Hemmingway and O'Connor - Research Paper Example

Her pleas not to go Florida are ignored by both her son, Bailey and the daughter in-law. Her grandson, John, asks her to stay at home whereas the granddaughter, June asserts that she would not stay behind for a million bucks. This brings out the disrespect that the children have towards their elders. Furthermore, both Bailey and his wife are not respectful towards Bailey’s mother. Bailey, for instance, does not pay attention to what his mother was telling him (O’Connor par 2). In fact, if he had been keen and attentive and had obeyed his mother pleas, he would have saved his family from the ordeal they face later towards the end of the story.

Bailey as the head of the family had a responsibility to his family, to protect it and not to lead it towards harm way (Tonic par 4). The daughter-in law appears to be tongue-tied, as she does not say much throughout the story (Tonic par 3). She also had a responsibility to her family to ensure it was safe. The news of Misfits release was good reason enough for her to agree with her mother-in law but instead she chose to ignore her (O’Connor par 2). As the story develops with the family now on the road, there is a depiction of a normal family with its hassles.

For instance, Bailey and his wife do not seem to be in such good terms and each one of them seems lost in their own world (Tonic par 6). They do not release how noisy and out of hand their two kids get while playing games in the car. The grandmother intervenes by telling them a story to calm them down. When they stop for a barbecue, only the grandmother seems to engage in conversations with the shop owner (O’Connor par 14). Once they get back on the road, the grandmother suggests that they go visit an old plantation.

Bailey refuses to give in to his mother’s suggestion; however, the children become adamant and insist that they visit the old plantation (O’Connor par 13). It is during this moment that the daughter in-law asserts that they should all stay in the car once they get there (O’Connor par 15). However, the family does not get to see the house since they get into an accident that is caused by the grandmother once she realized that the old plantation was in Tennessee and Toombsboro. It is after the accident that the family meets its demise and they are killed by Misfit (O’Connor par 25).

In the short story ‘Hills like Elephants’, Hemmingway uses familial roles to set the story outline. In this story, Hemmingway uses a dialogue of a couple to narrate his story. In the conversation, the couple is having an argument on getting rid of the unborn child (Johnston par 3). The dialogue between the man and the girl as well as the body language infers the background as well as attitudes of both the girl and the man pertaining to situation in sight, and their approaches towards each other.

From the inception of the narrative, the contentious character of the couple’s dialogue designates unease and resentment. The conversation is a refinement of the differences amid stereotypical female and male relationship roles. For example, the girl draws elicits the analogy with ‘white elephants’, whereas the hyper-rational male immediately refutes it, disbanding the poetry bit into objective realism with ‘ I’ve never seen one(Hemmingway par ).’ The girl also asks his approval to order a beer.

All through the story, she is distant; the man is rational. While the man tries to frame