“The Three-Day Blow” is a short story by Ernest Hemingway, first published in his collection In Our Time in 1925. The story features Nick Adams, one of Hemingway’s recurring protagonists, appearing in at least a dozen of Hemingway’s stories written during the 20s and 30s. The story is a fine example of Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory.
Plot summary
The story only has two major characters, Nick and Bill (Marge, Nick’s father, and Bill’s father are mentioned but do not make an appearance), and the entire story takes place either inside or outside of Bill’s father’s cottage.
The story begins with Nick walking around the orchard near the cabin. He picks up a Wagner apple and puts it in his pocket. Nick climbs the stairs to the cottage and Bill meets him at the door, telling Nick that Bill’s father is out in the woods with his gun. Bill and Nick stand together, looking out across the fields. They discuss the wind for the first time, with Bill saying “it will blow like that for three days.”
After they go inside the cottage, they decide to drink. Initially, they drink a bottle of Bill’s father’s already opened whiskey, mixing it with water. Later on, they do the same with a bottle of scotch. Bill has Nick take off his shoes and dry them by the fire. The two begin to discuss a variety of topics while drinking, such as different books they’re reading. Nick likes G. K. Chesterton, while Bill prefers Hugh Walpole. They also discuss baseball; apparently, the two of them are both fans of the St. Louis Cardinals, but Nick thinks that some of the games they lose are rigged, claiming “there’s always more to it than we know about.”
Throughout the night, they continue to drink and add logs to the fire. The topic of conversation moves onto their fathers and their differing occupations. Nick’s dad is a doctor, while Bill’s is a painter. Nick thinks his dad has missed a lot because he has never drank, Bill says that “everything’s got its compensations.” The two also discuss what makes a drinker a drunkard.
During one scene, Nick goes into the kitchen to get more water, and while he’s there he passes a mirror. He smiles and winks at his reflection that “was not his face.”
Finally, after many drinks, Bill brings up an incident from the past. He tells Nick that he was “very wise” for not marrying Marge, assumingly a previous girlfriend of Nick’s. Bill gives several reasons why it was a good decision, while Nick just sits and listens and doesn’t reply. At first it seems to bother Nick a lot, claiming that everything was finished and gone and that he would never see her again.
However, the two decide to “get really drunk,” and Nick seems to change his mind about the whole situation, claiming that he felt happy and that “nothing was finished.” He resolves to go to town on Saturday because “there’s always a chance.”
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