The element of time does not play a significant role in Hemingway’s piece. It is in chronological order, which is best for this type of work since it is so short and it only takes place within a few minutes-a few hours time. I think the use of flashbacks in this piece would have detracted greatly from the text’s mystery, simplicity and its ability to draw in the reader. I can’t really figure out this piece’s overall pattern.
I guess to break it down to its simplest definition, I’d say it was a piece that uses strong metaphor and strong but clean dialogue to give a clear impression of a couple’s relationship, which may or may not have greater meaning in the scheme of things (i. e. male-female relations, life post- WWI, etc. ) The two main characters are the girl and the man. Although Hemingway does not waste space describing their characters with adjectives, history / background , and detailed descriptions, he lets their subtle physical actions and the words exchanged between the two do all the talking (no pun intended).
The only “flat” character in the story is the waitress.
I don’t think her role is a significant one either, but I think it is an interesting choice that Hemingway chose not to write in some flirtation between the Man and the Waitress. This leads me to think that instead of wanting to portray the Man as completely Godforsaken and terrible, Hemingway wanted the Man to remain somewhat decent. He did not want readers to dislike him too much. In fact, he may have even wanted readers of the male variety especially to identify with him.
The Essay on Vardaman Character Reader Fish
William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, with its multiple narrators and hackish language, can sometimes prove to be convoluted and rather confusing. The narrators, unfortunately, are no less confusing. Their language aside, each individual personality serves to put a spin on the bias that the information is delivered with, and, in speaking to each other, they further confuse the reader, as their ...
Had he included flirting between the waitress and the Man, this would not have been possible because no one would have brought themselves to identify with a guy who is a cad twofold: one for the abortion pressure and two for the flirting. People just don’t want to think of themselves that way, even though many a man has probably done the same thing. Hemingway’s voice, as always, is clean, subtle, distant yet emotionally there. Well done, Ernest..
