I think the swamp represents a pool of uncertainty for Nick, as he struggles to see what really matters and what is needed; he is clouded by a deep and dark swamp that never allows him to see the bottom. A Swamp is known as a ‘submerged drench ‘ therefore suggesting in some way it is a whirl pool that is incapacitated and will take a very long time to disappear suggesting that Nick’s trouble will last a long time. His clouded vision and this whirl pool could be because of his struggles dealing with war and religion, relationships and sexuality and his overall human concept in the way he does or should see life. I think Nick feels a struggle when parting from the river and the swamp. It’s his past but somehow fishing may be just too hard. Maybe he feels that now is not the time and that there are ‘plenty of days coming’. He is hesitant and worried somehow both dealing with opposing forces – his heart and his head , one telling him to go back ‘fish’ in other words find your sorrows and fix them , make them alight. In this sense it could represent hate and everything seen in the war. In another case is could well be woman, and the issues he has with commitment and weather as a man has ‘found himself’. The other part of him is pulling him forward and away, trying to leave behind the past; blocking it off in such a hopeful way that it should be gone forever.
What if the swamp is simply the representation of the rest of his life, which is wholly uncertain and forboding to engage? Nick enjoys the simple pleasures, lack of responsibility and anonymity of his camp along the river where there is plenty to eat, tranquility, and no orders to follow or terrible duties to uphold. In his camp he doesn't have to face his past or his future. He has simply to fish and live, which he can do successfully and easily enough, at least during the milder seasons. It seems to me that entering the swamp is crossing the threshold of responsibility; from the freedom of youth to the duties of adulthood, which can be as trying and overwhelming as those of battle. At least in battle our warriors have been trained and armed, and there is a cause or country to defend. Leaving behind the youthful pleasures and freedoms of fishing, smoking, camping, and wandering for the routine, monotony, and labors of age, a career, and even a family is far more daunting; especially when looking back on the easy life and realizing that once embarked upon, the clutches of responsibility are impossible to escape. So why not delay their inevitable coming as long as he can? As of now Nick in unencumbered by low-hanging snags, unseen snares and muddy bottoms of the dark and murky swamp. He is free to cast his line to drift along on the cool flow of the current. The swamp is dark and treacherous while the sunlit flow of the stream is clear all the way to the bottom. Though he is living alone in a tent, he has a "good camp", and he knows what he has and doesn't have. I say the swamp is symbolic of what lies beyond in his life from this point forward. Camping and fishing and eating trout in a leeward place along the river is far more emotionally comforting and safer than wading into the darkness of his future from here. "There (will be) plenty of days for him to fish the swamp." As for now, Nick will stay in camp until the ever-flowing current washes him into the mysterious and frightening depths of adulthood. Certainly it will, but not just yet. Will he ever fish there? Everyone does eventually, and some of us have better luck than others. Some land the elusive big one, while others tangle their lures in the trees or submerged snags. Many bog down in the thick mud, and others even drown. Nick knows of both the perils and pleasures beyond this moment of transition, and he knows he will have to venture out into the mire at some point. Today, however, he will fish the dependable waters in this branch of the Big Two Hearted River.
I think the swamp represents a pool of uncertainty for Nick, as he struggles to see what really matters and what is needed; he is clouded by a deep and dark swamp that never allows him to see the bottom. A Swamp is known as a ‘submerged drench ‘ therefore suggesting in some way it is a whirl pool that is incapacitated and will take a very long time to disappear suggesting that Nick’s trouble will last a long time. His clouded vision and this whirl pool could be because of his struggles dealing with war and religion, relationships and sexuality and his overall human concept in the way he does or should see life.
ReplyDeleteI think Nick feels a struggle when parting from the river and the swamp. It’s his past but somehow fishing may be just too hard. Maybe he feels that now is not the time and that there are ‘plenty of days coming’. He is hesitant and worried somehow both dealing with opposing forces – his heart and his head , one telling him to go back ‘fish’ in other words find your sorrows and fix them , make them alight. In this sense it could represent hate and everything seen in the war. In another case is could well be woman, and the issues he has with commitment and weather as a man has ‘found himself’. The other part of him is pulling him forward and away, trying to leave behind the past; blocking it off in such a hopeful way that it should be gone forever.
BooooooooooYaaaaaaaaaaaaay :)
What if the swamp is simply the representation of the rest of his life, which is wholly uncertain and forboding to engage? Nick enjoys the simple pleasures, lack of responsibility and anonymity of his camp along the river where there is plenty to eat, tranquility, and no orders to follow or terrible duties to uphold. In his camp he doesn't have to face his past or his future. He has simply to fish and live, which he can do successfully and easily enough, at least during the milder seasons.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that entering the swamp is crossing the threshold of responsibility; from the freedom of youth to the duties of adulthood, which can be as trying and overwhelming as those of battle. At least in battle our warriors have been trained and armed, and there is a cause or country to defend. Leaving behind the youthful pleasures and freedoms of fishing, smoking, camping, and wandering for the routine, monotony, and labors of age, a career, and even a family is far more daunting; especially when looking back on the easy life and realizing that once embarked upon, the clutches of responsibility are impossible to escape. So why not delay their inevitable coming as long as he can?
As of now Nick in unencumbered by low-hanging snags, unseen snares and muddy bottoms of the dark and murky swamp. He is free to cast his line to drift along on the cool flow of the current. The swamp is dark and treacherous while the sunlit flow of the stream is clear all the way to the bottom.
Though he is living alone in a tent, he has a "good camp", and he knows what he has and doesn't have. I say the swamp is symbolic of what lies beyond in his life from this point forward. Camping and fishing and eating trout in a leeward place along the river is far more emotionally comforting and safer than wading into the darkness of his future from here. "There (will be) plenty of days for him to fish the swamp." As for now, Nick will stay in camp until the ever-flowing current washes him into the mysterious and frightening depths of adulthood. Certainly it will, but not just yet.
Will he ever fish there? Everyone does eventually, and some of us have better luck than others. Some land the elusive big one, while others tangle their lures in the trees or submerged snags. Many bog down in the thick mud, and others even drown. Nick knows of both the perils and pleasures beyond this moment of transition, and he knows he will have to venture out into the mire at some point. Today, however, he will fish the dependable waters in this branch of the Big Two Hearted River.