Night Before Landing

Hemingway’s “Night Before Landing” brilliantly captures the end of a journey guided by innocence and brings forth two significant periods in the life of protagonist Nicholas Adams: An era of military service and a period of matrimony and marriage. Although the latter is difficult to conclude because of Hemingway’s minimalist approach to writing, it is clear that “Night Before Landing” serves as a harbinger for the struggles and challenges Adams will face both abroad during the war and at home in domesticity.

Nick most clearly shows his hesitation for these upcoming parts of his life when speaking with Leon on the life boat. Here, Nick shows his unhappiness and fear with his upcoming future. Nick on multiple occasions mentions fear. He “wonders” if he will be afraid going overseas to Italy. He “never worries about” anything until he realizes that after the landing occurs his innocence will be stolen away from him by war. The concept of fear virtually takes over his conversation. Even when he is talking about the Carper, he assesses that the Carper is scared and that is why the Carper is drinking

Also, Adams mentions his unhappiness and fear with much subtlety. When speaking with Leon, the following conversation ensues:

“He drinks too much.”

“He isn’t happy.”

“Let’s get a bottle of wine and sleep out in a lifeboat.”

By suggesting getting a bottle of wine and then buying it, Nick Adams hints that he too isn’t happy and he too is afraid. Adams openly associates unhappiness as a cause of drinking with the above caption, and he continues to say that fear is a cause of drinking when he says, “The Carper’s scared…That’s why he’s drunk all the time.”

Finally, Adams reveals to both Leon and the audience that the conversation is more so about his fears for his future with his fiancée than his future in the war when he asks, “Have you got a girl, Leon?” Although this question seemed random, it allowed Adams a segway into speaking about his fiancée. This transition was need, because Adam’s future standing with his current significant other was the only thing he truly wanted to talk about. The military and his fear of it was all a mask to hide his innermost feelings and insecurities of his success of his relationship and the future bearings that relationship will hold ( on manhood, fatherhood, etc.).