Hemingway’s writing style in “Big Two-Hearted River” is extremely minimalist, meaning his language is simple and direct, rather than poetic or lyrical. Take the following passage, for example, which comes after Nick has pitched his tent and is settling into his spot in the woods for the night:
He dipped the sandwiches in the cold water. The current carried away the crumbs. He ate the sandwiches and dipped his hat full of water to drink, the water running out through his hat just ahead of his drinking.
Hemingway’s first two sentences here are quite simple: “He dipped the sandwiches in the cold water" and “The current carried away the crumbs." The longer final sentence is made up of short words that recycle the language in the sentences that came before (such as “sandwiches,” “dipped,” and “water”) and also repeats words within it (such as "drinking" and “hat"). While some writers strive to diversify their sentence structures and word use, Hemingway intentionally writes in this simple, repetitive style.
Hemingway uses this style for a couple reasons. First, it leads to a somewhat disaffected tone, which matches Nick’s emotional state. Though Nick has clearly been traumatized by his time serving in World War I, he is also repressing much of his emotions and keeping them “choked” up in his mind. The narrator’s own “choked” expression therefore matches that of the character. Second, Hemingway uses this style in order to encourage readers to draw their own conclusions about a given moment in the story rather than relying on the narrator for context or exposition.
While Hemingway’s minimalism is quite consistent, it is worth noting that there are a few moments in the story where he does use more figurative or animated language, primarily when Nick feels relaxed and is enjoying himself in nature.
