Greene, Graham The End of the Party Summary This story is narrated by a young boy who is observing his

twin brother, Francis, as he expresses his extreme fear of the dark. Francis tries hard to avoid attending a children s party because he knows the plan is to play hide!and!seek in the dark. "e pretends to have a cold, tells his parents and his nanny that he does not want to go, but is forced to attend anyway. #hen the lights are turned out for this game, Francis is literally scared to death. "is brother tries to comfort Francis by touching his arm, only to find that was the final unendurable anguish for his petrified sibling. #hen the lights are turned back on, the adults find Francis dead. Commentary This powerful story shows how indifferent and unaware adults can be about their own children s phobias and anxieties. Even though the twin$narrator feels great empathy for his brother and understands his fears, he cannot really help him, though he tries to intercede and explain to the adults, who dismiss Francis s fears as silly. The story explains how child phobias and anxiety can really affect the individual. %t has serious conse&uences that not only affect them in childhood, but later in life. Graham Greene described his short stories as 'scraps(, and 'escapes from the novelist(s world(. 'The End of the Party(, however, delves into the serious sub)ects of death, fear, faith and human relationships * common to many of his novels * woven into a dark, supernatural tale. #ritten in +,-,, 'The End of the Party( is one of Greene(s earlier short stories. %t originally appeared in .ineteen /tories 0+,123, and is now included in Twenty!4ne /tories 0+,513, and 6omplete /hort /tories 0-7753. The narrative centres on twin brothers, Peter and Francis 8orton, who share a disconcertingly close bond. They silently understand and experience each other(s reality. Peter is the stronger twin and tries to protect his fragile and anxious brother. Greene plays with the complex nature of relationships between twins * the strange )uxtaposition of loyalty and repulsion towards what is essentially a double identity. They have been invited to an annual birthday party, at which hide and seek is always played. Francis is intensely afraid of the dark, and after an unpleasant experience the previous year, is filled with dread at the thought of going to the party again. From the very beginning there is a sense of menace, which lingers throughout the story. 9t times Greene(s use of foreshadowing * constant references to death, darkness, birds and bats * is slightly heavy!handed. "ad he used this device more sparingly, it would have been far more effective. .onetheless, one is instantly drawn into the narrative, which moves along at a cracking pace. The prose is fluid and extremely readable. 9lthough Greene always tackles complex territory, he manages to do so in a compelling style. 9s a practicing 6atholic, he often explores conflicting elements of faith * reliance upon God, feeling let down, &uestioning one(s faith, and believing that destiny is completely dependant on God(s will. Francis(s fear, and the power of it, is like a separate entity. Towards the end of the story, the fear seems to transfer itself onto Peter, or possibly possesses him too. Greene examines the idea that fear can be a haunting presence within the human psyche, perhaps suggesting that it exists only when faith is absent. There are parallels between Greene(s personal history and the experiences of Francis. %n the story, Francis feels different and alone, and is bullied by other children at the party because of his fear of

the dark. "e is plagued by thoughts about death. Greene was also bullied during his childhood, and attempted suicide several times as a teenager. The writing certainly possesses a depth of understanding and sadness. 6haracters are finely drawn, with keen observational skills and empathy. The reader is captivated by Greene(s storytelling while being gently invited to reflect upon the ideas he is presenting. 'The End of the Party( leaves a resonance that is disturbing and eerie as one identifies with, and remembers, the intensity of childhood fears.

