What Hemingway Leaves Out :: essays research papers

Earnest Hemingway is known for leaving things out in his writing. He believed that if you knew something well enough, you could leave it out and still get your point across. In the short story "The End of something", he leaves a few things out. Some things he doesn't say at all and others the reader knows something before he says it. He must have know what he was writing about because he the reader can infer certain things. In this particular story, the reader knows some things about nicks past. Hemingway doesn't say it, but Nick is an experienced fisher. This is shown by nicks actions. In the boat, Nick knows that even though the trout are feeding, they won't strike. When the trout broke the surface of the water, Nike instinctively pulled hard on one oar to turn the bait towards them. He also tells Marge not to take the ventral fin out of the perch. These things are the actions of a truly great fisherman. Another thing Hemingway leaves out is the entirety of nick and Marge's relationship. The reader gets nothing but the final scenes of a long relationship. Marjorie calls the deteriorating mill "our old ruin". This shows that they had done this trip many times. The mill belonged to neither nick nor Marge. It was their ruin because it had grown on them. Hemingway says that Marge loved to fish with Nick. This was a bond that had developed between the to of them. These two have obviously had a deep relationship. The reader can also infer what is going to happen. Nick's actions show that they are going to break up. During the entire boat ride Nick doesn't say anything but short replies to Marge.