Hemingway, as most authors do, put a great deal of himself into the characters in his short stories. The two stories that become the focus of this paper are, "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" and "Hills Like White Elephants." The thoughts and feelings of the characters in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" and "Hills Like White Elephants," reflect some of Ernest Miller Hemingway's own thoughts and feelings. Like the images reflected in a pond, the images of these characters reflect Hemingway's image, as the water flows from the pond to the stream and into the river of his life.
             As the stream leading from the pond is the beginning of the river's life, the young waiter in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" reflects Hemingway at the start of his writing career. The young waiter is impatient and confident. His impatience is expressed when he closes the cafe' early. This is the first time for this action. He takes it upon himself to speed the night along (263). Hemingway, too, was impatient, he wanted to explore places he had heard about, to experience new things, and find adventure in the river of life. In 1917, after trying to join the Army twelve times and being turned down due to poor eyesight, he signed up to be an ambulance driver in Italy during World War One. Driving the ambulance did not get him close enough to the action and adventure he so wanted. Hemingway then transferred to the east for Red Cross canteen duty. Hemingway tired of this as well, still feeling far removed from the action. He then somehow gained permission to take little bits of home to those at the front. For six days he delivered chocolate, tobacco, and postcards to the men in their trenches (Baker 11). Shortly thereafter Hemingway was wounded. His impatience to have adventure had ended the possibility to remain where the action was.
             The young waiter was also confident, as shown in ...