Hills Like White Elephants

The short story :"ills ;ike #hite Elephants,< by Ernest "emingway, is about a young couple and the polemic issue of abortion. Though the word :abortion< is nowhere in the story, it is doubtlessly understood through "emingway(s powerful use of two literary elements= setting and symbolism. From the first paragraph the setting immediately introduces the tense atmosphere that will surround the rest of the story. The story takes place in /pain in the late +,-7(s. The setting is described as follows= The couple is in the middle of making a drastic decision where there are only two choices, two directions, )ust like the two rail lines that pass by the station. The openness and loneliness around the railroad station imply that there is no way to back out of the problem at hand and that the man and the girl must address it now. The heat turns the scene into a virtual teakettle, boiling and screaming under pressure. The landscape that encompasses the station plays a fundamental role in the conflict of the story through its extensive symbolism. #hen the girl sees the long and white hills she says that :they look like white elephants.< 9s she observes the white hills she foresees elatedly the birth of her baby * something uni&ue like the uncommon white elephant. The color white symboli>es the innocence and purity of her unborn child. /he also admires the rest of the scenery= The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. 9cross, on the other side, were the fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees.. The fields of grain and trees represent fertility and fruitfulness, which symboli>e her current pregnant state and the life in her womb. The Ebro ?iver also represents life, as it germinates the fields. @ust as the girl appreciates the panorama and its connection to her unborn child the :shadow of a cloud,< which represents the abortion of the fetus, overcomes her happiness. 9fter an exchange of words with the man she again looks at the scenery, but this time in a different way, as the following sentence illustrates= :They sat down at the table and the girl looked across the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her and at the table.< The man is obviously in favor of the abortion, and everything he says is an effort to persuade her into it. 9s she considers his point of view she looks at the dry side of the valley, which is barren and sterile, symboli>ing her body after the abortion. The man and woman continue arguing and stop for a little when she says, :#ould you please please please please please please please please stop talkingA< "e did not say anything but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights.

The 9merican apparently wants this abortion because he wants to keep his current lifestyle. The bags with all the hotel labels on them are symbolic of his vivacious spirit. %f the woman goes ahead with the pregnancy, he would have to settle down and raise a family, which would mean forgoing his youthful desires of seeing the world. The story ends with the couple expecting their train(s arrival in five minutes. There is no resolution and there is no decision stated regarding the abortion. "emingway(s interweaving of setting and symbolism helps him )uice each sentence to provide maximum detail. This story was not only intended for the pleasures of reading, but also though provocation. "emingway has intentionally left the readers to conclude for themselves what will happen next.

BBBThe author of CHills Like White ElephantsC, Ernest "emingway, does not reveal the source of conflict between the young man and young woman in the story, but it is implied that the conflict is centered on the decision of abortion. The goal of the man in the story is to convince the young woman to have an abortion procedure. The goal of the young woman is to do whatever it takes to make her partner happy and thus preserve their relationship. The young woman in the relationship is definitely the Cgiver,C while the man is definitely the Ctaker.C The young woman, @ig, shows herself to be very dependent upon her male counterpart throughout the story. /he asks for his input on even the simplest of tasks, such as the choice and number of her beverages. /he asks him, CWhat should we drink? ...Should we have another drink? ...Is it good with water?C "er behavior can be interpreted to be a sign of insecurity more than anything else. @ig trusts his )udgment, feels secure in his company and seems willing to do anything to keep him around. #hen pushed on the issue of the operation, @ig shows no real concern for her own health or mental well!being, stating categorically, "I don't care about me.C @ig s main concern is whether or not she can make her partner happy so that they will CDe all right and be happy.C %t is doubtful that @ig went through with the procedure with a clear conscience, which is why she was so insistent that they would not discuss the matter any further. The man in the story seems to be cold, insensitive, and a shameless manipulator. "e is well aware of the necessity of his person to her sense of security, and takes every possible advantage accordingly. "e does not seem to show any real respect to her person, even stating that CIt's reall an aw!ull simple procedure....It's not reall an operation at all...It's "ust to let the air in.C This statement either reveals that he is extremely naive or that he does not really care about the physical and psychological pain that @ig will undoubtedly experience as a result of this surger . "is main goal seems to be to get that abortion at any cost and thus avoid taking the responsibility of being a father. 4ne can only assume that the sexist overtone of this story is illustrative of the time in which it was written. @ig fears losing her significant other, as would most people, but there is a much more significant underlying issue. The young woman, trapped in her gender role of the time fears losing her companion much the way someone would fear losing a career. /ociety was structured in such a way that she could not go out and )ust make a living of her own, so she was most likely dependent on this man for her financial well!being. Furthermore, it would have been regarded as scandalous for this woman to be a single mother in this time. @ig simply could not risk losing her partner.

