Apart from the central notions of power and ideology

Apart from the central notions of power and ideology, the concept of context or social historical background also plays discourse analysis. It is claimed that the significant part in the process of critical plot development of the protagonists’ character and their moral standards cannot novel, the portrayal of be separated from the background the novel set in. So it is essential and beneficial to have a full understanding of the social and historical background of the story.
Ernest Hemingway is regarded as a remarkable icon in American literature and he has a legendary life experience in American history. He exerts great influence on his generation that is called “Lost Generation”. Like others of his generation, he grew up in an environment of losing gender distinctions. His mother’s early interest in feminism and his father’s cultivation of the skills of fishing and camping have great influence on him, which makes Hemingway become a writer of androgynous, at least to some degree. By studying some his stories, we can see that Hemingway is able to observe things and events from the female point of view. This androgynous sensibility allows Hemingway to transcend his own sexual identity and objectively depict women as human beings with their own feelings and actions instead of only a private creature of men.
Outside it was raining hard, and the square was empty, no car, no people, but a cat crouching under a table and trying to make her not to be dripped on by the dripping rain (Hemingway). The rain was everywhere and it could not stop though the cat wished so. In this man-dominating society, the man’s power was just like this omnipresent rain, and had the supreme authority over the woman, especially over his wife and the wife was the same as the cat in the rain, who tried to escape from the control of the husband passively. When the wife saw the cat, she wanted to get her back, protect her, own her and protect her, because the cat’s situation evoked the same feeling for her own. The husband showed no real care or concern for her when she decided to get that kitty. He only replied with “I’ll do it.” (Hemingway) without getting out of the bed, even moving his eyes from the book he was reading.