrating what Nick is feeling and thinking. He dismisses the book called The Ordeal of Richard Feverel without having read it. The book is about guiding youths away from the temptations of the flesh (Johnston 23). Other books such as The Dark Forest and the Forest Lovers that Nick declares "swell" have a certain romantic, knight in shining armor flavor to them (Johnston 23). As much as Nick would like to see himself as a gallant hero, he is working hard to be a tough modern man as indicated by his fascination with Fortitude, a novel about a young man who has to learn to be tough and ruthless in relationships (Johnston 23). It is this character that Nick tries to, but fails to resemble.

After alcohol and conversation have loosened the tongues of both young men, they turn to the subject of Nick's failed relationship with Marjorie. Bill repeats excessively how Nick is better off without this potential marriage. "Once a man's married he's absolutely *****ed,' Bill went on. 'He hasn't got anything more. Nothing. Not a damn thing. He's done for'" (Hemingway 56). Bill continues to beat the drum about the limitations that Nick would face if he continued the relationship, but Nick's thoughts have turned in a different direction. He feels an overwhelming sense of loss. "It was all gone. All he knew was that he had once had Marjorie and that he had lost her. She was gone and he had sent her away" (Hemingway 57)