Hills Like White Elephants Narrator:

#ho is the narrator, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or himA

Third Person (Objective)

The third!person narrator takes the fly!on!the!wall techni&ue to extremes in C"ills ;ike #hite Elephants.C #e can see both the )ournalist and the storyteller in "emingway working together to construct the story. The )ournalist side doesn(t tell us what the characters are thinking, only what they do, see, and most importantly, what they say. The )ournalist also provides a bare minimum of context= the scenery 0/pain, the river Ebro, some white hills3, the weather 0hot3, and the train schedules. The fact that the story is told in the past tense means the narrator is putting it together after the fact, from memory, so to speak, and rendering it in symbolic terms, using simile and metaphor. This all points to our theme C;anguage and 6ommunication,C but also to CForeignness and the 4ther.C %f we combine those two we get translation. The narrator is sometimes translating the dialogue for us 0his English speaking readers3 from /panish to English. ;ikewise, the man translates various things for @ig. Dut while it(s obvious when the man is translating for @ig, it(s not obvious when the narrator is translating for us. #e(ll show you what we mean with two brief examples= First, look at this passage from near the end of the story= #he woman came out through the curtains with two glasses o! beer and put them down on the damp !elt pads. "#he train comes in !ive minutes$" she said. "What did she sa ?" asked the girl. "#hat the train is coming in !ive minutes." 0+7-!+713 This passage is often cited to show that @ig doesn(t speak /panish, but what(s more interesting is that it(s twice translated * once for us by the narrator, and once for @ig by the man. /o, the big &uestion is, why didn(t "emingway choose to say, CThe train comes in five minutesC in Spanish, and then let the man translate it for us when he translates it for @igA 0?emember that the man originally orders the two beers in /panish.3 9s with most &uestions in this story, there are many answers. 4ne possibility is that "emingway wanted to call attention to the narrator a little bit, to show us that the narrator speaks /panish, and to make us aware of the fact that the characters are in a situation where a variety of languages are being spoken. This next passage also plays with this reality, but is less easy to pin down than the one above= "%os cerve&as$" the man said into the curtain. "'ig ones?" a woman asked !rom the doorwa . "(es. #wo big ones." 05!23 "ere the man orders the beer in /panish. 0%t doesn(t seem likely that the man ordered in English and that the narrator translated it to /panish.3 Even if the man didn t speak great /panish, he still could

have pulled off his order. %n the late +,-7s, when the story was written, the word cerve&a was part of the global vocabulary. The &uestion here is whether the narrator is translating into English the woman$waitress(s speech 0and the man s subse&uent reply3. #e )ust can(t say. 9nyhow, this switching back and forth between languages is part of why this story can be confusing to read. Eeep in mind that )ust because a given dialogue might be written in English, it doesn t mean that it was spoken in English. 4nce you are aware of the translation situation, it becomes much easier and a lot more fun.

Hills Like White Elephants Setting

#here %t 9ll Goes Fown

A train station, overlooking the Ebro River, somewhere between Barcelona, S ain and !adrid, S ain
8odified /etting=/pain was very important to "emingway, and there are lots of tours of '"emmingway(s /pain,( and even study abroad programs at universities where you can study "emmingway(s works. Though the exact location of the train station is not given, it is often thought to be in Garago>a, /pain. %n any case, we don(t experience much of /pain in the C"ills ;ike #hite Elephants,C though the fact that both /panish and English are being spoken is important to the theme of C;anguage and 6ommunication.C 4ne way of understanding the setting is to make the connection that the white hills are supposed to represent the pregnancy. ;et s check out two passages from the story that describe the hills. #he girl was looking o!! at the line o! hills. #he were white in the sun and the countr was brown and dr . 0H3 #he girl stood up and walked to the end o! the station. )cross$ on the other side$ were !ields o! grain and trees along the banks o! the Ebro. *ar awa $ be ond the river$ were mountains. #he shadow o! a cloud moved across the !ield o! grain and she saw the river through the trees. 0I,3 4n one side of the hills we have life 0lush, green vegetation3, and on the other side we face death 0brown, burnt landscape3. This description of the hills can be seen as a visual representation of the choice with which the couple is faced. %t(s important to remember that the hills 0and the rest of the setting3 existed before the couple came on the scene, and will remain after they leave. The landscape only represents choice in the context of the story. 8any readers resist or re)ect this limited interpretation. 9nother part of why the interpretation is resisted is because it doesn(t mean anything. %t isn(t significant outside of the story. Jnless, that is, we take it deeper. For example, if we consider that the analogy between the setting and the situation is created by @ig, understood by the man, and artistically rendered by the narrator, we can see this as a comment on the pro)ection of a problem. #hen we have a problem, we pro)ect it onto everything we see. This story could have taken place anywhere, and we guarantee that @ig would have found something in

the landscape on which to pro)ect her concerns. The symbolism of the setting can be seen as a comment on the phenomenon of pro)ection. %t can also be seen as @ig(s creative and intelligent 0thought not necessarily effective3 way of trying to overcome communication difficulties.

