Wednesday, February 12, 2014

"Cat in the Rain"- Period 6

Research Hemmingway's "Iceberg Theory."  How does it influence your interpretation of the theme of this story?  Cite the source(s) of your information.

27 comments:

  1. Hemmingway's "Iceberg Theory" describes the way he writes. He provides the reader with only the facts, and the rest is implied. It is up to the reader to read further into the story, to figure out it's true meaning. This greatly influences my interpretation of the story. At first glance, he only discusses a woman wanting a cat, and to cut her hair, and then the maid bringer her the cat. However, Hemminigway intended for us to search for a deeper meaning. In "Cat in the Rain," I believe that Hemmingway meant to highlight the fact that the woman wanted to make her own choices, and to be free to do whatever she wishes, and to be respected, which she also receives.
    Jess L. Period 6
    (my source: http://101books.net/2013/04/16/hemingways-iceberg-theory-of-writing/)

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  2. Upon first reading "Cat in the Rain," one may think of it as being stupid, or non-conclusive. However, after a few rereads, i could tell that with Hemingway, he wrote with less being more. Hemmingway writes with a so called "Iceberg" theory, meaning the emphasis is on what the reader doesnt pick up at first glance. This adds to my veiw of the theme, because it prompted me to look deeper into the meaning. It allowed me to see that there is more than just a cat standing in the rain.
    http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/reading-ernest-hemingway-style.php#.UvusFGJdXTo
    Ben G
    Period 6

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  3. Lets first describe what the theory states. Hemmingway's theory is that you give people the blunt dry facts on the surface however on closer inspection, "underneath the water" is the secret little facts that show the true definition of what the story actually means. So, at first look Cat in The Rain is absurdly simple and kind of childish. However there is much more under the surface as it allows us to interpret the true meaning which is that woman desire to break free from their husbands at the given time period. Like the cat held back by the cage of the rain, the woman is held back by her husband so she can't think for herself. All she desires is a small amount of individuality and free thinking without having to ask permission.
    Sonny G.

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  4. Mike Caminear Period 6
    Hemmingway's iceberg theory simply states that there is more to a piece of writing than there is that is merely observed or easily interpreted. Furthermore, this concept ties into "Cat in the Rain" because there is more to this story than one may originally think. For instance, it is definitely important to take into account the husband's ignorance to the wife. As a matter of the fact, the maid had more consideration for the wife because she actually cared about her endeavors. In total, for this story, there is more than just meets the eye because it represents the theme of diverse cultures.

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    1. Mike Caminear Period 6
      Source: http://101books.net/2013/04/16/hemingways-iceberg-theory-of-writing/

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  5. This story seems kind of solemn and sad. The woman was very needy and she wanted several things and the rain even made the story seem more sad. In addition, she never seems to acknowledge her husband when he offers to help or gives her compliments. Just from reading the story once it seems that the theme would be unhappiness and a want for material goods. After researching the "Iceberg Theory" I can assume that there is another more significant theme to this story. Thinking about the story more and reading it again I noticed the beginning paragraph and the comment on the Italians and how they come to honor the war monument and then mention that she is an "American wife." Maybe this story has to do with the difference between Italian culture and American culture more than unhappiness and material possessions.
    Jessica M. Period 6

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  6. Before doing any research, or even comparing the story to any sort of iceberg, it was obvious that the majority of the words in this story were masquerading something much deeper. That being said, if we read a bit between the lines of the story, we can develop the idea that the theme of the story is not so much about the cat, but rather the power of the disinterest and the oppression in the married couple's relationship. The little details we are given about the husband paints a picture of a couple that is being repressed. My source of information regarding the iceberg theory was from Hemmingway's biography on Wikipedia. To conclude, knowing that there is much more to the story than the literal sentences that make it up, we can understand that this story, much like "Story of an Hour", has a theme which highlights problems in turn of the century marriages.

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  7. Hemmingway's "Iceberg Theory" is picking up the details and not fully digesting the story at first. He operates out of sight and this theory is very evident in cat in the rain. This story at first seems a nagging wife for a husband's attention. Then after reading the story again, we realize how ignorant her husband actually is to her evident unhappiness in the marriage. She had no freedom, and gets nothing she wants. We see that the various other staff care about her more especially the maid. The maid took the time to bring her the cat and to satisfy her unhappiness. Hemmingway showed that the woman was the cat in the rain. She was a lone cat in her tears of unhappiness thus shown as rain. She showed how her husband didn't try to accompany her or make her happy. She wasn't nagging, she was fed up. Hemmingway clearly voiced that in "Cat in the Rain"
    Miranda S (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_in_the_Rain)

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  8. The Iceberg Theory has to do with giving the audience only small parts of the overall story while the majority of the theme and idea are under the surface of the writing. This can be seen though Cat in the Rain because the story is very simple, however there are hints about underlying conflicts and relationships that you as the reader can infer from hints such as the women liking the hotel manager or how she wants to grow out her hair.
    source wikipedia
    Hannah Beatty pd6

