Throughout each and every life there are decisions that determine a multitude of different outcomes within every person. The act of manifesting a life altering decision can come at any given point in one's life, and sometimes without warning changes a person's life forever. Once this life altering decision has occurred, the affected person is no longer able to turn back, or reverse one's fate. These decisions can easily compromise the sense of self, self worth, and self esteem from within. These ideals can easily be interpreted from the texts, Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway, The Storm by Kate Chopin, and The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. Which exemplify within literature the ways in which the authors could have possibly experienced life post and pre a greatly affective life choice.
Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants allows readers to grasp a range of many important ideals needed for a successful life. Ernest himself believed, “Courage is grace under pressure” alluding to the fact that no matter what situation we are placed within through life, we are always made to rise above, and take in all of the things in which we have been given to experience. Specifically within the text, Hemingway creates a couple, from the opening statements the audience can see that even small decisions like what to drink are now a hard task. For example the women says, “We’ll be fine afterwards. Just like we were before” referring to a time before everything had changed their lives forever (Hemingway). As the story progresses, the readers are able to interpret the feelings of hopelessness for a greater future, and the lack of self belonging, and self worth. It is almost effortless to see that the women in the story is projecting a sense of “false hope” on her lover; she believes her own lies where as the man stays true to their current situation. The lovers begin to discuss whether or not to go through with the termination of their unborn child. The women believes that if she goes through with the process that things will go back to how they were before her pregnancy, and her relationship and past self feelings will be restored. For example she explains, “We can have everything...We can have the whole world” (Hemingway). Within this conversation she explains that she will continue to be happy with herself and her relationship. Throughout the storyline the audience is able to conclude that the relationship is flawed, the communication is highly lacking, and this event has left the characters completely destroyed.
The second exemplar, The Storm by Kate Chopin, allows readers to see the magnitude in which infidelity can become a greatly moving life decision. Her literature began as conventional, and ultimately changed following her husband's tragic death, and her rising dissatisfaction with the inferiority of women. Within this text specifically the irony of it all is that the couple although both sides “officially” unaware, are having extramarital affairs. We see following the course of the story that “the storm” represents Caxillas desire for her side lover. After essentially committing the act of adultery, “Alcee Laballiere wrote to his wife, Clarisse, that night. It was a loving letter, full of tender solicitude. He told her not to hurry back, but if she and the babies liked it at Biloxi, to stay a month longer” (Chopin). This letter ultimately showed that now that the act was completed within Alcee’s mind the marriage was no longer the same. Although the outer parties remained unaware at the time of the story, adultery is committed for a multitude of reasons, and ultimately is a life altering decision that once the act is over, things can never be the same. For a fact, relationships with lies are not relationships at all. Those who cheat are most likely not happy with themselves and their relationship, and after just continue to decrease in their levels of self worth, self belonging, and self esteem.
The ultimate passage pertaining to life altering decisions is The Road Not Taken. Following Frost’s death, a wave of individuals have presented what they feel to be the overall meaning of this passage. In reality, it is based on personal interpretation, and each and every human being is to take it their own way based on how it inflicts meaning upon their own lives. For example the author discusses, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” (Frost). Like many situations in life we are faced with two or more “roads” or decisions and wish we could see the outcome of both sides, but we are only able to choose one. Frost discusses the fact that he himself looked as far as he could upon each road before choosing one, and they laid just as fair. This statement appeals to the idea that before making a big choice within a person's personal life, one choice may not seem better or worse than the other; and could easily seem to have little to no infliction upon one’s life. The factor in which many become confused about is essentially the close when Frost explains, “ I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference” (“The Road Not Taken”). The popular interpretation is to follow the path in which one feels the most fit, and in conclusion everything will fall into place. The other end is the fact that regardless of what we believe we should choose, fate already has our lives in store for us, and if we are meant to be uplifted or destroyed, its essentially beyond our personal control.
The choices in which everyone makes, positive or negative, navigate our way through life. Within one’s life, there can be a multitude of life changing choices that need to be made in order to formulate who we are as human beings. As shown in Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway and The Storm by Kate Chopin, lives can be changed by common acts such as conceiving a child, and committing adultery. As a result of these situations in particular, these revolutionary decisions are able to take a great effect on one's sense of self and belonging. The readers are able to interpret the ways in which the characters begin to lack self esteem and self understanding once their decision has become finalized, and there's no turning back. Lastly, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, allows readers to see many different interpretations of how decision making can affect the life of someone either positively or negatively. When analyzing the art of a life altering decision it is quite simple to get lost in the critical aspects of what exactly makes someone go about a specific choice. Sometimes there is no particular evidence as to why one chose the path they did; the person themselves may be unable to explain their choice themselves. But as human beings there is one life to live, one shot. The best way to go about decisions and avoid the unfortunate fate of lacking self loving qualities was best explained by Bradley Whitford, “Infuse your life with action. Don't wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen... yourself, right now, right down here on Earth”.
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. “The Storm.” Short Stories and Classic Literature,
americanliterature.com/author/kate-chopin/short-story/the-storm.
Ernest Hemingway. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Genius,
genius.com/Ernest-hemingway-hills-like-white-elephants.
Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation,
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken
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