The Complex Relationship between the American and Jig in Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, the American and Jig are like the tracks at the train station, they can never meet. While Jig represents fertility, life and continuity, the American represents sterility, dryness and death. Unfortunately, Jig depends emotionally on the American – as many women depended on their male counterparts in the 1940s – and lacks the autonomy and willpower required to openly affirm herself in their relationship. As they struggle to find common ground, the very discussion that can bring them together only tears them apart. The differences in each character – in their personality, means of communication and desires – truly emphasize the constant opposition that burns between them, this very opposition leads to the couple’s inevitable separation, as Jig discovers herself and her independence through the dilemma at hand. The ubiquitous conflict between the American and Jig is underlined by the tremendous differences in their personality, communication methods and desires. In the beginning, the environment seems relaxed, neither, the American nor Jig, is speaking. Jig is looking out at the scenery that is “brown and dry” (paragraph 8) – like their relationship – as the American orders drinks. Unlike the American who is disconnected, Jig seems to be imaginative, intuitive and connected with her world, while she gazes out the window, she remarks that the hills “look like white elephants” (paragraph 9). At this point, she seems to have something on her mind: white elephants are believed to be rare and precious, although they require much upkeep, commitment and sacrifice, e... ... middle of paper ... ...g and the American is what eventually tears them apart, they have different needs and desires and this, in turn, allows Jig to discover her independence, despite the difficult choice she faces. After having weighed everything, Jig would have probably had the abortion. Regardless of whether she leaves the American or remains forever unhappy with him, Jig’s decision is made: she takes a final stance and acknowledges – in an ironic tone – “I feel fine… there’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine” (paragraph 110). The question of self-affirmation has been solved here, as she looks to her own self, her own happiness and her own will to look at things as they are. WORKS CITED Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants”. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 4th Compact Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008. 290-293.
Hemingway presents takes the several literary styles to present this short story. Hemingway’s use of Foreshadowing, Pathos, Imagery and Personification allows the reader to enter the true context of the frustration and struggle that the couples face. Although written in the 1920’s it the presents a modern day conflict of communication that millions of couples face. At first glance the beautiful landscape of the Barcelonian hillside in which Jig refers to frequently throughout the text appears to have taken the form of White Elephants. The Americans’ response to Jigs’ observation was less than enthusiastic as he provides a brief comment and continues on with his cerveza. This was but the first of the many verbal jousts to come between Jig and the American. The metaphorical inferences in those verbal confrontations slowly uncover the couple’s dilemma and why they may be on the waiting for the train to Madrid.
In Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” and Wallace’s “Good People,” both of the young females, Jig and Sheri, experience an unplanned pregnancy and must decide whether an abortion is the right choice. While the former story employs dialogue to depict the relationship of an adventurous, carefree couple in the 1920s, the latter uses third person limited point of view to show a faithful young couple whose religion is their source of morality. Thus, Wallace digs much deeper since both religion and love are a factor in Sheri’s ultimate decision. The enigmatic endings of both stories leave us questioning Jig and Sheri’s choice and its impact on the future of their relationship with their respective partners. The text suggests that Jig will not comply with the American’s wish of aborting the baby because of her vision and the indicative dialogue between her and the American, and Sheri will conform to her religious beliefs and carry the child. Whereas Jig will leave the American due to his lack of obligation, Lane Dean Jr. will marry Sheri in his effort to be a good person.
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills like White Elephants." Responding to Literature. Ed. Judith Stanford. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. 841-44. Print.
Link, Alex. Staking Everything on It: A stylistic Analysis f Linguistic Patterns in “Hills Like White Elephants.”. The Hemmingway Review. 23.2 (Spring 2004); 66-74. Rpt. In Twentieth-Century Literary Critisism. Vol. 203. Detroit; Gale, 66-74. Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. . 12 Jan. 2015
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants." The Norton Introduction to Literature.Eds.Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. Shorter 9th ed. New York: Norton, 2006.128-132
Burroway, Janet. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. As Rpt. in Rankin, Paul "Hemingway's `Hills Like White Elephants'." Explicator, 63 (4) (Summer 2005): 234-37.
Ernest Hemingway is an incredible writer, known for what he leaves out of stories not for what he tells. His main emphasis in Hills Like White Elephants seems to be symbolism. Symbolism is the art or practice of using symbols, especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations (merriam-webster.com). He uses this technique to emphasize the importance of ideas, once again suggesting that he leaves out the important details of the story by symbolizing their meaning.
---, "Hills Like White Elephants." The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1953. 273-278.
In Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” the character Jig is submissive to her counterpart The American Man, who is encouraging her to have an abortion. While Jig is not sure what she wants, she does not wish to press the subject of the operation because The American Man is intent upon persuading her to go through with the procedure. Throughout this story Jig’s helplessness, indecisiveness, and her lack of education become apparent, although by the end of the story she becomes confident, decisive, and ultimately takes back control of her decisions and life.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Fiction 101: An Anthology of Short Fiction. James H. Pickering. Twelfth Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2010. 638-641
Renner, Stanley. "Moving to the Girl's Side of 'Hills Like White Elephants'." The Hemingway Review 15.1, 1995. 27-41.
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants." Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Ed. Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. 268-272.
“Hills like White Elephants” is told in a vague way that holds the reader at bay. Hemingway’s genius use of symbolism helps the reader understand the story. One of the most prevalent use of symbolism is the term white elephant, which represents “an unwanted gift, a seemingly remote and but immense problem,” that the couple are forced to deal with (Kozikowski 107). The white elephant denotes the unwanted unborn child that is resented by the father, although the mother is curious to see through. The use of the railroad symbolizes the divide in the relationship. The young couple is in different directions, however, neither one listens to each other. The girl is pressured by the man to choose one side of the tracks, but at the train station, she is in a position where her choice is visible. His actions are haughty and she is submissive to him. Objects like the alcohol and the bamboo care carefully chosen by the author. The previously stated Absinthe is a symbol for sensuality and a narcotic. The bamboo curtains denote its hollowness and letting the air in; consequently the same manner that the American refers to the operation as “letting the air in” (215). Color plays an integral function in understanding that the couple is at parallel ends like the train track. The “blackness of the licorice and the whiteness of the hills contrast between sorrow and joy”; furthermore, the way the couple seem divided and
In "Hills Like White Elephants," by Ernest Hemingway the it is easy to sympathize with the woman, to like and admire her more than the man in the short story. Through reading the short story and going through the conversation that Jig and the American have it is easy to say why Jig is more likeable because she is sort of a victim of the American. He is pushing her into having an abortion that she may not want to have to keep their relationship the same, but if she has the abortion the relationship will not be the same anyway. The American is just pushy and selfish and wants only what is best for him, while Jig wants what is best for both of them.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 113-117. Print.