The City is Alive

" Down the river was Notre Dame squatting against the night sky." (pg. 83)

Growing up in a Catholic school system in Indianapolis, Indiana has made it almost impossible for my eyes and ears to ignore or skip over the words "Notre Dame." When I spotted the words on page 83, I also spotted an example of personification that went along with them. In France, the Notre Dame de Paris is a cathedral. Jake here describes this building as "squatting." Hemingway gave this human characteristic to the cathedral to try and show the reader that this city had a way of almost appearing alive. Ernest wanted to emphasize how graceful and beautiful this city was at night time. I believe he used the Notre Dame because it is a well known building. After he mentions Notre Dame, he further explains how the city is alive by bringing up couples walking and a river flowing.