Response: The Man Who Was Almost a Man

After reading "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" I would consider it to be a rather sad and disappointing story in the sense that the boy, the main character, fails to show growth throughout the story. He so desperately wants to be a man and be grown up but his actions show that he is still immature in judgement and responsibility. The reader is lead to this realization in many places throughout the story and the conclusion of the story is especially telling of Dave's continuing immaturity.

To Dave, the gun means manhood and independence. He doesn't even receive the money from his own pay check yet so he has never bought anything like this on his own. He also is still too intimidated to directly ask his father for the money and permission to buy the gun. These things all show signs of immaturity in Dave. His desire to be considered a man has not yet translated over to his actions and he still acts like a boy. His decision to get on the train at the end of the story tells me that he is still very immature because he is running from his problems. He has created a mess for himself and rather than doing the work to clean things up and make things right with his boss and family, he runs. After disobeying his mother, shooting the gun and killing Jenny, he is in trouble with his boss and family and he is incredibly ashamed. In this shame, he makes another poor decision and lies about what he has done with the gun. The gun goes from representing his freedom, independence and manhood to representing his boyish and shameful actions and thought processes, onto which he is still clinging. This choice, of course, leads to more trouble and the growth of bitter emotions inside of the boy. He got off the hook relatively easy for what he had done, but he is still angry and refuses to accept his punishment and therefore accept responsibility. I believe that responsibility is one of the most important characteristics associated with maturity. His boss and his family had shown him grace for the most part, but he doesn't choose to see that. It seems to me that he is choosing to see himself as the victim in the situation because he will have to work for a long time to pay for Jenny. This thinking is twisted and doesn't fit with the model of manliness and maturity that I believe he is looking for.

I think that this story goes to show that maturity and growth cannot come from physical events in someones life. Symbols of maturity are just that, symbolic. They don't mean anything unless the person receiving the symbol is ready for it. For Dave, it was the gun. He wanted a gun because of the message it would send to the people around him. He thought that he would get respect by carrying a gun. He quickly found out that this isn't the case, but was not able to follow through and take responsibility when the opportunity to do so arose. In my opinion, if he were to have stayed, told the truth about the gun and not emptied it he would be much better off in terms of being a man. But he didn't, and that is why I believe he was only "almost a man."

Response: Hills Like White Elephants

This is the fourth time that I have read Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" allowing me to approach the reading with some previous knowledge of the symbolism, etc. I know that there are multiple ways to interpret this story and in my opinion, this story serves as an excellent allegory for American views and lifestyles post World War I, when this story is thought to have been written.

The American in the story can be seen advising his lover (most likely a much younger girl) to have an abortion. This is implied at multiple points throughout the story. He assumes that an abortion will fix whatever problems are occurring in their relationship because he thinks that the pregnancy is what caused them in the first place. This is a great example of the kinds of lives that Americans were leading in the 1920's. They were looking for immediate pleasure, and living more wildly than they had been, especially during the war. It could also be said that there was a lack of responsibility in this era, which is clearly depicted through this story. The American does not want to assume responsibility and face the consequences of his actions, and the girl seems to be looking for more. By saying that all they do is "look at things and try new drinks" she seems to be saying that she wants more from life. She has a desire to face challenges (i.e. the baby on the way) while he is happy with life as it is and wants a quick fix for conflict rather than confrontation and resolution.

When you compare the "white elephants" in the distance to the conflict in the couples' life, which is the baby, it is easy to see the differences in the man and woman's thoughts on the matter. The woman says they look beautiful. She sees the challenge of raising a child to be an inviting one. She sees beauty in the baby. They man, on the other hand, seems to see the hills as trouble looming in the distance. He is made uncomfortable by the fact that she refers to the hills as "white elephants" because it reminds him of the baby and the shape of a pregnant woman. He sees the white elephants as being an awful challenge, threatening to destroy him and the carefree life that he has created.

The maturity of each character is also depicted in this story, showing the lack of responsibility held by both characters. The girl is not only young, making her antics seem very immature, she handles the argument with the man by asking him to stop talking and pretending to be fine. She ignores the real problems at hand and settles for a quick fix of simply ending the conversation. The man shows his lack of maturity and responsibility by treating an abortion as a simple and painless procedure that would have no lasting effects. In this sense, he is completely ignorant and selfish. He argues with the girl not because he wants what is best for her, but because he doesn't want to lose his comfortable lifestyle. Their interactions throughout the entire story show the lack of understanding and responsibility in their relationship.

Overall, I did not enjoy reading this story, because of the style in which it is written and the lack of resolution in the end. I did, however, enjoy the symbolism and the process of decoding some of that. On the surface, this story seems dry, but when there is another layer of meaning hidden behind it, the story comes to life and becomes thought provoking.

Response: The Country Doctor

After reading "The Country Doctor" I found myself feeling depressed, angry and at odds with societal values. Not only did the story prove to be a challenge to read, due to the grammatical structure but it was depressing to see the way that the doctor was unmoved by the "love"that he experienced. Rather than searching for true love before marrying his wife, he seemed to have settled for a large dowry and mediocre life. Due to these and other contributing factors, I disliked this story.

The content of this story was saddening to me. The relationship between the doctor and the patient (Alexandra) was just awkward in my opinion. I couldn't tell whether or not they truly loved each other, and his actions after her death point to the fact that he did not truly love her. It seemed that his attraction to the girl was purely physical, especially since The doctor tells the story with such fervor and detail readers clearly see the importance of this interaction to the doctor; yet his actions do not reflect this supposed worth placed on his relationship with the girl.

One thing that was disturbing was the way in which the doctor spoke of his current wife and living situation. He is clearly not in love with his wife and has no respect for her. This is sad in itself, but it becomes pathetic when you realize that the doctor chose this life for himself. He is also wallowing in his choices and despising his life, rather than doing something about it. I have no sympathy for the doctor but I feel deeply for his wife! I would be miserable living with a man like the doctor. However, I think this is part of what the author is trying to get at in this story.

I think that part of what the author is trying to say is that love is rare and people should, for lack of better words, take what they can get when it comes along. He seems to think that love is more of a luxury than a necessity for living, but it is valuable enough to be grieved when it is lost. I see this through the way that he gives great attention to the relationship between the doctor and the girl and very little attention to the doctor's life after her death. It is important to note that the author doesn't tell the readers that what the doctor experienced was, in fact, love. Through this we can see that the author thinks that even imitations of love can be somewhat satisfying. I don't agree with this statement, and I think that is part of why I don't like this story. I am of the opinion that true love will transform someone in one way or another. I don't think that it is possible to walk away from true love unchanged and I don't think that imitations of love prove satisfying at all. Love provokes love, and the doctor never returned the love that Alexandra showed to him. This makes me think that the love between them was not real at all. The doctor in this story seems to have true love for only two things, money and drinking.