Short story Analysis

 Jasson carbajal 


Professor Brady 


05/10/24


English 102 


Short Stories Analysis 


During the short stories units, we encountered different themes. One theme that stood out from “A Street Car Named Desire” by Ernest Hemingway,  and “Hills Like While Elephants” by Tennessee Williams, that theme is Silence as it serves as a powerful device in literature, as it can reflect on emotions. In both stories the theme silence served as a role into shaping the dynamics between characters and driving the narratives forwards. Due to moments of suppressed emotions, and communication issues, the themse kinda served as one main perspective for each story. 

In "A Streetcar Named Desire," Stella's character can be as an example of the theme of silence in her napoleonic relationship with her husband, Stanley. When Stanley berates Stella for her sister's behavior, she responds with silence, indicating her reluctance to defend herself or her sister: "Stella, speak up. Don't let him talk to you like this. Stella: shakes her head slightly, indicating she doesn't want to escalate the situation Stanley: That's right, Stella. Listen to your sister. She's always trying to turn you against me." (Williams, Scene ,5). Additionally, Stella's silence in the face of Stanley's abusive behavior further highlights her resignation to their weird and unhealthy relationship and her fear of confrontation: "Stella refrains from speaking out against Stanley's aggressive actions, choosing instead to remain silent and thereby perpetuating the cycle of abuse(Williams, Scene 3). 

Similarly, silence plays a pivotal role in "Hills Like White Elephants" particularly in the conversations between the American man and the girl. During their discussion about the possibility of having an abortion, the extensive silence between them underscores their discomfort and inability to openly confront the emotional implications of their decision. One examples that shows that is,  "It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig." the man said. "It's not really an operation at all." The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on."I know you wouldn't mind it, Jig”. (Hemingway, 2). Furthermore, the girl's silence at the end of the story adds to the ambiguity surrounding her decision, this actions having to happen in a way shows her silence to not speak up as in the end Jig said, “ I feel fine," she said. "There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.” (Hemingway, 4). 

In A Street Car Named Desire and, “Hills Like While Elephants”, the theme is Silence is a a powerful device used in these two stories , as it can reflects on the emotions of the characters. In both stories the theme silence served as a role into shaping plot of the stories as their meaningful scenes and actions help show the theme. In Williams piece Stella inner conflic and external conflic cause her to be in pivotal scenes where she had to be silence and accept, similar to Hemingway story, and how Jig didn’t oppose to the decision of the abortion yet her silence showed her true decision. 


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