In both Joyce's "Eveline" and Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants", both characters are forced to make a decision the will change their lives completely. Through the use of setting, symbolism, and character interaction you will see how Joyce and Hemingway give a sense of emotional and social loneliness through their main characters.
             In Hemingway's "Hill's like White Elephants" and Joyce's "Eveline" the settings of the stories are similar. Both stories describe an emotionally and socially lonely environment. In Hemingway's story he describes two sets of tracks going different directions. One set of tracks would take Jig towards the abortion, where afterwards her and the American would live the life that they have been living. The other set of tracks would take her in the other direction, and to keep the child and that she fells like she needs in her life, but she would risk loosing the American. Either way she will lose something that is important to her whether it be the child or the American. In Joyce's story, Eveline processes her decision in a place that she is surrounded by familiarity. Eveline is not completely comforted by Frank, even though he tells her that everything will be fine. "In her home anyway she had shelter and food; she had those whom she had known all her life about her"(4). Eveline wants a new life, a life away from the responsibilities that she has at the young age of 19. Eveline is very uncertain about her life with Frank. She wonders, "Was that wise?" (4)
             Symbols are used throughout "Eveline" and "Hills like White Elephants" to show the emotional and social loneliness. Symbols are used to express the emotional and social loneliness the characters feel about their decisions. In "Hills like White Elephants", while Jig is at the train station, she not
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