The End of Something by Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway’s iceberg and other activities
Hemingway said: ‘I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven-eighths of it underwater for every part that shows.’
Jot down some initial ideas about what he might have meant by this statement.
How does Hemingway’s statement link to this particular story? Here are some ideas which might add to your understanding. Tick the options you think apply.
· Marjorie and Nick might be cold when fishing.
· The story seems to be about a fishing trip but there’s more to it than that.
· We have to dig beneath the surface of the characters to discover more about them.
· Icebergs are made from water and Marjorie and Nick are fishing on the water.
· The writer uses dialogue but gives no thoughts so we have to ‘read between the lines’.
Now discuss your choices with a partner. Are there any statements that definitely do not apply? Why not?
Be prepared to feed your thoughts back to the rest of the class.
Quick character study
Choose a selection of words to describe Nick and Marjorie.
bored / hurt / complicatedquiet / nasty / uncomplicated
moody / lively / capable
friendly / introverted / romantic
happy / cruel / unromantic
unhappy / careful / practical
careless / mysterious / imaginative
dreamy / contented / discontented
Now add at least two more words of your own.
Which character do you sympathise with most? Why?
Conversation focus
1. Re-read the conversation between Nick and Marjorie on pages 78–80.
2. Now look at the example below, which focuses on Marjorie’s words and thoughts at a specific point in the conversation.
3. Your job is to create another speech bubble and insert an interesting quotation from this conversation. Then add a thought bubble in which you explain what might be going through the character’s mind.
Before you start writing, try to consider what aspect of the conversation you most want to focus on. You may be asked to explain your choice of quotation!
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