Jig’s Rebirth in Hemmingway's Hills Like White Elephants
Ernest Hemmingway has a specific style of writing. Most of his short stories are terse, short, and objective. Not only does he like to use short, simple sentences, but he also repeats them over and over for effect. Hemmingway is also known being blunt. In his short story "Hills Like White Elephants," he is just the opposite. He dances around the truth and never reveals Jig’s final decision. Does Jig go through with this "simple operation"?(616). Just what is this operation that is so very simple? Though Hemmingway never tells, an insightful reader can conclude that the "simple operation" is an abortion. Whether she goes through with the abortion or not is up to us to decide. Through careful examination of several of her lines, we can interpret her thoughts, understand her feelings, and assume that Jig does not go through with the abortion.
The story is set in a bar beside train station. A couple sits together at a table discussing something that is unknown to the reader. "You started it. I was being amused. I was having a fine time"(616). This line suggests how Jig might have acted in her younger days. Because Hemmingway gives no concrete clues as to Jig’s former life, an interpretation is necessary. One guess is that she was lively. This girl knew how to have fun. She was a party girl that did not live life in the slow lane. The excessive drinking in the story alludes to her younger days. One would guess that her taste for alcohol came from her youthful years. One would also assume that Jig was a strong person. The reader can conclude this when Jig says "I wanted to try this new drink: That’s all we do, isn’t it – look at things and try new drinks"(616). This sh...
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... woman inside of her. She will survive.
In conclusion, Hemmingway may not have given us many clues as to the thoughts and feelings of Jig, but through interpretation, we are able to get some idea as to the person she used to be. Interpretation also gives us an inkling as to her final decision. On the surface, Jig’s final decision is to keep the baby. However, on the inside, her decision is to rediscover herself. She gradually breathes life back into her old self. Jig’s rebirth of the vitality she once had is one of the themes in "Hills Like White Elephants." Though she lost her herself in him, she finds her strength returning in this child. The strength and determination she once had is now alive and kicking.
Charters, Ann, ed. "Hills Like White Elephants." The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to s Short Fiction, IV, 615-618. Boston: Bedford Books, 1995.
Rankin, Paul. Hemmingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.” Explicator. 63.4 (Summer 2005): 234-237. Rpt. In Short Story Critisism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 117. Detroit: Gale, 234-237. Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. . 12 Jan. 2015.
Jig’s sarcastic tone in her dialogues following the Americans’ is indicative of her decision to not get the abortion. After the American assures her that they will be happy like before and it is a “simple operation” (Hemingway 592) Jig retorts, “What makes you think so?” (592). Hence, it implies her disbelief and realization that things would not change much whether or not she got the abortion. Jig’s desire to keep the child is further evident when she tells him “[they] could get along” (593). She sees the possibility of a happy life with the child; the American sees it as an obstacle. Therefore, he continues in his effort to persuade her otherwise because “[he...
Lastly, Jig has another option if she doesn’t want to keep the child and also kill it. She can go for adoption. There are many places that offer you to give your baby to them. Jig is not going to go through gilt and regret all her life, and will know that she did not kill a baby. If she wants, she can also see how her child is going all through life. She will also experience delivering a baby, and will know that her child is at a better place.
Cuba is by far the largest in the chain of island, and constitutes one of the four islands of the Greater Antilles. The long and narrow island runs from northwest to southeast and is—777 miles long and, 119 miles across its widest point and 19 miles at the narrowest. Cuba’s geography consists of one-fourth mountainous terrain. The Sierra Maestra is the most rugged landscape. It stretches roughly 150 miles along the southeastern coast and ranges the island’s highest elevations—6,476 feet. The Cordillera located far west stretches from southwest to northeast for 110 miles, with huge shaped vegetation-clad hillocks called mogotes interrupt central-western
“Hills Like White Elephants” depicts a private discussion between the American and Jig over a touchy subject to where a vital choice must be made. Normally, Ernest Hemingway does not give sensitivity to his female characters, yet Jig is distinctive for this situation. Hemingway’s utilization of symbolism to hint Jig’s choice is made evident in numerous ways.
