Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
We’re just going to put it out there that swamps are not the nicest of places. Nick especially has a knee-jerk reaction against the swamp in “Big Two-Hearted River.” Is he afraid of gators? Here’s what he says about the swamp:
Nick did not want to go in there now. He felt a reaction against deep wading with the water deepening up under his armpits, to hook big trout in places impossible to land them. In the swamp the banks were bare, the big cedars came together overhead, the sun did not come through, except in patches; in the fast deep water, in the half light, the fishing would be tragic. In the swamp fishing was a tragic adventure. Nick did not want it. He did not want to go down the stream any further today. (II.60)
Darkness, deepness… it sounds like the opposite of Nick’s neat, ordered campsite, and that lack of order probably has a lot to do with why he would want to avoid the swamp (let us direct you to our discussion of rules and order in the “Themes” section for more on this). One thing that really jumps out from Nick’s description is the word “tragic.” “Tragic” might make you think of something like Romeo and Juliet, but it also might make you think of war. Either way, doom looms large.
Okay, so fishing is darn near impossible in the swamp. No reason to get all worked up over it, right? Well, this story is about Nick keeping everything under wraps—mainly the stuff in his head. Nick’s struggle often manifests itself in his outward behavior, though. Similar to how Nick is distressed by the large trout that he isn’t able to catch, he’s also distressed by the fact that the swamp is something that might just defeat him. Our man Nick likes things that he can know and handle, like the position of the river, or the nail to hang up his pack. The swamp represents the ultimate lack of control.
Let’s not leave out the little fact that the very last line in the story is about the swamp; head on over to our “What’s Up with the Ending?” section for more on what’s going on there.