Any topic (writer’s choice)

“Good People” by David Foster Wallace is a tribute to Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.” We learn this almost immediately by Wallace’s description of the setting and later by seeing into Lane’s internal thoughts. Lane has a lot of misgivings and feelings about this pregnancy. We know the American does too but we are not able to see his thoughts. We only hear what he says out loud which has been carefully processed and formulated to manipulate his romantic dalliance, Jig.

Which literary technique do you find more effective and why? Does Wallace’s Lane describe his feelings more clearly than the American does? If not, why? Even though the American’s every word is perfectly calculated are we still able to see through him and what his true intentions are?

What about Sheri and Jig? We are left in the dark about how Sheri feels for the most part but we are given small tidbits about what Lane *thinks* Sheri is like. Do we believe these things about Sheri or is Lane an unreliable narrator? If we believe these things, what do we think Sheri is feeling? Jig seems to be more upfront about wanting to have the baby but her actions seem to being saying something entirely different. Are both of these women at an impasse?

Please write at least two paragraphs on this.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/02/05/good-people