Compare And Contrast Selfishness In 'Hills Like White Elephants'

So he sketched out a scene titled "Hills Like White Elephants." Throughout the story, the American behaves according to Hemingway’s rigid conception of masculinity. Hemingway portrays the American as a rugged man’s man—knowledgeable, worldly, and always in control of himself and the situation at hand. Even when vexed or confused, he maintains his cool and feigns indifference, such as when he tells the girl he doesn’t care whether she has the operation. He initially avoids discussion of their problems, but when pressured, he tackles them head on by oversimplifying the operation and relentlessly pushing her to have it. Thinking himself to be the more reasonable of the two, he patronizes the girl and fails to provide the sympathy and understanding she needs during the crisis. Which is very clear in this quote from the story, “That's all we do, isn't it -- look at things and try new drinks” (Kelly, 2015) Uncompromising, he seems to identify more with the other passengers “waiting reasonably” at the station than with his own girlfriend at the end of the story, which suggests that the two will go their separate ways. So: what do they really want to say to each other? Sadly, we'll never know for sure. This story—deceptively simple—is anything but straightforward. "Hills Like White Elephants" is a great portrait of how we talk at, to, and past each other; how we can go on and on and never quite get at what it is we really want to

Relationships are the core of everything we do in life. We love someone, so we do something for them; we value someone 's opinion, so we respect them; we dislike someone, so we avoid them. Relationships cause people to act on their emotions which impact how and why they do the things they do. Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” is about a couple trying to come to a conclusion on a delicate matter. While the man strongly promotes his opinion the girl is hesitant but wants to do whatever will make him happy. The struggles presented between these two characters bring to light issues in human relationships that weigh into everyday life. Hemingway’s short story reveals to readers how relationships affect communication, decision

“Good People” and “Hills Like White Elephants” are stories that portray young couples facing an unwanted pregnancy and the decision of whether to terminate the pregnancy or keep the child. Jig in “Hills Like White Elephants”, is headstrong and knows what she wants to do about the pregnancy, will have the baby and the American will likely stay with Jig. Despite the decision she make concerning the pregnancy, his feelings of affection are genuine for her and the child. In the story “Good People” Sheri will likely terminate the pregnancy despite her religious convictions. Lane Jr. who's struggling with his faith will support and stand by Sheri and her decision concerning the pregnancy.

In today’s world, one can find many instances of selfishness, whether it be corruption, killing, or even breaking a heart. However, like a diamond in the rough, someone who is truly selfless is hard to come by. One example of a selfless writer is C.S. Lewis, author of Till We Have Faces. Lewis wrote some of his novels in a way to not only educate the world that selflessness will always win but also the fact that selfishness will always lose. One of Lewis’s notable works -- “Till We Have Faces” -- clearly demonstrates how selfishness loses but selflessness wins. In “Till We Have Faces” by C.S. Lewis, Lewis portrays Orual as a villain as a result of her jealous actions which not only resulted in Psyche’s exile but also Psyche being forced to complete difficult tasks in order to regain her favor; however, Orual’s actions highlight the hidden message that Lewis is trying to convey - jealous/selfish love

The setting (7) of the story, the train station, is a symbol for the place where Jig and the American man are at in their relationship and what lies ahead for them. This symbol also portrays the theme (8) of choice and consequences. They are at an impasse due to the pregnancy, and the train tracks are the futures that could happen based on Jig’s decision about the abortion and the baby. For instance, Jig could agree politely to the American man and go ahead

Mallard, and the girlfriend want to communicate how they feel and do not want to be constrained. Chopin was a feminist which encouraged her to write The Story of an Hour. Women do not want to feel possessed and want to be self-asserted (Chopin, 2004). Women are told to respect their marriages and must abide to society. Mrs. Mallard feels free of duties when she understands that her husband has deceased. Chopin may suggest that Mrs. Mallard feels restricted to live her life with a partner in her life. Hemmingway does not reveal the thoughts of the characters leaving readers at suspense. Readers must interpret what is going on between the girlfriend and her boyfriend in Hills Like White Elephants (Hemmingway). The white elephants in his story represent fertility. Both the woman and her boyfriend struggle to speak of abortion. It is a sensitive topic and may even not be accepted in society. The woman is apprehensive and does not know what will happen next if she does decide to get an abortion (Norton). The relationship between the characters shows that the woman depends on the man’s approval but also seeks acceptance and

