Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway
**Overview of *Islands in the Stream* by Ernest Hemingway**
*Islands in the Stream* is a novel by Ernest Hemingway, set primarily on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas and focusing on the life of Thomas Hudson, an artist grappling with his past and personal losses. The narrative unfolds as Hudson interacts with his three sons, engages in fishing, and socializes at Bobby's Bar, where he contemplates artistic subjects such as the apocalypse. The novel explores themes of family, love, and the impact of World War II, as Hudson faces the tragic news of his sons' deaths in an accident and reflects on his tumultuous relationships, particularly with his first wife.
The story shifts from Hudson's idyllic life in Bimini to more somber events as he embarks on a military mission against German U-boats, during which he sustains injuries and confronts mortality. Throughout the novel, Hemingway delves into the complexities of masculinity, the struggles of an artist, and the inevitability of loss. The narrative is marked by vivid descriptions of both the natural world and the emotional landscape of its characters, showcasing Hemingway’s distinctive prose style. As the story progresses, Hudson’s search for meaning becomes increasingly intertwined with his art and the pain of his experiences, leading to a profound exploration of human connections amidst the backdrop of war and grief.
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Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway
First published: 1970
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of plot: Early 1940’s
Locale: The Bahamas and Cuba
Principal characters
Thomas Hudson , an artistThomas , Jr.,Andrew , andDavid , his sonsBobby , proprietor of a Bimini barRoger Davis , a writerHudson’s first wife ,Honest Lil , a Havana prostituteWillie , ,Ara , ,Henry , ,George , ,Eddy , andPeters , crew of Hudson’s submarine-seeking boat
The Story:
On the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, Thomas Hudson works and confronts his regrets and insecurities. Self-disciplined and successful as an artist, he finds time to fish, socialize at Bobby’s Bar, meet with his art dealer in New York, and host the periodic visits of his three sons. At the bar, Hudson discusses with Bobby possible subjects for future paintings—including the end of the world. Hudson then joins writer and friend Roger Davis on Johnny Goodner’s cruiser at the docks, where fireworks mark the celebration of the queen’s birthday. The wealthy and snobbish owner of a cruiser moored nearby confronts Hudson and his noisy and rowdy friends for waking his wife. Davis betters the man in the ensuing fistfight.
Hudson’s three sons arrive: Tom, the oldest and son of Hudson’s first wife, and Andrew and David, sons of his second wife. They discuss their earlier days in Europe, young Tom recalling notables such as James Joyce and Ezra Pound. While spear fishing, the sons narrowly escape a large hammerhead shark. Deep-sea fishing, David hooks a huge swordfish. For six painful and vividly described hours, David determinedly battles the prize fish, only to have it slip away at the last moment.
Roger Davis becomes reacquainted with a past love, the now-married Audrey Bruce, who happens to be vacationing on Bimini. Roger and Audrey depart shortly before Hudson’s sons also leave. News arrives that David, Andrew, and their mother have died in an automobile accident in Europe. Advised to flee his sorrows through travel, Hudson tries to escape into his art but increasingly finds solace in drink.
After twelve days at sea searching for German U-boats, Hudson returns to his cats and his home near Havana, Cuba. His mind wanders to a much earlier love affair with a married woman. A chauffeur drives Hudson into Havana, where the artist consults with military officials at the embassy and with Honest Lil and other patrons of La Floridita Bar. They discuss their lives, the war, and local Cuban politics. Hudson discloses that his oldest son, Tom, has perished while serving as a flight commander in Europe. The elder Thomas continues to reminisce about his loves and losses at La Floridita, where he is known for his record-setting drinking bouts.
Hudson is shocked into the present when his never-forgotten first wife unexpectedly walks into La Floridita. Now remarried and a successful actor, she is working for the United Service Organizations (USO). She and Hudson make love, and afterward they rehearse their relationship; she intuitively realizes that their son Tom has died. Clearly still in love, the couple acknowledges the mistakes that drove them apart. They again must part and get on with their separate lives. Hudson receives word that the Navy lieutenant at Guantánamo Bay urgently needs to see him.
Hudson and his friends pursue Germans and German U-boats. Pretending to be a scientific expedition, Hudson’s boat happens upon some huts on an outlying island where all the villagers lie dead, along with one German soldier. The village has been looted and burned. The naval station at Guantánamo advises them to continue searching and pursuing westward. Their boat runs aground on a sandy muddy bottom. From their small dinghy they spot and board a camouflaged turtle boat in a mangrove swamp. In the ensuing melee, the single German sailor aboard kills Hudson’s radio operator.
One of Hudson’s men searches the key for other combatants, his progress marked by the rising flocks of birds from the mangroves. He finds nothing. Hudson wonders about the location of the Germans and the likelihood of their attacking the boat. Fearing that local civilians could be hurt, he instructs his men to remove the booby traps that have been rigged on the turtle boat. After they dislodge their own boat and navigate the narrow channels toward the open sea, they are ambushed by German sailors. In the exchange of gunfire and hand grenades, Hudson sustains three wounds. One of Hudson’s men impulsively shoots a sailor who could have been captured and interrogated. Hudson senses that his own injuries are fatal.
Bibliography
Baker, Carlos. Hemingway: The Writer as Artist. 4th ed. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1972. The first edition of this standard work by Hemingway biographer Baker to be published following the publication of Islands in the Stream; discusses the novel in thirty cogent and convincing pages. Stresses techniques, ideas, and autobiographical elements of the novel.
Donaldson, Scott, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Hemingway. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Guide to the range of topics and issues related to the author and his works. Especially relevant and revisionist is Robert E. Fleming’s essay “Hemingway’s Later Fiction: Breaking New Ground,” which argues that the writer’s late fiction is challenging and worthy.
Hovey, Richard B. “Islands in the Stream: Death and the Artist.” University of Hartford Studies in Literature 12 (1980): 173-194. Views Thomas Hudson as a conflicted character who cannot be freed from depression by his loves or his art yet, in the end, wonders whether he should have dedicated himself to his painting rather than seeking meaning through life-threatening action.
Justice, Hilary K. The Bones of the Others: The Hemingway Text from the Lost Manuscripts to the Posthumous Novels. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2006. Analyzes the author’s creative process and the relationship between his life and his work. The emphasis on textual matters is significant for Islands in the Stream, since Mary Hemingway and Scribner necessarily shaped the manuscript when they prepared it for publication.
Lee, A. Robert, ed. Ernest Hemingway: New Critical Essays. Totowa, N.J.: Barnes & Noble, 1983. James H. Justus’s contribution, “The Later Fiction: Hemingway and the Aesthetics of Failure,” argues that Thomas Hudson increasingly loses his confidence and self-discipline as man and artist. Speculates that Hemingway himself was more focused on the quickly written The Old Man and the Sea.
Reynolds, Michael. Hemingway: The Final Years. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999. Fifth and final volume of Reynolds’s exhaustive biography—biography being particularly germane for understanding the work of a writer whose life and art are so interconnected. Covering the years from 1940 until 1961, the book chronicles Hemingway’s creative process, as well as his alternating bouts of exhilaration and gloom.
Wagner-Martin, Linda, ed. Hemingway: Eight Decades of Criticism. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2009. Wagner-Martin’s fourth collection of Hemingway criticism (comprising twenty-six essays) brings together a variety of modern points of view. These critiques, a diverse mix of fresh research and traditional interpretations, range from gender-related readings to biographical ones.