Language

Language overview

Narration and dialogue are combined. The first part of the text is only conveyed in the narrative mode and includes many descriptive passages:  “Jim was short and dark with big mustaches and big hands. Jim was …

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Style of writing

Hemingway is particularly known for writing in a minimalist style, using words sparingly and leaving many elements of his stories up to reader interpretation.

He even coined the term “the Iceberg Theory” to describe his own writing…

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Symbols

The story includes several symbols which help the author draw attention to the story’s themes.

The deer the men bring back from their hunt symbolise women’s vulnerability, and Liz’s specifically. Liz is a naive, innocent woman who believes in romantic love but ends up being raped by the man whom she thinks she loves. 

The changing seasons serve as negative foreshadowing. The story starts in the springtime and moves on to summer, while Liz is feeling increasingly hopeful about the possibility of…