Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” and "Shiloh, " by Bobbie Ann Mason. a Brief Comparison.
In the readings about men and women, there were two stories that stuck out for me. Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” and "Shiloh," by Bobbie Ann Mason. To me these stories had many peculiar similarities. I felt that there were so comparable that there seemed to be a true connection between these two novels.
In the short story "Hills like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway we were presented a man and his girlfriend. They order a couple drinks as they wait for a train. As the story continues, more details of what the couple is discussing unfold. Although it is never actually said we learn that the couple is talking about whether to have an abortion. "It's really an awful simple operation, Jig."(42) It's is also apparent that the man wants for the girl, Jig, to have the procedure, while the girl does not. It is also obvious that the girl has stronger feelings than the man does about their relationship "And you think then we'll be all right and be happy."(54) I believe that his story was not just meant to be taken as entertaining, but more to get the reader thinking. The author had purposely written the cliff-hanger ending so one would try to determine what would become of the predicament.
In the story by Bobbie Ann Mason, "Shiloh" we read about two other characters that had fallen out of love. We learn that Leroy, the man in the story can no longer work and spends most his time at home doing not much of anything. We continue to read about Leroy’s wife Norma Jean’s very active and productive lifestyle. The reader is also told about the devastating past these two share (their baby dying). Throughout the story the reader is given the impression of a sense of distance between the married couple. "He sees things about Norma Jean that he never realized before."(60) "He feels awkward, like a boy on a date with an older girl. They are still just making conversation." (136) It seemed as if their forgetting how to talk to each other had taken
In the short story "Hills like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway we were presented a man and his girlfriend. They order a couple drinks as they wait for a train. As the story continues, more details of what the couple is discussing unfold. Although it is never actually said we learn that the couple is talking about whether to have an abortion. "It's really an awful simple operation, Jig."(42) It's is also apparent that the man wants for the girl, Jig, to have the procedure, while the girl does not. It is also obvious that the girl has stronger feelings than the man does about their relationship "And you think then we'll be all right and be happy."(54) I believe that his story was not just meant to be taken as entertaining, but more to get the reader thinking. The author had purposely written the cliff-hanger ending so one would try to determine what would become of the predicament.
In the story by Bobbie Ann Mason, "Shiloh" we read about two other characters that had fallen out of love. We learn that Leroy, the man in the story can no longer work and spends most his time at home doing not much of anything. We continue to read about Leroy’s wife Norma Jean’s very active and productive lifestyle. The reader is also told about the devastating past these two share (their baby dying). Throughout the story the reader is given the impression of a sense of distance between the married couple. "He sees things about Norma Jean that he never realized before."(60) "He feels awkward, like a boy on a date with an older girl. They are still just making conversation." (136) It seemed as if their forgetting how to talk to each other had taken