A Very Short Story

An example of juxtaposition in "A Very Short Story" is the idea of love versus lust.  In this story by Ernest Hemingway, each character symbolized each of these traits; Luz being lust and "he" being love. In the beginning on the story, both "he" and Luz co-existed with each other and they were both in love.  Though, once "he" was sent off to war, we learn that Luz had an affair with another man and stopped loving "he". "He" was faithful to Luz because he loved her while Luz, symbolizing lust, became unfaithful.  Soon after "he" found out about Luz's unfaithfulness, he contracted gonorrhea which shows love alone is a disease. Love and lust together is a healthy relationship. Though, when one does not exist anymore, the relationship dies.  This is such an important juxtaposition in the story because many other stories in "In Our Time" deal with loving relationships.