Kaliope Jordan

Prof. Diehl

HUMN 2010

26 Feb. 2021

The Heartbreak of Nick Adams

Heartbreak: something that people of all ages can experience. Heartbreak is a result of a

variety of things: a breakup, a poor test score, the loss of a loved one, and so many others. These

heartbreaks can also lead to the suffering of mental illnesses such as anxiety or depression. Nick

Adams in The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway is a prime example of experiencing

heartbreak in a multitude of ways and suffering from being depressed as a result. Though there

are many heartbreaks Nick has throughout the stories, one in particular stands out to me: his

breakup with Marjorie. Breakups are usually the most obvious heartbreaks, but a lot of deeper

meaning comes out of this particular breakup. This heartbreak is one of the most impactful that

Nick experiences because of how obvious it is that he regrets it, as well as the conclusion that

Nick seems to come to about relationships in general.

In The End of Something, the chapter starts with Nick and his girlfriend, Marjorie, on the

lake together, preparing to fish. Marjorie notices that something seems off about Nick’s

behavior. For example, he is being very short with her, and even corrects her at one point with

one of her techniques to get a worm on the fishing hook. Marjorie asks multiple times if

everything is alright and what is wrong with him. Nick seems very hesitant throughout the

chapter, as if afraid to tell Marjorie what exactly it is that is bothering him. Marjorie finally gets

Nick to admit what is wrong with him and all he says is “It isn’t fun anymore” (Hemingway
204). Marjorie is obviously confused, and Nick continues by saying that everything inside of him

has seemed to have gone to hell (Hemingway 204). Marjorie asks him: ‘Isn’t love any fun?”,

seeming to try to understand what exactly seems to be causing his internal “hell”, and Nick

answers with a simple no (Hemingway 204).

Throughout this chapter, we see Nick struggling to come to terms with the fact that his

relationship will soon be ending. Though the reader does not know that until the end of the

chapter, it is still made obvious that Nick is very hesitant and keeping something secret from

Marjorie. Nick in this chapter seems to be very short with Marjorie in the way he is speaking to

her—she seems very enthusiastic in a way about their fishing trip, and even points out the old

ruins to Nick and he seems to barely acknowledge her. Those ruins seem to foreshadow what

will become of Marjorie and Nick as a couple—ruined. It is made obvious to the reader by

Marjorie that Nick is not usually this short with her and normally does not act this way by asking

Nick multiple times what seems to be the matter with him. He dismisses her many times,

obviously very hesitant in what he truly wants to tell Marjorie.

After Marjorie almost begging Nick to say what he is thinking, they both seem to be left

broken hearted. Marjorie leaves Nick at the camp, taking the boat with her and floating on the

water, leaving Nick by his lonesome. Nick, being left by himself, is now feeling not only the

heartbreak of losing a woman he loved but is also feeling heartbreak of going through yet

another experience showing him that relationships just cannot work. Nick was raised by a mother

and father who never seemed to truly be in love. And, if they truly were in love, never seemed to

show it because of how different they were from each other. Because that is what Nick was

raised around, that is the only example of “love” he has. He has only seen love as two people

who are so far from each other emotionally and who seem to always be barely hanging on by a
thread not even having the energy to try and fix the relationship anymore. Along with the

combination of all the other heartbreaks and depression Nick has faced in his life, not just

concerning intimate relationships, Nick has a change in his outlook on life. He seems to not want

to even try in a relationship because he assumes that, like his parent’s marriage, it will just

crumble into ruins.

In conclusion, this heartbreak does not create the start of Nick’s continuous streak of

heartbreaks, however, it is a large contributor to his outlook on relationships. Marjorie may have

been a great girl for Nick to marry and grow old with. Because of Nick’s experience with

relationships and being raised by parents who were so separated from each other emotionally, he

did not even want to see what would become of him and Marjorie. He would rather not have to

find out if they could have been more successful than his family with love, because the

heartbreaks he had already experienced were so strong that they made Nick create the end of

something.
 Works Cited

“The End of Something.” The Nick Adams Stories, by E. Hemingway, Charles Scribner's Sons,

1972.