Theme and message

Violence

The main theme of Ernest Hemingway’s short story “The Battler” is violence.

Violence as a theme can be firstly observed through the language used by the characters. Both Nick and Ad use insulting words such as “bastard” (l. 55; l. 178), “crut” (l. 10), or “hell” (l. 170). This use of language suggests aggression.

Furthermore, physical violence also plays a major part in the story. The text begins with Nick being hit by a brakeman and thrown off a train. As a result, Nick sustains injuries: “Nick rubbed his eye. There was a big bump coming up. He would have a black eye, all right. It ached already” (ll. 17-18). Similarly, Ad has also experienced a great deal of physical violence. As a former boxing champion, Ad’s job was to fight with other people. As a result, he has sustained many injuries that affected his physical and mental health: “ ‘He took too many beatings, for one thing,’ the negro sipped the coffee. ‘But that just made him sort of simple’ ” (ll. 219-220). Also, Bugs was imprisoned for stabbing someo...