In turn-of-the-century literature, many stories focus on themes spanning human nature and society. Two of the most important American writers of the turn of the century, Kate Chopin and Ernest Hemingway, are no exception to this rule. Both writers use awe-inspiring symbolism to strategically explain the flaws of human nature to emphasize their writing and evoke emotions in the reader. In both Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour” and Ernest Hemingway's “Hills Like White Elephants,” the authors make statements about the weaknesses of human nature in how the loss of life is handled. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIn the story "The Story of an Hour" written by Kate Chopin, the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, received the news that she is suffering from heart disease and her husband died in a train accident. To prevent Mrs. Mallard from overexerting herself, the news of her husband's death is leaked to her very delicately, even though in reality there is no gentle way to give her the news of the death of her loved one. After Mrs. Mallard is informed of the death, she locks herself in a room and begins the process of grieving for her lost lover. At this point in the story, Chopin gives an extremely raw look at the process by which Mrs. Mallard mourns the loss of her husband in the line where she writes: “Into this she sank, crushed by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body. and it seemed to reach into his soul. Anyone who has lost someone they truly cared about would identify with this line on an emotional level. Furthermore, after Mrs. Mallard has had some time to digest the news, she feels a new sense of freedom perpetuate throughout her body. Chopin describes this feeling as “this thing that was approaching to possess her”. As Mrs. Mallard begins to reflect on her newfound freedom away from her husband, she realizes what her life will be like and how she will have no restrictions on doing what she wants. After a while, Mrs. Mallard comes out of her room and sees that her husband is not dead and is very much alive. Mrs. Mallard then dies of a heart attack brought on by happiness. This is clearly a weakness in human nature as Mrs. Mallard was simply grieving the loss of her other husband and is revitalized into a new woman, yet when her husband returns and is not dead, she continues to die of happiness that he has returned. , even when she had just passed away from his death. Furthermore, in “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, the story is set in Spain, where a conversation takes place between an American man and a girl Hemingway calls “Jig”. At first the two start joking about Jig thinking the hills look like white elephants, then they start talking more deeply about an operation. As the plot progresses, it is not difficult to realize that the American and Jig were discussing having an abortion, even though it is not explicitly stated in the story. This is demonstrated in the lines where Hemingway writes, “It's really a terribly simple operation, Jig” and “I think it's the best thing to do.” Throughout these lines, Jig is reluctant to answer and is obviously reluctant to proceed with the operation. “Hills Like White Elephants” shows the flaw of loss as in the final line Jig says, “There's nothing wrong with me. I feel good." Evidently not long ago Jig was extremely reluctant to give in to the American's pressure for an abortion; however, now he is saying he feels good just to put the idea of ​​the operation out of his mind and.