The End of Something Theme
...our” instead of possible saying the “the towns old ruin” or relating it to the town in another way. Her using “our” was put there on purpose because the reader knows that the old mill doesn’t belong to either of the young couple. That quote is also the first spoken sentence in the story, which makes it stand out more than say if it was the third or fourth. Being the first sentence of the story it gives it more precedence. At the break up of the relationship Marjorie is the one that rows away even though Nick initiated the breakup. She takes his initiative, takes the boat and tells Nick “…you can walk back around the point”. (431) Marjorie is ending the relationship and basically leaving Nick in the dark. This supports the theme of once again the relationship ending. The title “The End of Something” was used by Hemingway to foreshadow as to what the story was and to what the story would be about. He is foreshadowing of what will be happening. When the story is opened with the mill and the mill is abandoned the reader is made aware that the rest of the story will be about something ending. Especially when Nick and Marjorie are introduced with “Ten years later there was nothing of the mill left except the broken white limestone of its foundations showing through the swampy second growth as Nick and Marjorie rowed along the shore”. (429) and making Nick and Marjorie again parallel to the mill. Hemingway uses row...