The end of something

Plot
• Setting is linked to the human break up
o“all the piles of lumber were carried away”
- This may suggest that they kept on going with the relationship as much as they
could but eventually had to let it go because neither of them was getting anything
out of it anymore
- This also may suggest that Nick has used Marjorie but now has lost interest
because she is not “fun anymore”
o“I can just remember...it seems more like a castle”
- Marjorie has tried to make the old ruin romantic but Nick doesn’t really think
about it and can just about remember what it was like
- The ruin here is being used as a metaphor for their relationship
- Nick can only just remember the romantic and “fun” times
- Marjorie is still under the impression that all is happy and it still is beautiful and
romantic

Character
• Nick
o“He felt bill coming up to the fire”
- From this you can tell that there is a strong relationship between the two of them,
and it may also suggest that Nick is gay
o“Did she go alright?”
- From this sentence you can see that bill knew they were going to break up so nick
had planned it
- It could be seen that Nick is unfair, because he was horrible to her, picked a fight
and planned this trip, knowing that he would break her heart at the end of it
o“Go on and say it”
- Makes him out to be a coward because he does not break up with her outright,
she had to tell him to
o“They aren’t striking”
- This may be Nick gently trying to break up with Marjorie, as the fish are a
metaphor for him and will not strike, as he will not commit
o“lying, his face on the blanket”
- Use of “lying” is ambiguous- is it about the lying position or that he is lying to bill
• Marjorie
o“it seems more like a castle”
- This emphasises her innocence and her romantic nature.
- It may also show that she still thinks the relationship is beautiful and romantic
o“that’s our old ruin”
- This shows that they have a past and she remembers it full, but also emphasises
how little he remembers about their past
- This may also suggest she knows what is to come and is trying to draw nick into
their shared past
o“She loved fishing. She loved fishing with Nick”
- This repetition emphasises that she loves nick and he is important to her
- Nick says he taught her about fishing, this may suggest she only learnt it for him
- This contrasts with Nicks stark ungratefulness for even the “basket of supper” she
had made, and shows their different personalities and feelings for each other
o“Marjorie stood up”
- She did not make a fuss over the break up and this shows that she is a dignified
person who is calm and collected
- This makes that reader sympathise and feel pity for her more, as she didn’t
grapple for attention, just accepted her sad fate
• Bill
 o“selected a sandwich...walked over to have a look at the rods”
- Bill’s attitude to the picnic basket and fishing rods is very relaxed and casual,
highlighting the tension in Nick’s behaviour earlier in the story

Themes
• Elegiac tone and deals with the end of a relationship
o“everything that had made the mill a mill...stood deserted”
- This creates a sense of loss and negative associations with the idea of change in
the first paragraph
- The lack of people is emphasised by the word “deserted”
- This shows how they are the only people there and may emphasise the lost
feeling in the relationship
o“there it is...i don’t know...you know everything”
- Hemingway has built tension in Nick’s terse answers
- The earlier ending creates an expectation of loss
- When nick then picks a fight, you feel the opposition and contrast between the
two, making you expect the break up
o“Marge”
- Only used when the relationship is nearly at the end
- Hemingway ahs used this to show the affection that once existed and makes the
break p seem more upsetting
• Relationships
o“’did she go all right?’ Bill said. ‘Yes’ Nick said”
- This shows that bill clearly understands how nick feels
- This may be Hemingway trying to tell us that friendship is much more important
and durable than romance
• Symbolism
o“’should I let it drop’...’sure. let it go’”
- Here Nick is in charge of all of the fishing
- This may symbolise he is always in charge, which may have been a cause of the
break-up
o“Marjorie did not reel in until the boat touched the shore”
- She hopes for it to go right until the last minute
- Shows that she is still under the illusion everything is okay with the relationship
and hopes it will be okay for the rest of their lives
o“he knew the moon was coming up”
- The moon seems like a metaphor for the fight or his declaration that he wanted to
break up
- The moon produces no light of its own but is seen as luminary object- this may
suggest that although the relationship may have seemed bright and wonderful, it
never really was really