...tributes to Redcrosse’s journey and the plot of this epic poem. It is clear that Spenser views the Catholic Church as weak and sinful. Also clear is that he view Christianity as the true faith.
... ballet teacher. In fact, when Cuban ballet is discussed, her name is always associated with it. Her ballet skills and ability has credited the country with high respect and approval. Alicia has formed the Ballet Alicia Alonso which was renamed in 1955 to Ballet de Cuba and Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1959. “Its ballet school earned admiration for the quality of its training and recruiting system. Ballet is still very popular in Cuba and can be admired almost daily in the countries capital, Havana.” (cuban-culture.com).
Elephants'." Studies in Short Fiction. 17.1 (Winter 1980): 75-77. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 75-77. Literature Resource Center. Gale.
These “Inner Six” nations thus laid the framework for further integration of other nations within the region and its supranational principles were what led to the creation of the European Economic Community in 1957, further assimilating the European countries’ economies. The creations of these communities for economic purposes were meant to promote cooperation amongst European nations to prevent the further outbreak of violence which had subsided with the end of WWII. Through these general agreements of economic importance came further integration through the creation of more agreements throughout the 1960s, such as the abolishment of customs duties amongst their borders, creating free trade and border trade tax pacts among the Inner Six and across their borders to other signatory nations.
There is a common theme in “Hill’s like White Elephants” and “The Birthmark” of a life altering decision. Both women are thinking about having an operation that will affect them for the rest of their lives. In “Hill’s like White Elephants”, Jig and the American are debating whether or not they should have an abortion. This decision is something that will affect both of them deeply throughout their lives together. By the way the two characters interact with each other the reader can deduce how important they feel the operation is. There seems to be a tension in their sentences with each other. Jig says things like “Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for” and “That's all we do, isn't it-look at things and try new drinks” (Hemingway 841)? These responses to the American show that Jig is in a distasteful state of mind which would most likely stem from her thoughts about the operation and what they will do in regard to it. Because these thoughts of the operation are affecting her socially, it shows just how important the operation is to her. How Jig interprets the scenery around them while they are discussing the operation also suggests the importance ...
Hemingway’s short story “Hills like White Elephants” fluctuates many sparse details to compel a young couple’s life. It introduces multiple critics towards its interesting use of symbolism towards religious outlook. “Hills like White Elephants” connects multiple accusations with religious perspective amongst its very own characters, and is rather deeply assumed to open a deeper inside of the story. Hemmingway’s short story sure does bargain with such deep religious out take on everything when observed obscurely.
Renner, Stanley "Moving to the Girl's Side of `Hills Like White Elephants'." The Hemingway Review, 15 (1) (Fall 1995): 27-41. As Rpt. in Wyche, David "Letting the Air into a Relationship: Metaphorical Abortion in `Hills Like White Elephants'. The Hemingway Review, 22 (1) (Fall 2002): 56-71. EBSCOhost.
Hills Like White Elephants, written by Ernest Hemingway, is a story that takes place in Spain while a man and woman wait for a train. The story is set up as a dialogue between the two, in which the man is trying to convince the woman to do something she is hesitant in doing. Through out the story, Hemingway uses metaphors to express the characters’ opinions and feelings.
After WWII, many politically influential people saw a need to create some form of interdependence between the nation states of Europe as a means to preventing further war (Watts, 2008: p6). In 1951 Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg all signed the Treaty of Paris creating the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); the beginnings of an integrated Europe which has seen many changes since its creation (Thody, 1997: p1). Today it has become the highly integrated European Union with 28 member states, 18 of which share a single currency (Archick, 2014: p1). The process of EU integration is a complex one, as can be seen in its history and will surely be seen in its future. There is no simple explanation that can successfully explain the growth of the EU from a economic community of six nation states to the political and economic union it has become today. However there are two competing theories for explaining EU integration that give opposing views on the matter, neo-functionalism and intergovernmentalism. In this essay I will examine both theories and attempt to reach a conclusion if either successfully explains EU integration.
“From time to time it is worth reminding ourselves why twenty-seven European nation states have come together voluntarily to form the partnership that is the European Union.” 1