Question

Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway

There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people they passed on the stairs on their way to and from their room. Their room was on the second floor facing the sea. It also faced the public garden and the war monument. There were big palms and green benches in the public garden.
In the good weather there was always an artist with his easel. Artists liked the way the palms grew and the bright colors of the hotels facing the gardens and the sea.
Italians came from a long way off to look up at the war monument. It was made of bronze and glistened in the rain. It was raining dripped from the palm trees. Water stood in pools on the gravel paths. The sea broke in a long line in the rain and slipped back down the beach to come up and break again in a long line in the rain. The motor cars were gone from the square by the war monument. Across the square, in the doorway of the cafe, a waiter stood looking out at the empty square.
1. Try to crystalize it in one or two sentences.

2. What are you curious about?

3. Where do you think the story is headed

Answer 1

The story 'Cat in the Rain' by Ernest Hemingway is about two Americans staying at a hotel who observe their surroundings and the people in it. The story describes the rainy weather, the war monument, and the public garden where an artist often sets up his easel. The narrative suggests that there may be tension in the story and elicits curiosity about the direction it will take.

Step-by-step explanation:

The excerpt from Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway presents a poignant picture painted with minimalistic and powerful prose. It introduces two Americans alienated amid a foreign setting, capturing the gloom of a rainy day, a public garden, and an evocative war monument. Hemingway's signature style is threaded with a sense of unspoken yearning or impending change, reflected in the landscape and the sparse narrative details.

1. In one or two sentences: The passage depicts a tranquil but somber scene featuring two Americans in a hotel who feel out of place amidst a rain-drenched garden, palm trees, and a bronze war monument in an unnamed Italian city.

2. Curiosity is piqued by the emotional state of the Americans and what significance the rain, the garden, and the war monument hold for them, hinting at themes of isolation and displacement.

3. The story may be headed towards an exploration of the characters' emotions and their interaction with their surroundings that could elucidate broader themes of alienation and the search for meaning or connection.