“Across the River and Into the Trees” is a novel written by Ernest Hemingway after a trip to Italy and his return from hunting in 1949. The protagonist Colonel Cantwell has something of the author in him. As he grew older and more depressed, Colonel Cantwell went duck hunting in Venice and to northern Italy to pay his last visit to the battlefields of the past. He thought of past love, thought of death, and felt lonely and hopeless. Shortly after the war, the hero of the two world wars goes to Fossalta di Piave, Italy, to revisit the spot where he was wounded in battle. The hero, Colonel Cantwell, hunts wild ducks with his friends and focuses on the pure love between him and the beautiful Italian girl Renata, which has no utilitarian purpose.

It reflects the author’s aversion to war, his concern for the future of human beings, and his thoughts on the value of life, love, and death. Though this novel may not be the most classic work of Hemingway, its profound themes and traumatized account of the war shock the reader. Its rich background gives the reader knowledge and its unique way of writing left an unforgettable impression on people. The book’s title, taken from the dying words of Confederate General Thomas Jackson during the American Civil War, shows Hemingway’s “tough guy” theme similar to himself, who faced down death.

-Coreen C.