Hills Like White Elephants and In Another Country Essay Example

Hills Like White Elephants and In Another Country Essay Example Hills Like White Elephants and In Another Country Paper Hills Like White Elephants and In Another Country Paper Theodore Roethke has been quoted for saying, â€Å"In a dark time, the eye begins to see.† What Roethke is saying is when one is faced with a hardship, the truth of who they are is shown and their true darkness becomes apparent. Roethke’s quote is an agreeable one and can be proved in two short stories by Ernest Hemingway, â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† and â€Å"In Another Country.† In â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants,† the man encounters a â€Å"dark time† and the girl realizes the man’s true character. In â€Å"In Another Country,† the soldiers of World War I expose their true colors after their acts in the war within the hospital. These stories contain evidence to prove Roethke’s quote as fact. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† has two main characters, the man, the antagonist, and the girl, the protagonist. The two of them share a relationship that changes and is exposed for its truth, during the conflict of the couple contradicting each other on whether or not to abort her unborn child. The two of them are sitting at a train station in Madrid and discussing the matter over a few drinks. One important symbol is incorporated into the setting itself. One side of the train station is uncared for and cluttered with grain, and has a strong overcast, representing the man’s opinion. The opposing side of the station has clear, far fields, is sunny, and has white mountains to the very background, with life of animals incorporated, representing the girl’s opinion. The white mountains represent the bright beauty of the child, it reminds her of white elephants, originating from the term white elephant meaning something the owner cannot get rid of.The man is trying to convince the girl that ridding the child would benefit them, that it’s safe, easy, and everything would return to the norm afterwards. The girl, however, wants to keep and give birth to this child, even though the man is producing a stressful argument. In the beginnin