Three Day Blow

Essay: "The Three-Day Blow"

Drinking is one of people's main problems. Drinking distorts self-perception and actions. There are many reasons for drinking: depression, happiness, a social event. These incentives are developed in "The Three-Day Blow" by Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway uses drinking as a form of expression through his character Nick and his inner conflict.

This short story is about two friends that decide to spend the day together, forget about their problems and just drink until they realize that drinking has no meaning. It just changes things for a few hours, without resolving anything. Drinking alters self- reflection, as shown in the short story, Nick passes a mirror and realizes his reflection was not the same: "He passed a mirror in the dining room and looked in it. His face looked strange. He smiled at the face in the mirror and it grinned back at him. He winked and it went on. It was not his face but it didn't make any difference." (19) This quote shows that drinking distorts perception and allows misconception, like Nick sees in his face. His face was not the same he saw what drinking was doing to him, but it did not matter. There was no other solution to his problems. He just continued drinking.

Drinking is used as a bandage or a way to forget. It causes no self-control and therefore to speak freely. Hemingway uses drinking as a form of expression, as Nick does realizing he lost the woman of his life: "All he knew was that he had once had Marjorie and that he had lost her. She was gone and he had sent her away. That was all that mattered. It was all gone, finished." (20) Since Nick is drunk, it consents him to reflect and express himself openly. This shows that drinking is seen as a form of expression.

Everything he had just withered away. At that point he realized that drinking was of no use. No matter how much you