Similarities between “Eveline” and “Hills like White Elephants”
In both “Eveline” by James Joyce and “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemmingway, the characters are forced to make important life changing decisions. This is just one of the many similarities between stories. One thing that was obvious to me while reading each of these short stories was the presence of a dominant male antagonist in each story; The father in “Eveline” and the American in “Hills like White Elephants.” These two characters have many of the same traits and motives. Another thing these two stories have in common is the how the setting of each story affects the storyline directly. The authors portray these, along with many other concerts, in great detail throughout each story.
In “Eveline” the main character has a huge decision to make. Eveline has recently met a man and is faced with the decision to run away with him, or to stay and take care of her family. A promise Eveline makes to her mother before her passing is keeping her from running away with Frank. However Eveline’s father also plays a major part in why Eveline is so indecisive about leaving. Eveline’s father is an example of an antagonist in this story. Her father forbids Eveline to see Frank; this is shown by her father saying, “I know these sailor chaps” (5). With a history of abuse, Eveline is afraid to go against her fathers will. This fear is shown by the statement, “Even now…, she sometimes felt herself in danger of her father’s violence” (3-4).
Although this is a critical reason she is worried about running away with Frank, this also make her desire for a new begging even stronger. Eveline longs for the respect she once saw her mother receive, and she believes she does...
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...rces them to realize their true character. These decisions challenge their strength, and give them the opportunity to have control of their own lives. Having control to make their own decision is a new experience for both characters. Each story included a dominant male antagonist, whom both Eveline and Jig must stand up to in order to determine which path is the right choice for them.
These concepts along with many others help to make up the similar theme of independence and self-worth in each of these pieces.
Works Cited
Joyce, James. “Eveline.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X
Day, and Robert Funk. 10 ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. 3-7. Print.
Joyce, James. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth
McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 10 ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. 276-279.
Print.
“The Hills as White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway, tells a story about a couple who are expecting a baby, but want to have an abortion. The setting of the story takes places at a bar situated across of a train station in Madrid, Spain. The couple sits by the bar, and order some drinks. They began discussing about whether or not having the abortion. While they wait for the train the man convince the girl. Within the two works there are many similarities but also differences between the central idea, conflict and the language devices.
Analysis of Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway In “Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemingway relies on symbolism to convey the theme of abortion. The symbolic material objects, as well as the strong symbolic characters, aid the reader’s understanding of the underlying theme. The material objects that Hemingway uses to convey the theme are beer, the good and bad hillsides, and a railroad station between two tracks. The beer represents the couple’s, “the American” and “the girl’s”, routine activities they do together.
The Hills Like White Elephant, is set in Barcelona in a train station. While the Black Man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat is set on a lake in a row boat. Both the setting are in a place of transit. In Banks the Black Man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat, the story takes pace in a lake and starts with a conversation between a man and a woman being referred to as “the girl.” In Hemingway’s The Hills Like White Elephant, the story starts as the characters; a man and a woman converse about pregnancy in a train station in Spain. The stories are about individuals making a decision about abortion, and the fact that according to the stories the characters are stuck in a place of transit means that, their lives are stuck because of a certain problem that needs to be solved, a pregnancy, and
Hemingway's Personal Life and its Influence on his Short Story "Hills Like White Elephants" "Hills like White Elephants" is not the normal story where you have a beginning, middle and end. Hemingway gave just enough information so that readers could draw their own conclusions. The entire story encompasses a conversation between two lovers and leaves the reader with more questions than answers. Ernest Hemingway was a brilliant writer. People that study Hemingway's works try to gain insight and draw natural conclusions about Hemingway and his life.
Where both stories happen everywhere in our society which people encounter much as what the story was. For example, in Hemingway where there's a woman who totally attract with a man but he won't like her. Instead, he just wants to put in a point that the man intends to get what he wants which is to get to sexual desire. While Trevor story is much more like to other news, that altar attendant's abuse by a priest. And my most response throughout the story was one that is very remarkable in various parts of the
The ending of “Eveline” leads to different reactions from readers.... ... middle of paper ... ... People still struggle to break from their lives that are defined by routine, and therefore miss opportunities that come their way.
