Cross Country Snow Reflection

My procrastination has finally worked out well for these reading responses. I don't know if it was fate but I particularly enjoyed the last two Nick Adams stories we read. In "Cross Country Snow" I really enjoyed the basic dialogue between two young male friends at a ski lodge. In their last conversation the subjects of pregnancy, fatherhood, and growing up in general are brought up but very little is said about them. The longest that Nick or George say to one another at a time consisted of nine words. As a person who has never really felt the need to share a lot of my feelings I see this conversation as a perfect illustration of what a man to man talk is. I can only imagine if there were two girls involved in the same conversation. The story would probably extend another ten pages and we would get to read lovely paragraphs about how each of them felt about having a child or growing old and realizing that there is not enough time to have real fun anymore. If I had to pick between the two I would easily pick the first. I wouldn't care how two fictional girls feel about those subjects mentioned above. However, because Hemingway made the dialogue between the men sound so realistic I feel that I am right there with them and actually care what they have to say.

I also enjoyed this short story because this part in our lives is creeping closer and closer. I've already accepted that I have a lot of friends that I will probably never see again and that I have done a lot of fun things growing up that now that I'm older I won't be able to do again. It is a sad truth and the reader is able to watch this one moment when Nick realizes that he can no longer have eternal freedom like he has had his whole life, but that he now has to be a father and provide for his family. I don't think anybody is ever actually looking forward to this moment in their life and I know that I am for sure not. I have always hated being tied down to something and lived my life pretty carefree with my main intentions being, "have a good time." As the years go by I am slowly realizing that I have to change or I will get left behind. I now have to actually try in school and I have to take responsibilities for my actions whether they have to do with some sort of leadership position or just everyday life. I have two and a half years until I am out in the real world with nothing to fall back on if I screw up. It is a scary thought and requires a lot of maturity to realize that you have big boy responsibilities now. Nick has had his fun and now it is time for him to be man and take care of what he needs to.