Good People Wallace and Hills Like White Elephants

Good People Wallace and Hills Like White Elephants

Good People by David Foster Wallace and Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway are both short stories about a couple with dilemmas. Both of these stories have similar themes but have different elements in them. Their biggest similarity between the two stories is with the dilemma but there is little else that is similar. There are a lot of differences to look at like the setting and how the whole story plays out.

A major theme in the stories is the communication between the couples. In Hills Like White Elephants, the couple are having their discussion over beer. The man and the woman say things to each other but the other does not seem to be listening to them. This lack of communication is similar to the conversation in Good People where the man is only having a conversation with the girl in his head and not with her herself.

The stories are of somewhat similar scenarios. Both stories are about a woman who is about to go through a medical procedure and the conflicts that they go through with their partner. While the operation appear to be abortions but they are not clearly specified. The operations are a big deal in both stories and the stories end without saying whether or not they went through with the operation.

The setting and symbols the stories are one of the biggest contrasts to be seen. The environments in Good People is described as, “It was springtime, and the park’s grass was very green and the air suffused with honeysuckle and liliacts both, which was almost too much” (Foster).

This describes a wet and lively scene that is used to represent life. The partially submerged tree represents a fetus that is alive. In Hills Like White Elephants the setting is described as, “hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry” (Hemingway).

This is describing a barren landscape devoid of anything which is meant to represent purity. The white hills that are meant...