Isolation; the feeling of complete loneliness does not always occur when one is alone, but this hopeless feeling that there is no way out can occur even if one is not physically isolated. Emotionally, however, one can feel completely alone and abandoned. Simply, what happens is that we become so caught up in dominant society that we lose the ability to interact successfully with others. Eventually, they will begin to feel that they have become so insignificant that nothing they do will be able to lift themselves from the barren abyss. This is more or less what happens to the main female characters in Earnest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants and Jamaica Kincaid's Girl. Both characters find themselves isolated as they struggle to uphold the social mask which acts as a double-edged sword in that it protects the emotional well-being of the wearer but also isolates the wearer from those who surround it. In Kincaid's Girl, the story is about how to become a real "lady" while avoiding the perilous traps of a common slut. The narrator has difficulty respecting all the rules that are recited to her as if they were a shopping list and she quickly feels trapped in this very rigid gender role. However, by taking on this generic female role, the narrator also creates a new identity for herself in that she will act differently with everyone. In the course of the narrator's guide, the young girl learns multiple ways "to smile at those [she] doesn't like... at those [she] doesn't like at all... and at those [whom] she] loves completely” (Kincaid, 280). Not being able to fully express their individuality can cause that person to feel alone and isolated and to lose their sense of self. Unfortunately, if one doesn't know why... middle of paper... because of the intense feeling of isolation, one must be willing to make oneself vulnerable to make an emotional impact and establish a connection with a other person. In doing so, we break down the barriers set up by society and begin to interact with each other on a more personal level and it immediately becomes more intimate. If we want to maintain a shred of identity, we must be willing to put aside the mask and the persona from time to time so as not to forget who and what we are deep within. Works Cited Gwynn, RS, and Wanda Campbell, Eds. . "Girl." Fiction: a pocket anthology. By Jamaica Kincaid. 2nd edition. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, 2005. 279-80. Print. Gwynn, RS, and Wanda Campbell, Eds. “Hills like white elephants.” Fiction: a pocket anthology. By Ernest Hemingway. 2nd edition. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, 2005. 124-28. Print.