Homework 1.31.08

Hills Like White Elephants

1. In the story the couple is anguishing over whether or not the pregnant woman should have an abortion. In the first half of the story the man is trying to convince the girl, Jig, to get the procedure. He tries to tell her that it's a simple operation and once it is done, the rest takes care of itself naturally. She repeatedly asks him if she should go through with it and if he thinks it's a good idea. He promises that he will stay with her and take care of her through the whole thing. She then asks if their relationship will go back to being the way it used to be and if they will be happy again. He said that since he has had friends go through this, whom were all happy afterwards, they too would be happy. In the second half of the story the man and woman go back and forth between decisions. He said that he wants her to get the abortion, but only if she wants to. She gets upset and ends the conversation when he said that he it doesn't mean anything to him. He tries to give her a little space by leaving the table for a moment. When he returns, he asks her if she is okay and she replies that she is "fine". The woman is clearly struggling with the decisions, especially since she knows how badly the man wants her to have the abortion. She is teetering between what she wants for her relationship, and what she knows is right. 

Girl

1. The two speakers in the story are a mother and daughter. Their identities are revealed throughout the story in the text. When the mother is speaking the text is upright, but when the daughter speaks the text is italicized. It is obviously that it is a mother giving a daughter advice because she is describing how to perform household chores and how to be of help to her father. 

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

1. The narrator of the story is an American-Indian man trying to find his place in the world. He describes that he was the "golden boy" of his town; a star basketball player and college student. Yet, his life was derailed when he started drinking and turned into an alcoholic. He describes how he left his home on the reservation to live in the city with his girlfriend but eventually returned since they always fought. He seems as though he doesn't know what to do with his life. He was once revered as a great, successful individual. Now, he is out of work and no longer the athlete he once was. He was expected to leave the reservation and have his own life, but he has been living at home. He eventually decides that he is going to get a job and clean up. His attitude and approach to the life he leads is nonchalant and laid back, which is expressed in the last line of the story when he says, "I know how all my dreams end anyway". He doesn't seem eager to live life.