Guthman 1

Kayelynn Guthman
Ms. Albrecht
Advanced Composition
Friday, February 20, 2015
Love or Lust
The tip of the iceberg is a style of writing that gives only the story and the reader must
find the deeper meaning in it. And its not just the big picture, either. Every little detail is a
symbol of something. Ernest Hemingway was famous for his iceberg writing and his story Up
in Michigan is a very good example of this. The 1920s story is told through the viewpoint of
Liz Coates, a worker in a diner in Hortons Bay, Michigan, who is in love with one Jim Gilmore
who eats at the diner regularly. He is the small towns blacksmith and while he notices Liz, he
doesnt feel the same way about her as she feels about him. One night, at the end of the story, a
very drunk Jim essentially rapes Liz. After this interaction, Liz doesnt know how to feel about it.
She still loves Jim but what he did to her was not what she was expecting in the slightest. Its
clear that this story is about the danger and confusion of ones first sexual experience.
Starting with the setting, Hortons Bay is a small town in Michigan that is basically a
group of homes and businesses between Boyne City and Charlevoix. The town consists of a few
houses along the main road, a few businesses, a school, and a Methodist Church. The town is
located in a grove of elm trees by Lake Michigan. Its small, basically insignificant and a perfect
place for this story to take place. Everybody knows everybody but do they really?
As for the main characters, Jim Gilmore is short and dark with big mustaches and big
hands (Hemingway). Its obvious that he is supposed to be a weathered, experienced man. He is
the blacksmith in the town and well-liked by everyone, including Lizs employers, the Smiths.

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Hes also strong as is evident when he lifts a four gallon jug of whiskey. The story specifically
states that [i]t was hard to lift such a big jug up to drink out of it (Hemingway). He is also
portrayed as mature when hes read[ing] The Toledo Blade and the Grand Rapids paper and
talk[ing] about the shop to A.J. Smith and about the Republican Party to James G. Blaine
(Hemingway). Hes certainly supposed to be a worldly and educated man.
His name, though, is a bit ironic. Jim means supplanter, which is a conqueror or
someone who takes over something that isnt theirs. However, Gilmore means devoted or
sword bearer or one that serves the Virgin Mary which implies some sort of nobility. So together,
one can interpret them to mean devoted supplanter or it is supposed to represent an almost
hypocritical image. Because many people are known by their last name or family name,
Gilmore may be what people see Jim as: a good, well-meaning man who is just part of the
town. But ones first name is more personal and reveals individuality. Jim may represent his
real intent.
Liz Coates is the neatest girl [Mrs. Smith]d ever seen (Hemingway). She is portrayed
as a young, naive girl who works at the local diner and dotes on Jim Gilmore. It is said that she
has good legs and always wore clean gingham aprons (Hemingway) which shows that shes
shallow in her personality and perception of the world. This naivety is shown through her
description of Jim. The story uses she liked it to describe many things: the way he walked
over from the shop, about his mustache, about how white his teeth were when he smiled,
very much that he didnt look like a blacksmith (Hemingway), and others. Its obvious that she
doesnt really understand her feeling towards Jim except that feeling that way made her feel
funny.

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Lizs name, unlike Jims, completely fits her personality. Liz means Gods Promise,
implying that she is dainty and fragile. Coates is given to a person who lives in a humble
home. This is one more thing that points to her innocent persona.
As the story goes along, it is evident that Liz is obsessed with Jim. She thinks about him
[a]ll the time (Hemingway) and a lot of the story is spent describing his physical attributes.
Before a hunting trip, Liz and Mrs. Smith spend time cooking for them and Liz toys with the idea
of making something special for Jim but she decides not to because she is too embarrassed to
admit to Mrs. Smith that she wants to do so. While Jim and the others are on the hunting trip
Liz thought about him and it seems that at first she tries not to but ultimately let[s] herself go
(Hemingway). Jim, however, does not think about Liz at all. He notice[s] that her hair [is]
always neat behind but never [thinks] about her (Hemingway). It just goes to show how
unbalanced the relationship is.
Shes disappointed when he gets back from the hunting trip because [n]othing...
happened and she thought something would, that everything would be all right when he came
(Hemingway). Before dinner, Jim and the others sit and talk about the hunt and drink whiskey.
Theyre quiet during dinner but stay up and talk. Liz stayed in the kitchen, pretending to read a
book and thinking about Jim (Hemingway). Jim comes in, drunk and basically starts feeling her
up and asks her to go on a walk.
An analysis by Sara Evans summarizes the scene:
They sit down on the dock next to the warehouse and Jim starts feeling Liz up.
She is scared and eager, but as Jim insists on having sex, fear takes over Liz and
she tells him to stop. He doesnt stop, and when hes finished he falls asleep on
top of her.

