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Maxwell Trejo

Short Story Literature

Professor Desjardins

4-18-2010

“Regret of the Past, and it’s Affect on the Future”

If many looked back on their past they will see that there are some bright times, and there are

some which are not. Most people have done something in their life that they regret doing. Regret is not

a joyful feeling but nobody can make perfect decisions at all times. Sometimes the action that gives the

person regret don’t have a severe consequences, but many times the decision’s people make can affect

the rest of their lives. Regret plays out in the stories: "The First Book of Moses, called Genesis,"

“Babylon Revisited,” and “Hills Like White Elephants.” They all teach the reader to be careful in the

decisions they make because the past always affects the present and future.

The story of Adam and Eve is the story of the creation. The story begins with the creation of the

earth (light, the sky, land, vegetation, animals) over the course of six days. According to Genesis, on

the sixth day, God makes known his plan to make a human in his "own image,” so he creates a male

named Adam. Eve was then made from Adams rib because God saw that Adam was lonely. God makes

the Garden of Eden home to Adam and Eve, and places them in charge, encouraging them to

reproduce, and forbidding them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve sins against

God and is convinced by a serpent to eat from the forbidden tree, she even manages to convince Adam

to eat the fruit also:

“6 And the women saw that the tree was good for food, and that is was pleasant to
the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took the fruit thereof, and did eat,
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and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked…”
("The First Book of Moses, called Genesis," page 28)
God discovers this and as a consequence Adam and Eve are banished from Eden, and are now mortal.

Other consequences are the hard work for survival ( because of Adam's disobedience, people have to

work hard in order to live), the pain of childbearing to which Eve condemned herself to, and slithering

ground existence to which the serpent condemned itself .Adam and Eve's sin affected them greatly in

the future. They no longer lived this peaceful/ perfect life and were thrown into a world of work and

pain. According to the bible, people in our days are still greatly affected by the "first sin" committed by

Adam and Eve. Female's still have pain during childbearing; the snakes still slither on the ground, and

all mostly all people have to work hard to earn a living. Many people would even argue that the story

of Adam and Eve in general, has affected people, especially women’s future, because it played a big

role on why the women are subservient to men.

"Babylon Revisited,” has a similar theme as Genesis. This story is about a man named Charlie

wants to get custody of his daughter after she went off to live with Charlie’s deceased wife's sister and

husband. In his past, Charlie had quit his job and moved to Paris with his wife, Helen, to enjoy his

newfound wealth (built a fortune in stock investments). Charlie's alcoholism during that time, and his

lifestyle, led him to a rehab institution to recover from his alcohol dependence. Sometime after he has

recovered, he attempts to get custody of his daughter Honoria; so that he can establish a relationship

with her (he even takes her out, and spoils her with toys). Reluctantly, the sister and brother in law

agree to let Charlie take his daughter

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Honoria back after they realize he has been making a change with his life. Before he leaves with

Honoria, Charlie's drunken friends show up at the door:

“ The door opened upon another long ring, and then voices, and the three in the salon
looked up unexpectedly; Richard moved to bring the corridor within his range of vision,
and Marion rose. Then the maid came back around the corridor, closely followed by
voices, which developed under the light into Duncan Schaeffer and Lorraine Quarrles…
They both slid down another cascade of laughter…In a minute Lincoln came back. “Look
 here Charlie. I think we’d better call off dinner for tonight.”… “You mean she’s changed
her mind about Honoria?” (Fitzgerald, pages 381-382)
Honoria's guardians are shocked and refuse to let Charlie take his daughter. At the end Charlie goes to

a bar to think about his lonely life, and how he couldn't be punished because of his past forever. He

regrets his past time in Paris as an alcoholic. His past has left him lonely, and it haunts him still, even

interfering with getting his daughter back.

Similarly, “Hills like White Elephants" shows the reader how the past can affect a person’s

present/future. This story is about an American boy and his girlfriend Jig. Jig is pregnant with his baby,

and they are both disagreeing on what to do about the pregnancy. The American boy wants Jig to have

an abortion (he even seems a little cold towards Jig during this conversation), and she wants to keep the

baby. He manipulates Jig (he knows that she couldn't bare loosing him and will do anything he wants in

order to make things work) and nonchalantly tries to convince her to do what he wants.

“The girl looked at the bead curtains, put her hand out and took hold of two of the strings
of beads.
“And you think then we’ll be all right and be happy.”
“I know we will. You don’t have to be afraid. I’ve known lots of people that have done it.”
“And you really want to?”
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“ I think it’s the best thing to do. But I don’t want you to do it if you don’t really want to.”
“ And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?”
“ I love you now. You know I love you.”
“I know. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and
you’ll like it?”
“ I’ll love it. I love it now but I just cant think about it. You know how I get when I
worry.” (Hemingway, page 398)
Although at the end of the story there is no resolution as to what they are going to do, the reader is lead

to believe that Jig will go through with the abortion. These characters are both in a situation that they

don't want to be in. This will affect both Jig and her boyfriend’s future either way the decision goes. If

Jig decides to keep it, things between her and her boyfriend will never be the same, and perhaps she
will even loose him. If she decides to have the abortion, she will live the future regretting the decision.

The American boy’s future will also be greatly affected if Jig tries to keep the baby, he won’t be as free

to do what he wants as before (this is assuming that he would take responsibility for it.)

All three of these stories showed the reader a big moral in life that people should not take

lightly: what a person does in the past, almost always, affects their future in some way or another.

Adam and Eve's sin against God affected their lifestyle greatly, and (according to the Bible) is still

something that people in this time are still paying the consequences for. Charlie’s alcoholic past

affected his relationship with his daughter, and the chance to get custody and develop that relationship.

Jig and her boyfriends decision to have sex led Jig to get pregnant, leading them to a dilemma where no

matter what decision they make, will change their lives forever. These readings show that it is

important for people to make right decisions in life, because even something so simple can have a big

consequence.

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Work Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "Babylon Revisited."Stone, Wilfred Healey, Nancy Huddleston. Packer, and

Robert Hoopes. The Short Story: an Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983. Print.

Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants."Stone, Wilfred Healey, Nancy Huddleston.

Packer, and Robert Hoopes. The Short Story: an Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill,

1983. Print.

"The First Book of Moses, called Genesis."Stone, Wilfred Healey, Nancy Huddleston. Packer,

and Robert Hoopes. The Short Story: an Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983.

Print.