... or bad. Although, when we find ourselves in a difficult situation, we sometimes rely on the opinions of others to make these difficult decisions for us. In this short story, "Hills like White Elephants", Hemingway relies on the use of symbolism throughout the story to describe a very complex issue that has encountered Jig and The American, the main characters in the story. Though ... an abortion. In the title, Hemingway relates the pregnancy to white elephants; this phrase can have two meanings, for Jig it is a meaning of something that is precious and positive, but for The American he ...

• Word Count: 814
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

A setting is what makes most short stories come to life and in the short story, "Hills Like White Elephants," the setting is portrayed in a technique that enhances the reader's understanding of the story. Hemingway cleverly used the setting as a "cheat," informing the reader ... conflict that was arising between the American man and the girl, named Jue. The beauty and dimness of the scenery, the train station, and the hills looking like white elephants to the girl are all major pieces of setting that represent the decision of keeping or feat rid of their child. The narrator describes the land...

• Word Count: 504
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Ernest Hemingway, the author of "Hills Like White Elephants" uses details of the railway station setting and the two sides of the Ebro River to emphasize the choice which the couple must make. The railroad symbolizes ... country is brown and dry (Hemingway 170). This deserted, barren land reveals how life without a child will be. If she goes through with the abortion, she will become just like the land itself. She would be barren, dry, and without life, new or old. The couple's relationship will become fruitless and purposeless. Death is even a possible consequence. The ... this side even tho...

• Word Count: 516
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

There were many important themes in the Epic of Gilgamesh, but the most dominant theme is acceptance of humanity. Gilgamesh is an epic story about our hero Gilgamesh, who throughout the epic is searching for immortality. Gilgamesh was 2/3 God and 1/3 man. Gilgamesh investigates the possibility ... the part of him that was godly that he didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he was 1/3 human. "Me! Will I too not die like Enkidu? Sorrow was coming into my belly. I fear death; I roam over the hills. I will seize the road; quickly I will go to the house of Utnapishtim, offspring of Ubaratutu. ...

• Word Count: 641
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... have been raised in a variety of scholarly debates, Don Delillo has managed to create a novel where the plot, theme, and conflict all revolve around the central fear of death. In order to understand the relationship between culture and death as it is symbolically portrayed ... exercise regular because they fear being overweight, where Babette exercises because she is afraid of dying before Jack. One of the working complexities within White Noise is Jack and Babette's fear of dying first. Neither Jack nor Babette want to experience life without the other. Without Jacks consent, ... Jack...

• Word Count: 1569
• Approx Pages: 6

In the book I chose there are many different ways to depict the theme I thought summed it up best. My book is the "Black Trillium", a book about three young princesses in a small kingdom coming in to their own. Their kingdom ... happens to be invaded by their close neighbors the Labornaki through the help of the dark sorcerer Oragastus. Into this tale is wove the amazing theme of each person has their own destiny and each person is responsible for their own. Throughout the tale each princess (Haramis, Anigel, and Kadiya) has to seek ... themselves. All the while fighting for power over thei...

• Word Count: 286
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... covered in various stories is the theme that even if people appear happy on the outside, on the inside there is almost always some sorrow either hidden deep in their heart and soul or being shown to ... of sorrow. He is unhappy with his life. At the beginning of the story, he is happy. He meets a woman named Susan who he thinks is "the tenth most attractive white woman in the room."" They are married and for the first year everything seems to be fine. He discoverers that she is having an affair after their first anniversary which ... at home be off with you,"" and because of what they...

• Word Count: 1192
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... the slow but steady europeanization of North America. In response to a simple question lies many hidden messages and intertextual references which all relate to the stories theme. The reoccurrence of water mentioned throughout the story expresses its importance and hidden meanings. The relation of water to the characters and the Indians as a ... whole is not defined, rather it is shown through simple stories and imagery which expresses the theme and the importance as it relates to the characters of the story. The theme explored in this story gives an honest evaluation of reality as it re...

