Wants and needs are a huge part of all people's lives. However, many of these wants and needs are not possible for one to attain. This can be due to several things, from unrealistic goals to restrictive life situations. In both Hills Like White Elephants and Cat In the Rain by Ernest Hemingway, he illustrates the feelings associated with unattainable desires in two women's lives. Both of these women are, in essence, caged by the relationships that they have with their men, and this leads them to the misery of not being able to have what they want.

In Hills Like White Elephants, a couple sits at a train depot in Europe on their way to Madrid. Their conversation seems social and casual at first but quickly exposes an unspoken struggle between the two. "That's all we do, isn't it -- look at things and try new drinks...