For example, Mabel‘s brothers did not want her to be on her own when they moved out. Since they are all in debt, they try to convince her to go live with their married sister (Lawrence 455). This conflict between siblings shows that because she is a woman, she is seen as lesser than her brothers. It is suitable for the men in the family to live on their own and make a living but she needs to be taken care of. Another example occurs when Mabel has an internal conflict with herself when she attempts to drown herself in a lake (Lawrence 460). This internal conflict Mabel faces shows that society has drilled into her that a poor single woman can not make it on her own. Mabel would rather be dead than be pitied and whispered about everywhere she goes. Later in the story, after Dr. Ferguson rescues Mabel from drowning she asks if he loves her. Dr. Ferguson has an internal conflict with himself wondering how he could be falling in love with her. The narrator says “When he rescued her and restored her, he was a doctor, and she was his patient. He had had no single personal thought of her. (Lawrence 462). This quote makes it obvious that Dr. Ferguson saw Mabel as far below him on a social level. She was a poor women and he an esteemed doctor. In his mind she was simply a servant for her three brothers and nothing

The short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst elucidates the theme “selfish people aren’t the ones that suffer their selfishness: it's those around them, in which it harms”. The story is about a boy who received a brother after six years of being an only child, but because of an unfortunate disease, his brother wasn’t expected to live long. He unexpectedly lived far longer that anticipated, so his parents finally named him: William Armstrong. Because William wasn’t “all there”, his brother had plans to kill him with a pillow, but his plan was corrupted when his brother smiled at him, showing that he was “all there”. The narrator (who is also William’s big brother) renamed his brother Doodle. Embarrassed that he had to drag around his 5-year-old brother, who still

Hills Like White Elephant is a short story by Earnest Hemingway from 1927. The story is talking about a failing relationship between an American man and his girlfriend. This couple is at a critical point on their lives. At the bar in a train station in Spain, the girl, Jig, does not want to end up her pregnancy, but she is going to sacrifice the baby to satisfied him. Because he is critical of the exploitation of his girl’s feelings concerning the continuation of unbalanced relationship. Which is making him more selfish and he does not to have any responsibilities. Also, the reader is also left with a great doubt, as there is no solution.

I am going to mention about Flannery O’ Connor’s two stories in my essay. One of them is ‘’The Life save may be your own’’ and the other is ‘’ A good Man is Hard to Find’’. "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" was first published in the Kenyon Review in the spring of 1953. "A Good Man Is Hard to find" was adapted for film in 1992 by Jeri Cain Rossi.. The story was also adapted as a modern chamber opera by David Volk at the University of Georgia in 2003. I am going to talk about Flannery O’ Connor’s’ stories’ summary and my opinions about that.

In conclusion, either way, both women are extremely a selfish human being, especially Abigail because she looks out for own need only. But as for Elizabeth, her character change from being cold to noble and sincere when Elizabeth began to help John Proctor into confessing; telling him to forgive him, and she won’t judge him. Author Miller explains that women can be selfish when it comes to love. Also, it illustrates how a small amount of women’s selfishness can hurt tons of people. All women just want to keep all the love, they don 't like sharing, honestly, whether the choice is right or wrong, it’s what make them happy and feel secure even selfishness kills everyone. But sometime being selfish make us a stronger and better person.

The short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is about a boy who was embarrassed about his brother’s incapabilities so he tries to teach him, Doodle, to walk, run, swim, climb trees, and fight. It may seem like a sweet thing to do but the only reason he’s teaching Doodle is out of selfishness. His selfishness leads to abandoning Doodle in the rain and passing away. A central topic in “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst is selfishness. For example, the narrator only helped Doodle because he “was embarrassed at having a brother of that age who couldn’t walk.” (Hurst 1) This shows that he was selfish because he cared what people thought of him, not the well being of his brother. Another

Elizabeth Bishop demonstrates the idea of selfishness of humans in “The Farmer’s Children” by using many literary techniques. The story is about two children, Emerson and Cato, who live with their father, stepsisters and stepmother. Their father usually goes to town to drink, leaving his kids with their stepmother, who only cared for her biological daughters. Once, Emerson and Cato, were sent to take care of their family’s barn in a freezing night of December. The frighteningly cold weather eventually led to their death. Bishop used many literary devices which enhances the text. These elements provides the reader with a deeper understanding of the central message and brings richness to

Oscar Wilde said “selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” That said, the Puritans were a very religious group of people who wished to escape religious persecution in order to spread their beliefs to others. Their hatred and enmity of both the church was so great they could no longer stay in England. In their point of view, there was nothing wrong with what they did at all. Their reason for leaving was religious freedom, but their way of thinking was mean and inconsiderate. For people that felt attacked and persecuted for following a certain religion, they were certainly did not show any empathy towards others who had views opposing theirs. In other words, they did not treat others

Most people do not know much about her country and her values. She primarily cares for her children and works at the library. We can reauthor this narrative to show that she is a knowledgeable and a caring woman, especially towards her family. She is willing to move to a new country to be with the man that she chose to be with and raise her kids. She continues to choose her family despite the constant struggles between her own values and the dominant American culture. She shows dedication to her family by staying in America even if she wants to go back to her home country and feels like she is losing her children to American values. Her story creates a unique outcome for her in comparison to her family of origin. She appears to be the only one in her family to live in the states, transforming her into a strong woman who can endure the culture change and being away from the ones she