“Four Hills” by Sara Majka is a short fiction story about taking responsibility for your own actions and not letting someone else determine your own happiness. The narrator in the story is infatuated with nature and whenever she finds a job in the city she realizes that she is no longer happy with how she is living her life.
The protagonist who is also the narrator, just happened to be in a restaurant when she passed this guy who immediately caught her attention. She was not seeking for any type of relationship anytime soon, but realizes that whenever she does she want’s someone with his qualities. She says “I only checked maybe once a year, and it was only particular kind of guy, the kind of guy who was …show more content…
One day the narrator and Grant went to the farm to pick up produce and grab a bite from a small café. After eating, they drove towards the hill and came to find trees lit left and right with red and orange leaves. She thinks that the leaves are absolutely stunning, but says she prefers to look at them from afar so that she doesn’t look too closely and see its flaws. The narrator stated, “I found I didn’t want to look at them closely.” (62) One evening someone famous came into the restaurant, whom she doesn’t seem to remember. The narrator seems to be distracted since she doesn’t remember who the famous guy is, “Someone famous came in that night. I forget who.” …show more content…
The horns on the street were catching attention as if it was from a dream. She was getting more and more annoyed by the cars that were passing by, as if they were flies. The city, “Reminded me of how small I was” (64) making her feel out of place. She was unfocused and realized that living in the city might not be for her. Grant stayed over one night and they listened to the noises that the trucks made. She thought of the trucks “Like they are all lost and finding their mates” (64), which she can relate to, because she feels like she is in the exact same position. As they lay in bed, Grant told her that the restaurant was not doing well and that they were losing money. Instead of working in the kitchens, he was telling her that he wanted to spend the winter in the farm cottage. The narrator then thought about things she would miss when they were gone like, “The smell of him, the way he moved, the street that I lived on.” (64) Before leaving, he laid out what she had in the fridge and made an omelet and fried potatoes for dinner. Afterwards, they stopped at a corner bar and got a couple of strong drinks and headed back to sleep. The symbolic meaning behind this, is that she is slowly giving up on success and love in her life.
In conclusion, in “Four Hills” the narrator is unhappy with her life and trying to better herself by finding a new job, along with a man. By visiting the