Literary Analysis
Name: Allana Sibille
ENG: 125 Introduction to Literature
Professor: April Mac Grotty
March 10th, 2015

Conflict in literature is a category that creates tension between two or more characters. Two poems that contains both conflict, similarities and differences are “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway (1927) that involves young lovers and an unplanned pregnancy, the second one “Let America be America Again” By Langston Hughes (1935) displays the labor man has put forth to build America and the nation she has become. The literary selections consist of conflicts found in literature, we will identify two different points of view; “Hills like White Elephants” is on the spectrum of a critical essay while the other “Let America be America Again” is more of an article, even though the materials seem different, the similarities are consistent. This paper will analyze the literary techniques and draw out the conflicts presented in both poems. The conflict in the first poem “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway (1927) suggests that a young couple is at the bar arguing about having a baby while waiting on the train. The decision to keep the baby, the girl describes the scenery “white elephants” a metaphor for the life changing problem at hand, the man denies the need for a child and she relies on him for life changing decisions. The conflict shown is individual versus individual, as the man and girl bicker about the decision whether to keep the baby or not. Such a life changing decision and how will it change her future, will her lover still love her? Or will he stay with her forcefully if she chooses to keep the baby? The young girl is faced with unanswered questions and decisions must be made, she must live with the consequences while her man can care less, he appears to be heartless and rejects fatherhood. To quote the research starters (Holladay 2014) “the elephant in the room,” a euphemism for something painfully obvious that no one wants to discuss. The symbol “White Elephants” metaphorically refers to baby. Three literary techniques in the poem “Hills like White Elephants” (Hemingway 1927) are (I) climax – The crisis or high point of tension that becomes the turning point whether the couple will keep the baby or not, her lover says “I love it. I love now but just can’t think about it.” (Hemingway 1927) the American man tries to display affection but at the same time hides his true feelings. How the girl tries to tell her lover she is pregnant with child? (II) Exposition - The background of the story is information based on the couple’s personal life, how the characters interact at the bar waiting on the train, she describes the scenery “far away, beyond the river, were mountains” (Hemingway 1927) she is left with little words to speak off. (III) Metaphor – “white elephants” (Hemingway 1927) describes the baby at hand and the decisions they must make, the girl describes the scenery as she glances at the hills and sees her life in despair. “We can have everything, no we can’t. We can’t have the whole world” (Hemingway 1927) as the American man argued with his lady. The second poem “Let America be America Again” by Langston Hudges (1935) displays conflict as a sign of misrepresentation and the lack of freedom, the “sweat and blood poured into the land” (Hudges1935) has given nothing to the men but “scars that last forever” and that a dream will always be a dream and nothing more. He fights for that dream to be a reality. The conflict is described as individual versus society, the man is battling society for change. The blood and sweat man and slaves have poured into building America, they are unrecognized and never acknowledge as the upper working class man takes all the credit for building a fine nation. The credibility is lacking, it was never the land of the free, because the Negros were never really free. According to Hudges (1935) “I bear slavery scars, and my