Symbols
White Elephants: From the perspective of the American, one of the hills resembling white elephants is the enlargement of the uterus that is becoming, or will soon become, evident as Jig's baby grows. A white elephant is a largely useless object that may be expensive to own and maintain, according to one of its definitions in standard dictionaries. From the perspective of Jig, one of the hills may represent the lifestyle of her and the American. Railroad Tracks: ailroad trac!s run side by side but never meet. "hus, they could symboli#e the relationship of Jig and the American. Zaragoza: "he last letter of the alphabet occurs twice in the name of this city. Jig and the American may be two z$s that have reached the end of the road. Green Side of the Station: %bviously, this represents life, the baby, a new beginning. Arid Side of the Station: "his represents dissipation and death. Ebro River: "his waterway, which originates in the &antabrian 'ountains and flows ()( miles to the 'editerranean, represents vitality, life. *t can also represent the passage of time. Ans del Toro: "his represents the excitement the American offers Jig. +ut it fails to stir her. aggage: "his represents the past, which is the same as the future to the American. ,hen he pic!s up the suitcases and carries them to the other side of the station, he is indicating that he wants to continue as before.

Talking versus Communicating 9lthough :"ills ;ike #hite Elephants< is primarily a conversation between the 9merican man and his girlfriend, neither of the speakers truly communicates with the other, highlighting the rift between the two. Doth talk, but neither listens or understands the other(s point of view. Frustrated and placating, the 9merican man will say almost anything to convince his girlfriend to have the operation, which, although never mentioned by name, is understood to be an abortion. "e tells her he loves her, for example, and that everything between them will go back to the way it used to be. The girl, meanwhile, waffles indecisively, at one point conceding that she(ll have the abortion )ust to shut him up. #hen the man still persists, she finally begs him to :please, please, please, please, please, please< stop talking, reali>ing the futility of their conversation. %n fact, the girl(s nickname, :@ig,< subtly indicates that the two characters merely dance around each other and the issue at hand without ever saying anything meaningful. The girl(s inability to speak /panish with the bartender, moreover, not only illustrates her dependence on the 9merican but also the difficulty she has expressing herself to others. Symbols White Elephants 9 white elephant symboli>es something no one wantsKin this story, the girl(s unborn child. The girl(s comment in the beginning of the story that the surrounding hills look like white elephants initially seems to be a casual, offhand remark, but it actually serves as a segue for her and the 9merican to discuss their baby and the possibility of having an abortion. The girl later retracts this comment with the observation that the hills don(t really look like white elephants, a subtle hint that perhaps she wants to keep the baby after allKa hint the 9merican misses. %n fact, she even says that the hills only seemed to look like white elephants at first glance, and that they(re actually &uite lovely. 6omparing the hillsKand, metaphorically, the babyKto elephants also recalls the

expression :the elephant in the room,< a euphemism for something painfully obvious that no one wants to discuss. 6hoices and 6onse&uences C"ills ;ike #hite ElephantsC presents a couple in the midst of a crisis. 9lthough unmarried, the girl is pregnant and the man who has made her pregnant wants her to have an abortion. "is belief is that the choice for abortion will free them to return to the lives they had lived before the pregnancy. "e does not want to share the girl with anyone, particularly not a baby. "e believes that the conse&uences of having the baby will lead to the breakup of the relationship. @ig, however, seems to have a more realistic assessment of the choices and conse&uences in front of her. /he knows that she is the one who must make the choice about the child she carries. 9lthough she asks for reassurance, and wants the man s love, she also knows that the chances of them finding long term happiness are remote, regardless of the decision...