Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Two of Ernest Hemingway’s most famously short, short stories are “A Clean Well Lighted Place” and “Hills Like White Elephants.” These stories readily lend themselves to joint treatment because of their symbolism, dialogue, and setting. Though these two stories were written years apart, there are many similarities in the actions and reactions of the characters. Many of the actions and reactions of the situations in the stories are ones that would be made by people today. There are always two typical types of characters in a Hemingway story; the wise, compassionate, knowledgeable character and the ignorant, self-absorbed, careless character, and these two stories are no exception. Primarily, Hemingway is a master of implication in fiction. In much of his work, Hemingway does not provide the reader with enough information to make necessary moral judgments. He might omit an element of the plot or simply imply something without verbally stating it. Such omissions “create confusion calling for concentration and solution.” “He also uses the setting of his stories to reinforce the ongoing situation, characterization, and theme.” ( Bruccoli page 225) However, Hemingway’s confusion is only a superf