Terry. K. Smith
English 102
Prof. Harutunian M
Sec 66072
James Joyce's "Araby" may seem at first glance to be only a story about a young boy's first love. However, there is an underlying theme of his effort to escape an inimical reality by transforming a neighbor girl into something larger than life, a spot of light in an otherwise dark and somber environment. In Hemingway’s Hills like white elephants, the story is told through a conversation between a young woman and a man waiting for a train in Spain. As they talk, it becomes clear that the woman is pregnant and that the man wants her to have an abortion. Through their tight, brittle conversation, much is revealed about their personalities. At the same time, much about their relationship remains hidden. These two stories are related in a way that both characters are disappointed by their fantacies therefore they feel misguided, sad and confused.
In James Araby the boy is misguided by his aunt and uncle who treat him like a child, whereby he has to ask for permission and money to go to the bazaar. In addition, many other situations regarding the church caused him to feel misguided by vanity. His reflections of the “charitable” life of the priest who occupied the empty room at the church could have led a life of vanity .The church taught morals and values completely different from what was actually portrayed by the priests .In comparison to Hill like white Elephants, the girl is also misguided by the man who is aware of her pregancy but he still encourages her to drink beer which he clearly knows is not good for her pregnancy but he does not care about that. He is obviously in favor of the abortion, and everything he says is an effort to persuade her into it because he doesn’t want to settle down and have a family with her, he wants to keep his current lifestyle. As she considers his point of view she looks at the dry side of the valley, which is barren and sterile, symbolizing her body...