Change can be good, or it can be bad: we might come out of an experience changed for the worse, or we might undergo a transformation for the better. Okay, so how does this help us understand change in “Big Two-Hearted River”? Well, it’s actually not as difficult as you’d think. If you pay attention to when the story’s language is being positive and when it’s being negative, you’ll notice that change can cause despair. But in order to pull back from despair, you need hope. Think about it in terms of the war: Nick comes back from it changed for the worse, but that doesn’t mean he can’t change again.
Questions About Change
- Identify some of the things in the story, aside from Nick, that have undergone a change. How do their changes reflect on Nick’s?
- What indications are there that Nick has been changed from the person he was before, given that we never get to see that person?
- What is a good metaphor to describe change in this story?
Chew on This
This story says that we can never really change back to who we were after something major has happened to us.
The changes in “Big Two-Hearted River” are generally portrayed as destructive and associated with the war.