An Analysis of Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway
The text chosen for the analysis of an extract of emotive prose is a famous story Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway. It has been chosen because of this work's author's admiration for Hemingway's writings, their thematic and problematic depth and stylistic peculiarities.
David Lodge, British literary critic, claims that this story is both realistic and modern as the assumed relationship between text and reality is typical of classic bourgeois realism, but in the experience of readers it has proved ambiguous and resistant to interpretative closure. We can also say that the passage now commented upon is a specimen of literary minimalism, a strong trend in the 20th century American literature. Several characteristic features pertaining to this style are: allowing context to dictate meaning, avoiding not only literary devices but even adverbs, hints or innuendo, unexceptional characters, active role of readers. These features are often observed in Hemingway's prose and his style is described as "telegraphic", "lean, hard, athletic", "tip of the iceberg".
Another characteristic of Hemingway's writings often admired by the critics is his ability to write beautiful and meaningful titles for his texts. In most cases they create a vivid visual image that helps read the text and also lets the author do without long descriptions. Looking at the name of the story – Cat in the Rain – the reader does not only see the cat but he or she also feels the cold of the raindrops or smells the rain, so from the very beginning of reading our different senses are involved. And of course, though different people may feel differently about the rain itself, it is almost impossible to imagine a cat enjoying sitting in the rain, so the name of the story makes an overall impression of loneliness and unhappiness.
The story was written in 1920s and published in 1925 in the short story collection In Our Time. That was the time of the...