The Three-day Blow

Torejas, Chelyn

IV-ABMC

The Three-day Blow

This story is filled with symbols. The author utilizes the concept of nature to illuminate some of the story’s elements.

A blow as depicted in the title is a storm that brings rain and heavy winds. It can also symbolize change and chaos in a young man’s life. The story started with "The rain stopped as Nick turned into the road that went up through the orchard. The fruit had been picked and the fall wind blew through the bare trees”. With this quote, we can see that it was previously stormy.

The three-day blow can be a metaphor of Nick’s sudden break up with his girlfriend. He realized how his relationship suddenly ends as the wind will end suddenly after it blows. Yet there is always a possibility that the wind will blow again akin to the possibility that Nick might see Marge again. The dying fire can also be a metaphor of the dying relationship between Nick and his girlfriend. The “old man” in this story refers to Bill’s Father. In this story, figurative language is not heavily employed by the author.

The whole story particularly the first paragraph was filled with symbols. The brown grass and bare trees symbolizes death. With this, it has created gloomy and depressing symbols. The shiny apple, however, symbolizes a light of hope.

The presence of the mackinaw coat, fireplace, bare trees, blowing wind and thick sock depicts a cold and windy setting. The gun shooting activity portrays a mountainous or a forested area where the story took place.

In this story, Hemingway uses the act of drinking as a form of expression through his two characters Nick and Bill. The two talk about baseball, literature, and their fathers and about Nick’s inner conflict about his girlfriend, Marge. The two made a male bonding while drinking until they come to their senses that drinking has no meaning.

In the story, Bill was constantly assuring Nick that he has done a good decision about his relationship with Marge. There is a possibility that Nick is unsure of his decision. This stage can be a stage where the readers decide, though it is not clear, whether Nick was confused about his gender –whether he wants to become a family man or a man’s man.

The concept of gossip which causes the breakup was portrayed in the story using the character of Marjorie’s mother. She was negatively portrayed in this story. A line describes her as “terrible”.

When Nick passes a mirror he realizes he was not the same. The later part reveals the dynamic transformation of Nick from being problematic into being optimistic. The lines, "Outside now the Marge business was no longer so tragic. It was not even very important. The wind blew everything like that away". The wind of the storm has somewhat blow away Nick’s problem with his girlfriend. At the end, Nick became hopeful and positive that he began to plan for other things. This is reflected on the lines saying, “He felt happy. Nothing was finished. Nothing ever lost.” Though the leaves are dead, the grass is dead and the rain is heavily pouring, like Eve who chose to eat the other side of the apple, Nick choose to delight seeing the shiny the apple.