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Analysis essay over the theme of hills like white elephants
Critical analysis about hills like white elephants
Critical analysis about hills like white elephants
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The story “Hills Like White Elephants” is about a couple who discuss an abortion. The American in the story addresses it as a “simple operation,” (487) while Jig seems to feel it is the wrong choice. I feel the man is encouraging her to have the abortion done in his own selfish way.
I feel the American is being very selfish and thinking what a simple operation it would be. He tells Jig, “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig.” (487)”It’s not really an operation at all.” (487)How easy it would be for the American to have an opinion like this since he would never have to experience the pain. He doesn’t have to deal with any of the physical or emotional scares. He just keeps reassuring her that it will be a simple operation. He says, “I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in.” Is this what other men have told him? Has he ever taken the time to talk with women who have had the “simple operation?” As a man it would be very easy to think it’s a simple operation, but is this the reassurance that women want and need from men when they are faced with this decision? The American says, “I’ll go with you and stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural.” (487)
Jig shows signs of regret as though the American is forcing her into this decision. I don’t feel that it is something that she wants to do. Ji...
The character of Jig is also very indecisive. After The American Man is persuading her to have an abortion, she states that she is willing to have the operation if it will make The American Man happy, and insures he will no longer worry. She also states that since she doesn’t care about herself, she will have the procedure because it will please The American Man. Later during the story, while they are outside looking at the hills, the two have the conversation of:
The scene is set in Barcelona, Spain at a railroad station that overlooks hills across the valley. The main characters proceed to wait in a bar until their train arrives to take them to Madrid, Spain. Jig begins by asking if she can have a drink and the two start drinking and speaking of an operation Jig is supposed to be having. The conversation gets slightly intense which becomes apparent by the body language and tone that is given off. The American is trying to settle her nerves by telling her “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,’ the man said. ‘It’s not really an operation at all.”(Hemingway) Although it seems like the American is trying to be supportive it changes when Jig replies. After thoroughly reading the story you come to find out the operation is actually an abortion. At first read you think the American is being supportive and trying to calm Jigs nerves but that later changes when you read Jigs reactions to what is being said to her. An argument flourishes and causes Jig to walk away and look at the scenery and dwell in the beauty. This later transitions to the end of the piece where the American takes the baggage to the end of the tracks because their train would be arriving shor...
...ogy by saying to her that she doesn't have to go through the operation if she doesn't want to, but convinces her to do so. Their lack of dialogue makes it easy for him to get his way all the time. He never approaches the real issue, like the emotional part of the abortion. Instead, he talks about how simple the operation really is. "I know you wouldn't mind it, Jig. It's really not anything. It's just to let the air in," he says. The man is not in love with her and only loves to please himself.
Through his endless amounts of pestering he never finds a way to get his desire and true feelings across to the young lady and becomes increasingly bothersome because of his inability to convey his feelings. “‘We can have the whole world,’ the American declares. ‘No we [cannot],’ Jig retorts. ‘ We can go everywhere.’ No, we [cannot]. It [is not] ours any more.’ ‘[It is] ours.’ ‘No, it [is not].’” (3) The American is insistent on continuing the nomadic lifestyle that the couple lives by aborting this baby, and pesters Jig continually hoping to sway her with the thought of living their same lifestyle that they currently live. However he never directly tells her his desires and instead attempts to manipulate her as he feels his desire is in their best interest regardless of how he achieves his desire. However he does not realize that in his examples he is strengthening Jig’s resolve and conviction in her own wishes. Earlier on in the narrative the American is quick to turn and begin attempting to conform Jig, without any warning or inkling of a change in topic he quickly turns it into what he wants: “‘Should we have another drink?’ ‘All right.’ ‘The [beer is] nice and cool,’ the man says. ‘[It is] lovely,’ Jig agrees. ‘[It is] really a simple operation, Jig… I know you [would not] mind it.’ [Jig] did not say anything.” (2) Without transition or a telling sign, the American quickly turns an agreement about how lovely the cool beer is on a warm day, into pressuring Jig to conform to his desires. All because of his selfish need and lack of responsibility to settle down and lead a life where they can raise the child, and his desire to continue living a life of excess and materialism, yet he cannot convey these desires of him
The American in “Hills like White Elephants” is constantly saying how simple of a procedure it is when in actuality he has no knowledge of abortions. He goes on to say that “she doesn’t have to be afraid because he knows lots of people that have done it (Hemingway 476) The taking of a life no matter how it is done is never as simple as saying other people have done it so don’t be scared. Even though the American says he just wants her to be happy. It is clear that the most important thing is not her safety or happiness but him being able to live his care free lifestyle burden free (Wyche). He is constantly pushing the conversation even when she ask him to stop. For him the thought of death is an escape from his responsibilities. Her indecisiveness is hindering his plans to travel and he says if she does have an abortion then he will be happy again and then she will be happy too. He is so simple minded and egotistical that he tells her what she needs to do to be happy and that that’s the only way. At this point the American has indirectly said I cannot love you and be happy if we have a child, but if she has this procedure then everything will be back to normal. In “A Clean, Well-lighted Place” the protagonist the young waiter has a similar outlook but in a different situation. The waiter is constantly saying that “he wishes the old man had just killed
“Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is about a couple, the American and Jig, who contemplate whether or not to have an abortion. The premise of the story seems simple enough, but the outcome is highly debated. Critics argue that the baby was kept by the couple ( Renner ) and others claim the baby was aborted.( Fletcher ) Others have even simplified the story, claiming that the issue was not resolved because the couple was drunk by the end of the story. ( Sipiora ) Although the conclusion is in questions many have agreed with the idea that the couples relationship would be changed and would end prematurely. ( Wyche ) Dialogue is the main technique in conveying this argument but we can only understand the complexity of Hemingway’s work by looking at the story as a whole. By looking at the many symbols, intrinsically and
In the story Hills like White Elephants, there is an exceptionally heavy theme of alienation in regards to the girl, Jig, and the medical procedure she and the American are going to Madrid in order to have done. Though it is never explicitly stated, the reader can infer that the procedure the two are discussing Jig having done is an abortion; considering that the American says “We’ll be fine afterward. Just like we were before.” (Hemingway) The following dialogue only solidifies this assumption, because the couple continues to talk about how things were perfect before and that this will give them the chance to be happy and worry free again. What really solidifies the nature of the operation is that the man knows many people who have had it done and were so happy afterwards, and that they are leaving home in order to have it done, which shows that there is a certain amount of shame that comes with having the procedure done.
