The Sea Change

When reading this, I was rather shocked. I thought I knew what it was talking about, but it seemed strange that he would let her go with another girl and then come back to him. The topic of homosexuality was an interesting one to read in the iceberg technique. You think you understand what they are talking about, but I had to go to an analysis just to make sure I would not be making a fool of myself in this blog.
I like the fact that we are reading this after my lead discussion group. During that class we had people write from a similar perspective. It made this a little easier to recognize. While the fact that he is writing about this topic is not at all shocking, it is rather interesting that he makes the male character so understanding of the lady's needs. He not only lets her go, but he even tells her that she will be able to come back to him when its all over. This makes it seem more like an experiment for the girl. Like she's not completely sure what is going on herself.
I feel bad for the male in the story because he obviously is hurt by her decision. It seems like there is pain in his voice when I read it. And the way he watches her leave adds to this. However his change is harder to describe. I think it is just more understanding and a wordliness, but it may be something completely different. It is also interesting that Hemingway names only the barman in the story. Neither the male or female are ever named, unless Phil is the name of the man. I was not sure about that because of the way she said it.
Altogether, although I understood the idea of the piece, the reaction of the man was harder to fathom. In the end, he just kept talking about how he was different, but I was not sure in what way.