China teapot
The china teapot is a symbol of family. It is a wedding present from Hadley’s sister. When Hadley breaks the teapot that has survived traveling across the ocean, it shows how she left everything behind for Ernest. She left her family and her friends to travel with him to a country where she feels like an outsider. He takes her sacrifice for granted.
Michigan
Michigan is a symbol of comfort. Ernest uses Michigan as the setting for his first stories because it was his home and he finds comfort in writing about it. It is a safe place for him and as a beginning writer it helps him to hone his writing skills on the familiar, so he can grow into taking on more challenging material.
Italy
Italy is an indicator of the past. Ernest was in Italy during the war and fell in love with his nurse. They were to be married, but he was shipped out for treatment. She ended up marrying someone else. When Ernest goes to Italy to revisit his past everything is different. The country has healed from the wounds of the war and nothing looks familiar to him. It makes him sad to lose this bit of his past. He has not healed from his past and finds it hard to see that others are moving on looking toward the future.
Baby
A baby is a symbol of the future for Hadley. She loves her baby and believes a family or strength her relationship with Ernest. Ernest sees the baby as the end of his career. He thinks that instead of writing what he wants, he will have to take journalist assignments to pay for the needs of the baby. The baby ultimately ends their relationship. Hadley’s attention toward the baby makes Ernest look to another for attention. His narcissism makes him must be the center of attention and he does not like having Hadley’s focus diverted from him and his work.
Writing
Writing is a symbol of security. When he is writing Ernest feels secure in his choices for his career and his family. It gives him a sense of providing not only support for his family but providing immortality for himself.
Travel
Travel is a symbol of freedom. The Hemingways travel throughout Europe during their time in Paris. They travel to get away from the mundane and to experience life. It is a way to leave behind any troubles and to reconnect with old friends or just reconnect with one another with no one else around.
