Summary
The story “Now I Lay Me” by Ernest Hemingway begins with the main character, Nick Adams, describing the different ways in which he distracts himself to avoid falling asleep. Nick is an American lieutenant in Italy during World War I, and the story suggests that he has gone through a traumatic experience. He is convinced that he will lose himself if he falls asleep in the dark, so he imagines himself fishing for trout in a stream from his childhood. On other nights, he prays for all the people he has ever known, or he tries to recall everything that has ever happened to him, right down to his earliest memory.
While describing these methods, Nick also describes a few memories from his childhood, such as his childhood home and his father’s collectables being burned by his mot...