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  9. The Iceberg Theory is the idea that the themes and main ideas of a story do not have to be obviously revealed. You have to look deeper in the text and look for hints and details that can help you to decipher the true theme of the story. There is definitely more to the story and more complications in the couples marriage then meets the eye. It seems that the woman truly wants freedom and be able to do as she pleases without the approval of her husband.
    Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_in_the_Rain)
    Cassidy McCarns

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  10. The Iceberg Theory essentially says that, if a writer knows enough about what they are writing about, and if the reader is "enough", then the writer doesn't actually need to include all the background information on the story because the reader will just get a sense of it. In the story 'Cat in the Rain' Hemingway uses this theory. For example even though it never outright says it you can gather just from the way that he writes that the wife is pretty unhappy with her life as is and that maybe her and her husband aren't too happy together either. She says how she's unhappy with her hair and she is unhappy with where they are, then she goes on to say how she really wants a cat. But the husband pretty much just ignores everything she's saying. Also by the way that it describes how much she respect the hotel manager and talks about what he looks like and what she thinks of him. But we never really learn much about the husband other than really that his name is George.
    Source: http://101books.net/2013/04/16/hemingways-iceberg-theory-of-writing/
    -Leah Braley Period 6

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  11. The Iceberg Theory is the theory that the writer can be describing an action in a short story or novel, but at the same time sending a different message to the reader about the action itself. The messages that are being sent to the reader though the description of these actions can help the reader find the true theme of the story, The Cat In The Rain can come off as a simple story, but if you look for these messages then you will see that there are problems with the couples relationship.
    Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg_Theory
    Aodhan Dunn Period 6

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  12. Hemingway explained his theory that the true meaning of a story should not be blatantly evident, but should have a suggested meaning. He compared his theory to an iceberg, in that a good story has minimal surface detail. The true idea lies underneath, the same way most of an iceberg is not visible from the surface. Hemingway’s iceberg theory also describes his writing style, as apparent in “Cat in the Rain”. The story is extremely short, less than two pages, and only includes the necessities of the plot. By not extending the story and leaving his “cat” metaphor unexplained, Hemmingway is able to produce a piece of writing that leaves the reader thinking. Although I did notice the significance of the women wanting the cat, his iceberg theory put into words what makes many stories thought provoking. My interpretation of the story was that the cat represented the woman’s freedom. From the beginning of the story her husband wants to keep her out of the rain and away from the cat, restricting her freedom. “’I’ll do it,’ her husband offered from the bed. ‘No, I’ll get it. The poor kitty out trying to keep dry under a table.’… ‘Don’t get wet,’ he said.” (p.12, lines 28-29, 32) Then, later in the story her husband tells her to keep her hair short, even when she expresses her desire to grow it out. It is clear the husband has been telling her what she can and can’t do, making her feel that a cat would prove her independence. “And I want to cat at a table with my own silver and I want candles. And I want it to be spring and I want to brush my hair out in front of the mirror and I want some new clothes.’ (p.12, 108-111)

    http://101books.net/2013/04/16/hemingways-iceberg-theory-of-writing/

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg_Theory

    Caitie Perricone

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  13. The Iceberg Theory is looking deeper into the story. The meaning of the story won't be easily told you have to search for it. He gets the iceberg part because an iceberg shows very little but is actually huge under the surface. Hemmingworth like the reader to have to think.
    Teagan

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  14. The Iceberg Theory is basically there is more to a story than just meets the eye. The name comes from an Iceberg, because you can only see 10% of it above water. You need to look deep to see the rest. This is very fitting for Hemmingway. In his stories he uses a lot of intricate symbols and deep metaphors. This influences the story to me a lot, because I before just thought it was a simple boring story about a cat. Now, I know better and that I must look deeper at the story to see the underlying themes of the confines of marriage, differences in culture, and greed.

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  15. The iceberg theory is a great way to write a story. It opens up for new and interesting ways to read in, and it demands a lot from the reader himself. It hides a lot of the background, and especially Hemingway has used this in a lot of stories. Hills like white elephants is also a great example of how this can be used. It makes it more fun, but it is hard to get the meaning of it. On the top it might seem like a boring story with no actual story line, but when you read between the sentences you will find it more interesting and more fun to read. i did not use any sources.
    Christian F

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  16. Ahmad Zaidi
    Period 6
    Hemming iceberg theory is that his stories always have a deeper meaning than it appears to be superficially. When I first read the cat in the rain, it seemed like quite a dull story with a wife just nagging on about something she wanted. But when I understood the iceberg theory and upon further analysis of the story I found that the story had much more symbolism and deeper meaning. For example the cat represented the little freedom that the women at that weren't even allowed to have.

