Hemmingway and O'Connor - Essay Example

Written in the 1920s which was also known as the Roaring Twenties in America, Ernest Hemmingway’s Hills Like White Elephants exemplify the radical changes in the views of its characters. Although the story was set in a train station situated at the Ebro Valley in Spain, one of the characters was called the American which clearly identifies the nationality of the traveller. The countless travels, preference of drinks, the manner of speaking and attitude towards the undisclosed predicament of the characters provides hints on the background of the couple. The essence of the Roaring Twenties is impliedly depicted in Hemmingway’s short story despite the lack of details which is typical of the author’s works. It was during this era that men and women had undergone drastic changes since the onset of 1920s promised freedom (O’Neal 5) and modernization which was then equated to living a care-free life and shedding away the restrictions of grandmothers. The numerous labels from hotels on the luggage of the two characters in the story suggests of the pair’s worry-free lifestyle while the way the two talk about the predicament shows the deviation from the conservative points of view. Evidences of the frequent travels of the two characters also characterize the age of mobility since it was in that period that the first trans-Atlantic flight and Ford’s automobile (O’Neal 6) made it possible for people to go places. It was not only the mode of transportation that extremely changed during this era, women also jolted the American conventional ways when the Flappers (O’Neal 24) came forth. Fashion and the short-styled haircut exhibited the boldness of women from the 1920s. The modifications were not only on the manner of dressing and ways of wearing the bob-cut but views on alcohol consumption; smoking and sexual relations were also significantly altered. Jig, the girl in Hemmingway’s story, noticeably shows the characteristics of woman from the 1920s although the author did not indicate if the girl was also an American, it can be surmised that the girl was influenced by her male companion. Hemmingway’s story also had touches of gender issues since the opinions and feelings of the girl towards undergoing the procedure were not acknowledged by the male character and insinuate that the man does not encourage the girl to make decisions for herself. Control over the girl’s decisions is evident when she had to ask permission from the man if she can try the drink as well as dismissing her comments on Ebro’s scenery. Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find was written about thirty years later from the time Hemmingway’s Hills Like White Elephants and was set in the Southern American state of Georgia. Part of the 1950s culture in America is clearly described in the story with the author detailing the outfit of the grandmother and remarkably pointing out that the mother of the children wore slacks. The 1950s in America was also characterized by the gender issues (Wills 55) that surfaced during the period. More feminist movements emerged and this was embodied by the slacks or trousers worn by Bailey’s wife showing that women during that time were starting to diverge from the staple fashion for women. (Wills 117) Familial roles in both stories are in some points similar specifically for the roles of women. In Hills Like White Elephants the male character gives a consideration on the girl’s emotional state on his preferred solution to their predicament. The man, however, has set his heart on performing the procedure on the girl and is appears to be ready to convince the girl to share his point of view if the girl decides to go on with the procedure. Ironically, he gives the girl the freedom to choose what to drink and the quantity of drinks she can have. The protagonist woman in A Good Man is Hard to Find and her son Bailey as opposed to the couple in Hemmingway’s story shows two contradicting characters that in the end, the man ended up making the decision on where to go for their vacation. Bailey lets his mother talk but does not take the words of his mother seriously and does not immediately heed her suggestions. Bailey’s familial role in the story is typical of the man of the family who makes the decisions and rarely gives in to the suggestions or whims of his children and his old mother. Bailey’s wife is the typical quiet woman who takes care of the baby and does not interfere with her husband’s decisions. She is, however, not the old-fashioned type as denoted by the author’s description of her outfit. The wife’s character was quiet and passive that the author did not give much significance thus did not name her. Her character also contrasts to the grandmother who insistently chatters to convince Bailey and the two children to go to Tennessee instead of going to Florida. The two children in this story, John Wesley and June Star were obviously unbridled by their mother to the point that they were ridiculing their grandmother and were not reprimanded by their mother. The two children assume the roles of their parents in reasoning out with the grandmother. This way, since the children do not know how to diplomatically handle the old woman, they come to a point that they were impolite to the grandmother. American readers have been in situations similar to the couple in Hemmingway’s story as well as in instances that they encounter relatives who are similar to the grandmother or the children in O’Connor’s story. Hills Like White Elephants and A Good Man is Hard to Find are stories American readers can relate to because both stories came from distinct eras in the American history. The liberated thinking of the male character in the Hills Like White Elephants embodies the radical thinking of some Americans during the 1920s regarding sexual relations, nonchalant ways of living (O’Neal 5) and the view that having a child would be an impediment in a care-free lifestyle. Although Hemmingway did not give details on the condition of the couple in the short story, it can be deciphered that the girl Jig was pregnant with the man’s child and that second thoughts on aborting the child are causing a misunderstanding between the couple. Some American couples can relate to the situation of the American and Jig because an unplanned pregnancy sometimes causes problems in a relationship of couples who are in the hype of careers and have not set mind on settling down to have children. American readers can also identify with the story A Good Man is Hard to Find since the character of the grandmother is someone familiar to Americans. Grandmothers who always have something to say and are sometimes convinced that they can talk people into agreeing with them are most often common in American families. The two children are also familiar members of the family. Another aspect of the O’Connor’s story that American readers can identify with is the grandmother’s fear of serial killers or criminals on the loose. Families, especially with small children take precautions are seriously when dangerous criminals on the loose are on the news because of incidents in the society when slaughters are mercilessly done by serial killers. CITED WORKS American Families Past And Present: Social Perspectives on Transformations. Ed. Susan M. Ross. Rutgers University Press, 2006. Print. Benson, Jackson J. New Critical Approaches to the Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New Jersey: Duke University Press, 1990. Print. O'Connor, Flannery. Ed. Rosemary M. Magee. Conversations With Flannery O'Connor. Mississippi: Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1987. Print. O'Neal, Michael J. America in The 1920s. New York: Stonesong Press LLC, 2009. Print. Wills, Charles A. America In The 1950s. New York: Stonesong Press LLC, 2005. Print. Read More