
Title
Nick Adams and Jake Barnes: Hemingway’s Earliest Heroes and Alter Egos
Document Type
Article
Annotation
Discusses the autobiographical nature of Hemingway’s writing, contending that Nick Adams and Jake Barnes are both alter egos of the young author, with their fictional adventures based in part on Hemingway’s real life experiences in northern Michigan, the Italian front, and elsewhere Daiker cites numerous comparison points, including their shared connections as writers, penchant for alcohol and physical activity, preoccupation with death, and coping strategies for dealing with loss. Surveys several Nick Adams stories and concludes by comparing Nick’s fall in “Cross-Country Snow” with the telegram scene in the final chapter of The Sun Also Rises to demonstrate each hero’s resilience in the face of defeat.
Published in
Midwestern Miscellany
Volume
47
Date
2019
Pages
66-82
Citation
Daiker, Donald A. “Nick Adams and Jake Barnes: Hemingway’s Earliest Heroes and Alter Egos.” Midwestern Miscellany 47 (Spring/Fall 2019): 66-82.