试谈CharacteristicsAnalysis试述on试述Similar试述Characteristics试述of试述Ernest试述Hemingway’s

Abstract：Ernest Hemingway， a giant of modern literature is a productive writer. His works he been discussed by many scholars. This paper aims for getting better understanding of Hemingway’s writing style by finding out the similarities in his two short stories Hills like White Elephant and Cat in the Rain.
Key words：similarities； theme； writing style； iceberg theory； symbol
1672-1578（2013）05-0002-02
1 Introduction
Hemingway portrays a couple discussing the issue of abortion in Hills like White Elephant. The woman wants to he a baby， while the man takes every opportunity to delude the girl into making a voluntary decision of abolition.
Cat in the Rain is a short story telling about an American couple who are staying in the Italian hotel. The lonely wife wants to get the cat in the rain but she failed. When she begins to talk about all her wants， her husband interrupts her sharply. In the end of the story， the manager presents her with another cat.
2 Similarities in the Two Stories
Hills like White Elephant and Cat in the Rain are two short stories written by Ernest Hemingway. They are now studied in high school and both are appreciated by all readers.

2.1 Similarity in Theme

In both stories， Hemingway depicts women’s living and spiritual condition in his time. Most heroines in his works are not satiied with their present situation--they he their own ambition， but he to submit to men’s control. They are源于：普通论文格式范文www.618jyw.com
lonely and desperate. Hemingway emphasized the characters’ personality and feeling conflicts between heroes and heroines to set forth the themes.
Hills like White Elephant is a tragic story. It is about the disillusionment of love. The woman wants to settle down， start a real life with the man， and he a baby. She is more concerned about their future. However， her dream is not cherished by the man with the same enthusia. All he desires is to continue their current style of life and go on tramping around， free from responsibility of supporting a family. Although the girl regards the coming child as a token of love， what weighs on the man’s mind is abortion. At last， when the man came back， “She was sitting at the table and iled at him. ‘I feel fine，’ she said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.’” Their conversation ends with the girl’s compromise， which reveals the girl’s struggle in her mind. On one hand， she wants a baby. On the other hand she has to sacrifices a great deal in order to continue their live. The change shows the girl’s bitterness when she has no choice but to obey. In Cat in the Rain， the wife is somehow a little wordy. The husband pretends to help， but when he loses patience， he stops her rudely and shouts at her coldly. He ignores her words and shows no respect to her. When the hotel owner tries his best to satiy her， “something felt very all and tight inside the girl”. The wife suddenly comes to realize that she needs freedom， independence and care. She should he her own way of life instead of submitting to others， even her husband.
The two stories are short but with rich theme. They reflect the awakening of the female consciousness and the disillusionment of the female consciousness caused by their husbands. The writer expressed his sympathy on women， and spoke out the desire for freedom， independence and care for them.

2.2 Similarity in Writing Style

Simple structures and narrative voices are the most significant features of Hemingway’s writing style. He is skilled in using short and direct prose and scenes to form dialogues， which makes his works unique and distinguished.
Hills like White Elephant is composed of dialogues between the two persons. In Cat in the Rain， the writer doesn’t describe the wife’s inner world at all. He just reports their conversations as a journalist， but the readers can get the hidden information when reading between the lines and draw their own conclusions. Therefore， the wife’s behior isn’t odd but reasonable， and the figure is real and plump. Hemingway induces readers to use their imagination to get the deeper meaning of the context and reveal the theme. Without sufficient background information given， the understanding of the story depends on the readers’ reading ability. They are supposed to work out implications by themselves.
In order to achieve objective narrative effects， Hemingway weakens the narrator’s voice deliberately， which makes Hemingway differ from other novelists.
2.3 The Use of Iceberg Theory in the Two Stories
The Iceberg theory， stated by Hemingway， suggests that “a good writer does not need to reveal every detail of a character or action”. He points out the seven eights should be left to the readers to feel.
These two short stories serve as best illustration of the Iceberg Theory. There are so many unknowns about the couple in Hills like White Elephant. Readers he no idea who they are or what happened before. In Cat in the Rain， the related information about the couple is omitted. Readers only find they are American in an Italian hotel. Besides， these two stories he an open ending. With this “zero ending”， readers are left in suspense and are driven to interpret the story all by themselves. Although the girl iles at the man， saying that she is fine， the author doesn’t tell readers what happens to them. Whether the couple will divorce o摘自：毕业论文格式下载www.618jyw.com
r not isn’t mentioned，
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