I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen “A Day’s Wait” (1933) af Ernest Hemingway. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten, samt idéer til fortolkning af tekstens temaer og budskab.
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) er en af de mest berømte amerikanske forfattere, og han var med til at revolutionere forfatterverdenen i det 20. århundrede. Han var både journalist og forfatter, og har både modtaget Pulitzerprisen og Nobelprisen i litteratur. Hans mest kendte romaner er The Old Man and the Sea, For Whom the Bell Tolls og A Farewell to Arms.
The Father
Schatz’s father is also the narrator of the story. Though we have insight into his thoughts, he does not reveal anything about his feelings. The unmanned man strikes as a rational-minded person, focused on facts: “One was to bring down the fever, another a purgative, the third to overcome an acid condition. The germs of influenza can only exist in an acid condition, he explained.” (p. 139, ll. 21-23).
Though the narrator is unnamed, some critics claim the father is an autobiographical character called Nick Adams, who appears in many other short stories of the author. In this short story, the father acts in a very adult way, incapable of perceiving the little boy’s inner torment. This is why he goes hunting quails as if he has no concern in the world: “I thought perhaps he was a little lightheaded and after giving him the prescribed capsules at eleven o’clock I went out for a while.” (p. 141, ll. 1-2).
The man seems very detached from his son, whom he calls “the boy”, and even the rest of the family whom he only mentions as “they”. For this reason, he stands out as a typically male character, more concerned with reason than with feelings and attachment. When he discovers his son thought he was going to die, he has a very down-to-earth approach, rationally explaining him his mistake: ““You poor Schatz,” I said. “Poor old Schatz. It’s like miles and kilometers. You aren’t going to die. That’s a different thermometer.” (p. 142, ll. 7-8).
It becomes clear that not even after finding out the reason his child acted strangely, he cannot empathize with Schatz and does not take the boy’s drama too seriously.