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She gets up and tries to rouse Jim, but as he doesnt stir she begins to cry.
However, she kisses his cheek and puts her coat over him, then walks up toward
the house.
She points out that while Liz is scared, she may not be wholly opposed to the encounter
(Evans) since shes been lusting after Jim for so long. But she does tell Jim to stop many times
and he doesnt. This indicates a good deal of cruelty, arrogance or both (Evans), completely
changing the original impression of Jim as just a nice guy.
Now, it comes down to the last little bit of the story. Jim falls asleep as soon as he finishes
and its clear that Liz is offended by this. And who wouldnt be? Hes acting if nothing happened
which is probably more due to the alcohol in his system. And he had hurt her (Hemingway).
But she still cares for him. Its apparent when she kiss[es] him on the cheek and cover[s] him
with [her coat] (Hemingway). Shes very confused about how she should feel about this. Shes
been hoping for him to notice her for so long that when they finally get intimate, shes
disappointed that it doesnt feel like she thought it would. Instead everything [feels] gone
(Hemingway).
As she walks away from him, she walks up a sandy hill as a cold mist comes up from the
bay. Mist or fog is always an omen of sadness or misery or danger. Shes obviously
miserable. Sand is usually associated with weak foundation. The whole of Hortons Bay is built
on sand in a grove of elm trees. Elm trees symbolize inner strength. Therefore, the town
embodies Lizs personality: a mask of inner strength built on a sandy foundation of doubt and
disillusioned passion.
Another analysis by Ian Maloney suggests that the story has ties to John Miltons poem
Paradise Lost. The poem describes the Fall of Adam and Maloney says that Hemingway
create[d] ambiguous characters living in a fallen world (Maloney), the characters meaning
Liz and Jim. The sexual scene at the end of the story is his version of the Fall of Man and
represents the shame and isolation after the Fall (Maloney). It makes sense because after
everything happens, Liz feels empty and cold, as though her fantasies of being with Jim or a
metaphorical Eden were crushed by the Fall from grace or the loss of her virginity.

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This connection may also be personal as Hemingway loved the Michigan countryside,
even chose thisfor his first honeymoon (Maloney). It is also suspected that Hemingway had
his first sexual experiencein the area of Hortons Bay and that this story is the sourcebook
for an adolescents sexual awakening (Maloney). It would make sense that Hemingway would
link the Fall and sexual awakening together.
Up in Michigan is about the dangers and confusion of the first time. Liz and Jim are
disconnected in their wants and it ends up with what is now classified as rape. While Liz loves
Jim, she is not sure how to deal with what this encounter means. The story may also be an
allusion to Miltons Paradise Lost and the Fall of Man and the aftereffects that the Fall has had
on society today, linked to his own personal experience. For the most part, it is more depressing
than dirty.

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Works Cited
Evans, Sara. Wang, Bella ed. "Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway Up in Michigan Summary
and Analysis". GradeSaver, 10 December 2010 Web. 19 February 2015.
Hemingway, Ernest. Up in Michigan. The Short Stories. New York: Scribners, 1925, n.p.
Maloney, Ian. "Ernest Hemingway's Miltonic Twist In "Up In Michigan." Hemingway Review
27.2 (2008): 123. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.