Structure
The short story “The Three-Day Blow” by Ernest Hemingway follows a conversation between two friends who meet at a cottage and start drinking.
To better understand the short story, you should note that the story is written in counterpoint to a previous story in the same collection, “The End of Something”, which presents Nick’s breakup with Marjorie.
Additionally, the story is representative of Ernest Hemingway’s first attempts in developing the “iceberg technique”, a narrative method pioneered by the author. The story gives readers very few details about the plot or the character’s background, leaving them to uncover it through various symbols and subtle hints.
Title
The title of the short story, “The Three-Day Blow” is symbolic of life cycles and relationships. It refers to the three-day windy autumn weather that creates the setting “ ‘She’ll blow like that for three days,’ Bill said.” (l. 18)
At a deeper level, the title is symbolic of relationship cycles and break-ups, as Nick compares the weather with his decision to break up with Marjorie:
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Beginning
The short story begins with an exposition that sets the tone of the story, introducing readers to the melancholic autumn scenery, and to one of the main characters, Nick: “The fruit had been picked and the fall wind blew through the bare trees. Nick stopped and picked up a Wagner apple from beside the road...” (ll. 2-3)
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Middle
The rising action conveys the conversation between the two young friends while they are getting drunk. Throughout it, Bill tries to be in control of the conversation and of Nick. A first tension moment is introduced when Bill scolds Nick for not wearing socks: “Bill came down with a pair of heavy wool socks. ‘It’s getting too late to go around without socks,’ he said.” (ll. 44-45)
The two of them begin chatting about the baseball season, about their favorite team, the Cardinals, and the team that always wins, the Giants. An important element that hints that there is more to the story than what the readers are shown is Nick’s comment about the games being rigged: “ ‘There’s always more to it than we know about’ ” (l. 67). Similarly, we find out later that there is more going on in Nick’s mind than he tells Bill.
The conversation switches to literature and the two friends argue over which books or authors are better. A foreshadowing element is introduced through the references to the novels Forest Lovers by Maurice Hewlett or Richard Feverel by George Meredith;
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Ending
The falling action is marked by Nick regaining hope, as Bill points out that it is very easy to find another girl or get back together with Marjorie: “He felt happy now. There was not anything that was irrevocable. He might go into town Saturday night. Today was Thursday.” (ll. 288-289)
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