• Word Count: 910
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In The Red and the White by Andrew Graybill, tells a story of loss and finding one's place in the world for those of mixed ancestry. By telling the story of the Clarke family, Graybill unlocks history ... known, it sparked the hardly known Marias Massacre in 1870 (Greybill 110), which Horace became a part of. On January 23rd of 1870, Horace kill his mother's people along side other white Americans. The Marias Massacre led to the death of hundreds of Piegan people (Greybill 147). Greybill continues to write about his Daughter Helen and the life of His grandchild, John ... history of this fam...

• Word Count: 978
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... use technology to immunize ourselves against the fear of death. The failure of technology in this regard is the general subject of Don Delillo's book White Noise. Throughout this novel, technology is depicted as the ominous messenger of our common fate, an increasing sense of dread over loss of control ... media are doing to us now. The indiscriminate flood of information is not making our society more aware; rather, it is putting us all to sleep. White Noise is a book obsessed with death at the hands of our own technology. The protagonist is a middle aged man who is the chairman of a ......

• Word Count: 1089
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... off these explosions in order to live, since the combustion that occurs when one of them is ignited is what nourishes the soul" Tita, the main character in Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate has gone through much pain and suffering in her life. Mama Elena, Tita's mother, has been cruel and ruthless with Tita, causing her great emotional distress. After ... understand it, since it captures the true essence of intense emotions and feelings. This is one of the best examples of magical realism. Her use of words especially in the phrase " when one of them is ignited is what nourishes ...

• Word Count: 655
• Approx Pages: 3

... Ponyboy. Likewise, the gang supports each other in a way no can explain. They have each others backs 24/7. In the same way, Dally Winston guards Johnny like a father might a son. These three examples, demonstrate that it is human nature to protect the ones you love. The Outsiders is a coming-of-age book, ... they also have to deal with the never ending battle of life. Johnny, a member of the group of Greasers, struggles with having parents that don't like him. He gets no devotion or sense of belonging from his family. Cade's dad is physically and verbally abusive. His mom just ignores hi...

• Word Count: 1634
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... side she thought that you could accomplish anything. She saw life through love and emotion and not through the eyes of hatred or war. The film, Like Water for Chocolate, represents a story through incorporating the idea of food as feelings and expressing the woman's roles during the Mexican Revolution. The film is ... this time period, I thought that men were more likely to be the head of the household and in charge. Throughout the film, the main overall theme is that a woman had an illegitimate daughter with someone while she was married, her husband left her, and she was alone with thre...

• Word Count: 823
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... of each gentleman in the private room was of the changes and promotions it might occasion among themselves or their acuaintances.(105) Maybe that is not their fault to act like this , for the society appears to instill the shallow notion that it is right for everyone to chase the carrer achievement and the luxury of life. It's a little bit the ... his ways of living his life, which not only ruins his , but also does damage to his family members', so he apologize to everyone around him. This situation is very like the case when humans are under the judgement in the face of God. In confro...

• Word Count: 1460
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... actually happens beyond their grave. No one knows the truth of death until that person actually dies. Death is such a mysterious and frightful matter. In White Noise, the author, Don Delillo agrees that at some level, everyone fears death. This powerful fear can easily influence a person's behaviors and actions. The ... Would you ask a man who bags groceries if he fears death not because it is death but because there are still some interesting groceries he would like to bag?" (pg.284). Jack is always apprehensive about death. He almost wishes that death does not exist at all. He believe...

• Word Count: 1616
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The class of 2002 stands together in their red and white robes knowing that This is the last time we"ll ever do anything together as a class, the speakers keep reminding us, and I hear a few graduates" utter "Thank God!" behind me. ... for that home game we just couldn't miss, the sun is just beginning to set and orange the sky. I can hear a few birds chirp when it's silent; the air smells like summer, even a more grim reminder of what lies ahead. Our tassels move from one side to the other as they get finished handing out diplomas. Finally our principal congratulates us ... ...

• Word Count: 538
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The person I"d like to see again is my grandfather, who passed away a few years ago. It was him, along with my grandmother who raised me, mainly because my parents were then having problems ... how I came to consider him very dear to me. He was a tallish person in the year he died and had a really warm-looking face. Surprisingly, his hair wasn't at all white and did not get fattish as most old people do. He wasn't nagging all the time and had quite a sense of humor and when he laughed, his sparkling blue eyes ... ...

