I found “The Sea Change” by Hemingway a very interesting piece due to its use of dialogues with lack of movement, themes and names. The story lies between a couple sitting in a cafe with almost no action. After reading the first two pages, I did not quite know what was going on, as if Hemingway was trying to hold information back from his readers. His holding back of information instead of portraying some real actions and movements is very unique and draws the readers into the story. My psychology reading the story: The first two pages were quite boring, but since the story is only four pages, I may as well finish the whole thing. I usually do not find myself having this kind of psychology while reading others’ work, but with Hemingway’s, it happens quite often.

I also noticed that the most intense moment in the story is when Phil gives the woman’s plea for a deviant form of sexual liberation. It seems that the story can be describing a struggle between heterosexual and homosexual wills, as Phil seemingly embrace the latter, leading to the termination of his heterosexual identity. This theme of sexuality makes me wonder why Hemingway title the story “The Sea Change”. The title sounds weird and awkward just like how the story begins with a third voice describing the conversations going on between the couple. The direct speech of Phil and the girl rarely unveils any display of their actual feelings inside. Their dialogue also uses very simple words and repeats itself often. The sentences are also short and brief, implying a sense of loss and being lost. The whole argument is centered on the thing “it” that the author never clarified. I think this is another specific strategy that Hemingway used often, puzzling the readers and drawing them in. It will be interesting to compare the frequency of “it” in Hemingway’s short stories with short stories from other authors to see if there is any noticeable difference.

In addition, Hemingway rarely mentioned any names throughout the story. When the girl first mentioned “Poor old Phil”, I did not even realize that Phil is her boyfriend or husband’s name. We also know the name of the other guy James who is not even one of the main characters (the couple). I think Hemingway purposely chose not to reveal the girl’s name because he wanted more emphasis on Phil’s struggle about his sexuality and how he deals with himself and other men. Phil’s change is accompanied by the girl’s departure and James’ assertion of him “looking good”, which is another ironic implication of the change taken place in Phil in its relationship to the two genders (James and the girl) in the story.