The main character of the story “The End of Something” by Ernest Hemingway returns to the village of his childhood. This village no longer exists. The sawmill was closed, and there was no longer any need for a settlement; everyone went elsewhere. Something is over.
The main character goes fishing with his girlfriend. Their behavior and conversations shows to readers that it is the end of their relationship: one still loves, but the other is already tired of everything.
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://americanliterature.com/author/ernest-hemingway/short-story/the-end-of-something
The story “Sonny's Blues” by James Baldwin is about two brothers from Harlem who see the world in completely different views, but at the same time do not stop loving each other and hoping that brotherly love is stronger than any problems.
The author presents in the story poverty, and the desire for people to escape, and how innocent children choose a bad fate. But Baldwin has hope for the best, at least for someone.
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~cinichol/CreativeWriting/323Online/SonnysBlues.pdf