• Word Count: 369
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... the weasel's approach to daily life. This could very well be the key to a simpler and less stressful lifestyle. In Annie Dillard's essay: "Living Like Weasels", she starts reading about weasels because she had encountered a live weasel while in the woods. She begins by pointing out that the weasel is & ... Living with regret can change the course of our lives and not always for the better. Listening to our instincts or better yet living by them like the weasel does could make the difference between a chaotic life and a simpler more pleasant one. Imagine how much more enjoyable and fulfil...

• Word Count: 1012
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... to get better is very much worth mentioning however, there's a formula when trying to heal. That formula is letting it heal in due time. It's like having a cut and you keep pealing the scab. By hiding from her problems and ignoring the power to heal gradually, she kept reopening the dreadful wound. ... rules applies to blues as well. Just as Wydell was enjoying his second shot at being a father to his children and finally being able to stand like a man should, here comes hurricane Delotha to knock him down. Her actions towards him when he tried to discipline his son W.T. was inappropriat...

• Word Count: 1547
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... by were this skills that had been taught to him, and a warped perception that this is what a "man" must do to survive. Fishing is a common theme in many of Hemingway's writings as are Life & Death, Bullfighting, Sex, and War. He had always been fascinated by Bullfighting and even made an attempt at becoming ... at the very end Nick say's that he feels quit sure that he will never die. This attitude exemplifies what Hemingway felt the ideal man should be like. Proud, courageous, and afraid of nothing very much the same way that Hemingway himself was. Although the topic of death was a main...

• Word Count: 1381
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

When something is covered or hidden, it looses it's depth and projects an illusion of deceivement. In the winter seasons, snow envelops its surroundings, blanketing the earth with a milky white blanket. This blanket is beautiful yet it's also deceiving in how it shrouds objects from view. In John Knowles" A Separate Peace, the deceptive environment symbolizes the sly and mysterious ... accident, that eventually killed Finny. Gene never told anyone what really happened at the accident, hiding the truth just in the quote, "... in which the snow, white almost to blueness, lay like a soft comfort...

• Word Count: 644
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... this case, an insatiable hunger for death. After the death of the two pigeons, Rosetti ends the second four-line quatrain with a mournful, prayer-like statement: "So farewell life and love and pleasures new." The blunt absoluteness of this line is a powerful tool used by Rosetti to convey the ... consequences of the death of the two pigeons. The description of the actual bodies of the dead birds is extremely poignant as the "snow-white plumage flecked with crimson drops" is noted. This tainted image of perfection is distort and distressing to the reader as the purity of the ... which r...

• Word Count: 2526
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of humans and material objects by comparing them to a stream in which he fishes in because he wants to voice his opinion on the understanding that little things like life in the flow of time are just currents sliding away in a stream. I interpreted the following passage: "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing ... my head is an organ for burrowing, as some creatures use their snout and fore-paws, and with it I would mine and burrow my way through these hills. I think that the richest vein is somewhere hereabouts; so by the divining rod and think rising vapors I judge; and here I will begin...

• Word Count: 783
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... in this world is not guaranteed, therefore make the most out of today. There was a theme widely used in the 16th and 17th century that urged people to do just that: carpe diem. I would like to share with you this evening some facts on carpe diem, including its meaning, history, and ... some examples of applying the phrase. Carpe diem is from the Latin phrase "seize the day." It is a descriptive term for literature that ... being ruthless, being resourceful, and being happy. There are many ways we can personally define the phrase carpe diem, but where exactly did it come from? Love poet...

• Word Count: 569
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... still think he was a great one. (164) Strickland was not a conversationalist and he had no gift putting what he had to say in the striking phrase that the listener remembers. He had no wit. His humour was sardonic. His repartee was rude. He made one laugh sometimes by speaking the truth, but ... simplification at which he aimed. The portraits were a little larger than life-size, and this gave them an ungainly look. To my eyes the faces looked like caricatures. The landscape puzzled me even more. My first feeling was that they might have been painted by a drunken cab-driver. The colour s...

• Word Count: 6573
• Approx Pages: 26
• Grade Level: High School