Stein

Repetitions in Ada stand out and make the reader think about the meaning of the repeated words. In this way Staine emphasizes the importance of talking and being listened to in a relationship, whether it is within the family or with a lover. More dynamic moments, where the narrator explains external circumstances (e.g., marriage, death), do not occur repeatedly, they serve only as a background of the story. 

The repetitions in Ada also create a certain rhythm, making the story read a little like poetry, sometimes feeling almost like nonsense rhymes. Or the repetition of general phrases might also point to the generalization of the story, perhaps Ada and her specifics are not as important as the fact that the story could happen to any girl in any family.

Wharton’s story is entirely told from Waythorn’s point of view, the narrator partly identifies with the main character. In Ada, the narration consists of two parts – a story about Barnes, devoid of any emotions and focusing rather on external events, and a story about Ada, that brings to the fore Ada as a person, the narrator does not seem to be that much interested in external matters.

Hemingway

Does the ending of Hemingway’s Soldier’s Home evoke any positive thoughts? Would you say that there’s a chance that Krebs will change his attitude toward life? 

When it comes to the character of Krebs, Hemingway, compared to Stein, lets us much deeper into the mind of his main character. While the story is told in third person, we can quite clearly see what Krebs is thinking. All of this is also supported by the writing style. It is not overly complicated, it feels rather apathetic, which coincides with Krebs’ mental state. He is probably suffering from either Major depression or Persistent depressive disorder, the difference being mainly in intensity with the former being more intense while the latter, though it does make one feel joyless, does not limit the person’s ability to function in the world as severely. And, to a degree, probably also PTSD. The text reflects the apathy of depression with effective, almost hollow-feeling sentences, like in this paragraph:

Now he would have liked a girl if she had come to him and not wanted to talk. But here at home it was all too complicated. He knew he could never get through it all again. It was not worth the trouble. That was the thing about French girls and German girls. There was not all this talking. You couldn’t talk much and you did not need to talk. It was simple and you were friends. He thought about France and then he began to think about Germany. On the whole he had liked Germany better. He did not want to leave Germany. He did not want to come home. Still, he had come home. He sat on the front porch.

Here, the apathy is obvious, there is nothing for him, really, he doesn’t seem to care for much now. The writing style reflects the real psychology that is underlining it and which reflects Hemingway’s own experiences or of those he knew who went through World War I. 

Up in Michigan focuses on internal feelings as well, this time, however, central themes are platonic, unrequited love and gender roles. Both stories end on a sad note, changed by war, Krebs does not manage to fit into society, and Liz realizes that Jim is not who she thought he was.

Questions

Does the ending of Hemingway’s Soldier’s Home evoke any positive thoughts? Would you say that there’s a chance that Krebs will change his attitude toward life? 

Up in Michigan is a very suggestive story, capable of evoking emotion even though the prose is quite barebones. Hemingway also doesn’t let us see into the minds of the characters, how are we then meant to interpret the story? Is it a story of rape?