While reading his short story ‘Hills Like White Elephants’, we ask ourselves many questions due to this principle, but first and foremost we ask ourselves: will the girl (the main role in the story) eventually have an abortion or not?
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 ...
The story I chose to write a reflection is on "Hills Like White Elephants" written by Ernest Hemingway that is about a young lady grappling with the possibility of having an abortion because of the weights and impacts of the man in her relationship. The expression which emerged and was rehashed regularly all throughout the story of the hills resembling "white elephants. "The man she is with wishes for her to get an abortion so he can proceed on traveling to different places on how he needs with no genuine respect for her emotions or prosperity at first. Gradually, he appears to steadily begin to think more about her welfare. The lady appears to be significantly more introvert on communicating her actual emotions and wants.
Without the close insight to the American’s true feelings and thoughts, the disconnect between the American and Jig is more prominent. Hemingway utilizes the word “look” at an attempt to bring readers into the true feelings of the characters, but each “look” is seemingly meaningless without the words and thoughts meant behind it. The American’s words are the only insight to his feelings on the situation him and Jig are in. He truly seems to believe an abortion is no big deal when he declares “it’s really an awfully simple operation Jig, it’s not really an operation at all…I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to. But I know it’s perfectly simple” (116). His outward total lack of concern for Jig in regards to the operation further shows how much a difference in point of views changes how readers’ interpretation of love exists between two very similar
The American answers that everything will go back to normal, how things were before. He also says that he knows many people who have also done this operation and they turned out well and found happiness. The girl sort of agrees with him but not really. The American then says that he doesn’t want to force her to do the operation but thinks its what’s best for them both. The girl now tells the American that she’ll have the operation as long as he still loves her.
There’s no choice but to do it. She doesn’t have anyone else but him because she is millions of miles away from her home. He is telling her it is up to her if she wants the baby or not but he knows if she has the baby nothing will ever be the same. The relationship will never work because they are in their early 20s and not ready to take that big step. The man was also telling her that it was a pretty simple procedure but he also tells her its up to her. He is not directly telling her to throw away the baby but he is insisting her to do so. She is stuck in between two things and theirs no we she could convince him to just say “lets have the baby”. He is not really supporting her because he doesn’t want to have the baby and to prove it Thanatassa, College teacher said ” Jig is pregnant with the man's child and the man is urging her to get an abortion, while she is somewhat ambivalent about the process. The man is uncomfortable with the idea of fatherhood, because he has been traveling around Europe enjoying himself, and thinks that the responsibilities of fatherhood would get in the way of spending a life attending parties and trying out new drinks. Jig is pregnant with the man's child and the man is urging her to get an abortion, while she is somewhat ambivalent about the process. The man is uncomfortable with the idea of fatherhood, because he
To begin, consider the main character's point of view. Single and in his prime, he makes the most of his lifestyle by traveling and seeing new sights. The story is set on one such excursion, at a train station in Spain. Of the complications that might arise from starting a family, one is certain to him: traveling, sight-seeing, and his current lifestyle would be things of the past. These are some of his motivating thoughts as he pleads his case for terminating the pregnancy. He chooses his words advantageously, almost deceitfully, when trying to convince the girl that an abortion is easy surgery: "It's not really an operation at all" (275). Those familiar with the abortion procedure can affirm that it is an operation, and rarely a simple one. This remark reveals how desperate he is to make the decision for the girl.
Ernest Hemmingway uses time, place, and symbolism in "Hills like White Elephants" to intensify the central dilemma in a story about a man and a woman deciding on whether to go through with an abortion. Although a literal reading of the title may not seem to have any relation to the story, the title is rich in implications. Critics suggest that "Hills" refers to the shape of a woman's stomach when pregnant, and Webster's 21st Century Dictionary defines white elephant as: "[An] awkward, useless possession." The term is also defined in Webster's as an item that is worthless to some but priceless to others. According to Victor Lindsey, the child in the story is a white elephant in the view of the man, who is trying to convince the girl to get rid of it. Hemingway hints about how the man and the woman each feel about the unborn child, but he never tells us why they have such different views on the prospect of an abortion. The man in the story, referred to as "the American," claims that the abortion is necessary because it would save their relationship, whereas the woman, Jig, has doubts as to whether or not she should have an abortion at all.