The Sea Change - Reflection

After a superficial read of this short story, it was obvious the inevitable lead respondent presentation over this piece was not going to be an easy task. The previous presentations had all struggled with class participation and the context of the conflict of this text did not appear like it would lead to a stimulating discussion.

The Sea Change is a short story by Ernest Hemingway depicting a man and a woman’s temporary disagreements in a bar over sexual experimentation. The main characters are a man named Phil and a nameless woman. The aspect of the vast majority of Hemingway’s writing is the amount of depth he creates in so few words. He leaves out most explicit details and allows the reader to imply the sometimes not-so-obvious thematic elements he attempts to communicate. This unique style allows Hemingway to surreptitiously address controversial topics without openly offending his readers. 

In the time prior to the presentation, I read over this story a ridiculous number of times. Almost all of the text made sense, either concretely or metaphorically with the exception of one line. Phil and the woman are arguing about what to call her promiscuity when Phil calls it a “perversion”. The woman replies:

“We’re made up of all sorts of things. You’ve known that. You’ve used it well enough.”

This line really tripped me up, and even now I’m not quite sure what Hemingway’s purpose for it is. After a large amount if thought, I’ve decided that this is Hemingway’s antiquated version of vaguebooking. Vaguebooking is when someone posts an intentionally vague facebook post solely to elicit conversation. Everyone has done this, and I always seem to find it extremely annoying.  In the context of this story, I think that Hemingway has included this line to encourage debate over its actual meaning. Its ambiguity supports the idea that there probably is no single, absolute interpretation. Honestly, I still don’t really get this. In my mind, this portion of the text serves to blur the line between socially acceptable heterosexuality and taboo homosexuality. Sometimes it seems like all Hemingway wanted to do with his writing was to blur what most people consider black and white topics into an indecipherable cloud of gray.

          At first I struggled with how a story about sexual experimentation parallels the theme of coming-of-age. After a large amount of deliberation, I’ve decided that formulating one’s personal set of ethics is a form of maturity. The ability to look at a set of options and decide what is right and wrong shows growth in a person. I believe that one underlying theme in most of Hemingway’s writing is the idea that there is rarely a correct answer to any question of ethics.  Life isn’t simple enough to reduce its complexity to an elementary yes or no.