Burroway, Janet. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. As Rpt. in Rankin, Paul "Hemingway's `Hills Like White Elephants'." Explicator, 63 (4) (Summer 2005): 234-37.
“Hills like White Elephants” is told in a vague way that holds the reader at bay. Hemingway’s genius use of symbolism helps the reader understand the story. One of the most prevalent use of symbolism is the term white elephant, which represents “an unwanted gift, a seemingly remote and but immense problem,” that the couple are forced to deal with (Kozikowski 107). The white elephant denotes the unwanted unborn child that is resented by the father, although the mother is curious to see through. The use of the railroad symbolizes the divide in the relationship. The young couple is in different directions, however, neither one listens to each other. The girl is pressured by the man to choose one side of the tracks, but at the train station, she is in a position where her choice is visible. His actions are haughty and she is submissive to him. Objects like the alcohol and the bamboo care carefully chosen by the author. The previously stated Absinthe is a symbol for sensuality and a narcotic. The bamboo curtains denote its hollowness and letting the air in; consequently the same manner that the American refers to the operation as “letting the air in” (215). Color plays an integral function in understanding that the couple is at parallel ends like the train track. The “blackness of the licorice and the whiteness of the hills contrast between sorrow and joy”; furthermore, the way the couple seem divided and
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Literature Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. DiYanni, Robert. 2nd ed. New York. Mc Grew Hill. 2008. 400-03. Print.
Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" touches on an issue as ageless as time: communication problems in a relationship. He tells his story through conversations between the two main characters, the American and the girl. Conflict is created through dialogue as these characters face what most readers believe to be the obstacle of an unexpected pregnancy. Their plight is further complicated by their inability to convey their differing opinions to each other. Symbolism and the title's meaning are other effective means of communicating conflict.
change in her life by moving with her boyfriend Frank from her homeland of Ireland and making a life with him in Buenos Ayres. Joyce illustrates that one of our most inherent qualities as humans and one that Eveline displays is that we are resistant to change. Through Eveline's relationships with her father, Frank and various peripheral relationships, Joyce demonstrates to us how Eveline has come to have certain beliefs about change.
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants." Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Ed. Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. 268-272.
It is extremely hard for her to make the decision of whether or not to go with Frank because she only knows one way. Eveline understands that she has "a hard life,"(513) and she has the chance to go to a place where "it would not be like that" (513). However, it scares Eveline to change her setting. After thinking about leaving she did not find her present setting as "wholly undesirable" (513) as she previously did. The latter part of "Eveline" is set by the sea. This sea is a symbol of rejuvenation for Eveline. Much like in "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin, the sea is a way to escape life. "All the seas of the world tumble around her heart," (515) and Eveline is unable to flee from her life to go away with Frank. Eveline's mind has been subconsciencly designed by her environment, and she can't imagine living life any other way. Eveline is so confused and doesn't know what is holding her back, but something is.
By not taking that opportunity, Eveline probably missed a life of exploration with Frank. Eveline would have had the chance to know what independence feels like and she would have had the chance to experience individual freedom. Instead, her life afterwards is a life of regret and imprisonment with her family. Being an only child, she is bound by her family’s actions and their duties. Eveline has taken on an incredible part of the burden in keeping the family together. Her father is an overbearing and unfair man who takes his daughters earnings for himself; and rather than appreciating her sacrifices, he ridicules her. As she now lives with her dad and her two brothers, she feels tired and frustrated with her dad’s commands and her everyday life. Everyday, she sadly waits for frank to come back into her life once again and fill her life with happiness. Eveline may possibily in the future live her freedom when her controlling father passes away, but perhaps it will become too late for her to experience the freedom she wanted.
Trapped in a world where mental anguish imprisons her, Eveline is another of James Joyce's paralyzed souls. Her life is full of ups and downs. Every day she struggles with burdens that she should not have to bear and when the opportunity comes for her to get away from this retched life, she denies herself the chance. The reasons why I feel Eveline did not leave for Buenos Aires with Frank is because she was obligated to her family, she was afraid of the unknown and she did not know how to receive love.