Fear And Comfort Essay

Fear and comfort are a valuable tool that all mankind use to determine what is safe or unsafe; while most people run from one, they seek serenity in the other. So, what initiates this response to fear and comfort, and how do we differentiate one from the other. In the short stories “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol Oates, and “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway; they offer a glimpse to what drives fear, and where comfort is found. While the two short stories differ in many aspects the overall theme told by both Oates and Hemingway provide examples on how comfort is found in the familiar, and how fear comes from the unknown.
In the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol …show more content…
In this short story Hemingway presents a couple faced with the possibility of remaining in the comfortable life they have become accustomed to, or to face an unknown future that instills fear and uncertainty between the couple. In the short story a couple is faced with an unplanned pregnancy that brings up fear in not knowing what the future may hold. The path that lies before both is unclear and causes fear and anxiety for the couple as they try to rationalize with what they think they know and with what they do not know. In one sense the couples fear is alike; they both crave the relationship they once had, and they both fear the uncertainty they face. However, some of the fear the couple faces are quite different. The woman in the story also fears the loss of losing her child, and how this may change her relationship. Hemingway starts the story off with the comforts of small talk, and the familiar setting of having drinks to kill the time. The couple appears casual and nonchalant as they sip on beers trying their hardest to avoid the uncertainty, and fear that lies under the surface. The couple sits for some time having drinks as they try desperately to feel the comfort of the relationship they once knew. Eventually the so called “elephant” in the room was discussed. Hemingway conveys the conversation between the couple as very …show more content…
Though the stories differ in plots, one cannot help but to feel the comfort within the familiar world these characters live in, and then fear as the characters face unknown circumstance. Oates and Hemingway characterize comfort and fear with examples that relate the character’s feeling at peace with what the know, and the uneasy feeling the unknown causes them. Both authors give insight on fear and comfort by supporting a theme throughout their stories with the familiar and the