    Source: http://101books.net/2013/04/16/hemingways-iceberg-theory-of-writing/

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  17. Shoshanna Longo
    period 6
    Source: http://101books.net/2013/04/16/hemingways-iceberg-theory-of-writing/
    Upon first reading this story it seemed very insignificant and the female protagonist seemed very whiny and annoying although after I did some research on the iceberg theory I was able to reread the story under a different light. With Hemingway's writing style everything symbolizes something (over symbolizes in some cases in my personal opinion) but it allows the reader to have many different interpretations of the story. At first the wife seemed to be very shallow but when you apply the iceberg theory, the inverse becomes true. The story can be interpenetrated as being about woman's rights. The vacation can symbolize a change of thinking and the wife's complaining about wanting a cat can very well symbolize woman's frustration of their lack of freedoms.

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  18. In my opinion, the "Iceberg Theory" is an extremely interesting way to go about writing a short story. It allows for opinions to be thrown around, and allows for many interpretations of the same story. This theory is very prevalent in the short story "Cat in the rain" where the author gives us nothing but the facts of the story, and allows the rest open for interpretation.
    Aidan Deane Per 6

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  19. The iceberg theory gives Hemingway a lot of freedom in his writing, allowing him to choose very selectively what to give readers and what to let them interpret, with no expectation of either. He uses this style in this story very much, most of the time just describing the weather and other things going on in little detail. He does this a lot in the story our group is presenting on, "Hills like white elephants." He describes the scenery, and presents the dialogue of the characters, but nothing else. Not even a background on the two main characters is given. I enjoy reading this style because it gives me plenty of space to interpret things how I wish to.
    Aaron R
    Period 6

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  20. 'The Iceberg theory was Hemmingway's laissez-faire approach to writing which seemed a little lazy at first. Saying "I'll let the reader make it into something" seemed kind of like taking the easy way out, initially. However, I realized that giving the power to the readers is something all authors do because the readers are the reason that the characters even exist. The author may have created them, but they and their stories only exist in the minds that read about them. So maybe Hemmingway was not so much doing less work, as he was freeing the reader and recognizing the fact that he did not have much control whether the story existed or did not exist(past publication). I thought this style was present in The Cat In the Rain because of how superficial it seemed on the surface. However the simple details like the names of characters, could have been read into much more. For example the Wife could have been a symbol of all american women(as he say them at least). Other than the most basic information, hardly any real detail is given about the characters. I am not sure if I liked it or did not like it, because even though I wasn't getting such a clear picture of the characters, it may have made me think about the story more without the distraction of people.
    Emma per 6

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  21. Jonathan W, p6

    Hemingway's iceberg theory is his method for writing stories. Instead of straight out giving the meaning of the story, Hemingway explains the plot, and he really leaves it to the reader to interpret his/her own meaning and purpose to the writing. This definitely applies to "The Cat in the Rain" because of how basic the story appears. Hemingway really wants to think about what he's trying to say, how the cat represents something deeper, such as the freedom that the wife is trying to gain.

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    1. Jonathan W p6

      http://101books.net/2013/04/16/hemingways-iceberg-theory-of-writing/

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  22. The Iceberg Theory basically says that if a writer knows enough about what they are writing about and if the reader is capable of understanding the main idea, then the writer doesn't actually need to include all the background information on the story because the reader will just get a sense of it. In the story 'Cat in the Rain' Hemingway uses the iceberg theory. Even though it never completely says it, you can gather information from the story just from the way that he writes that the wife is pretty unhappy with her life as is and that maybe her and her husband aren't too happy together either. She says how she's unhappy with her hair and she is unhappy with where they are, then she goes on to say how she really wants a cat. The husband pretty much just ignores everything she's saying. Also by the way that it describes how much she respect the hotel manager and talks about what he looks like and what she thinks of him.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg_Theory

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  23. The iceberg theory is that while Hemingway's stories look kind of flat on the surface underneath they could be much much bigger with deeper meanings and symbolism that we would have to find by ourselves. The cat i the rain is about a husband and wife that are on vacation. The wife is very interested in a cat that she sees through the window and the husband brushes her off. It is raining outside so the wife goes to get the cat but when she gets outside the cat is gone and she is sad. She goes back to the room and talks about cutting her hair but her husband again isn't very encouraging. The story ends with one of the hotel persons bringing her the cat that she wanted after they found it. I like the story because its cute until you really look at how the husband acts he really does brush her off a lot. I think if you apply the iceberg theory to this story you could say that the cat or cutting her hair is a form of rebellion against her husband that she is not really happy with. so it is nice that she get her cat.
    sam period 6

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  24. The iceberg theory is what makes Hemingway's story so different from other writers.It helps show the deeper meaning into a story. There is always a larger message underneath the surface.It helps bring more depth to the short story. Looking deeper into the text to find the bigger message is what makes his writing so powerful. The iceberg theory has a way of pulling the readers in and having a connection with them.
    Rachel C per 6

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