Both Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants and John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums portray oppressed female characters in the early 1900s. In Hemingway’s short, Jig is oppressed by her lover known only as “The American,” whereas, the main character in The Chrysanthemums, Elisa Allen, feels the weight of oppression from society (male dominated) as a whole. Although the driving force of the two women’s subjugation varies slightly, their emotional responses to such are what differentiate the two. Throughout Hills Like White Elephants, the American refers to his girlfriend only as Jig (which is a device used for measuring whiskey). This nickname implies that he sees her only as an object; a companion to his wolfish self-gratification. The name in itself is an epithet for the bibulous and carefree lost generation lifestyle on which the two indulged. By leaving the American nameless, Hemingway endows the character with strength in anonymity. He is not concerned with his health, life or future and is only preoccupied with his present existence and the preservation of what he considers to be pleasurable to him alone. This gives the American the upper hand over Jig; thus exhibiting his dominance. Although she so desperately wants to move on from this lifestyle and start a family, she does not want to lose the man she loves. Therefore she is willing to postpone her transition into womanhood so as not to ruin the romantic connection she feels exists between them. The subtle manipulative control that the American has over Jig’s thoughts and actions transforms itself into a complete control over her decision. After finding out that she is pregnant, Jig has a difficult time weighing her options because of her dependence o... ... middle of paper ... ...lthough consciously made will not be of her own influence. In addition to her youthful inexperience regarding matters of life and love, the American’s dominance over her and her fear of being without him will be what forces her hand. In a sense, she was trapped. This is undoubtedly the first of many major discords in their relationship. After maturing with age, Jig will grow weary of the American’s manipulative ascendency; thus allowing her to bolster her own self-esteem and present him with an ultimatum. Works Cited Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Fiction 101: An Anthology of Short Fiction. James H. Pickering. Twelfth Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2010. 638-641 Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums.” Fiction 101: An Anthology of Short Fiction. James H. Pickering. Twelfth Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2010. 1162-1168
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:
“Elisa stood in front of the wire fence watching the slow progress of the caravan. Her shoulders were straight, her head thrown back, her eyes half-closed, so that the scene came vaguely into them. Her lips moved silently, forming the words 'Good-bye—Good-bye.' Then she whisprered: 'That's a bright direction. There's a glowing there.'” (American Short Stories 321) John Steinback's story, The Chrysanthemums centers around a young woman named Elisa Allen and the struggle she faces with her individuality. The uniqueness of Steinback's story can be accreditted to his use of symbolism throughout his writing to create and prove the central theme of equality within genders. An analysis of the characterization, setting and theme of The Chrysanthemums, as well as John Steinback's internal experiences support his modernist veiwpoint.
Within Steinbeck's story, "Chrysanthemums," the main character, Elisa Allen, is confronted with many instances of conflict. Steinbeck uses chrysanthemums to symbolize this conflict and Elisa's self-worth. By examining these points of conflict and the symbolism presented by the chrysanthemums, the meaning of the story can be better determined.
Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums”. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama. 2nd ed. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw, 2008. 459-466. Print.
Ernest Hemingway’s story “Hills Like White Elephants” is written in third person. This narrator is objective and limited. It is objective, by not giving thoughts or opinions about the story. The narrator is limited by having no insight to thoughts of the other characters in the story and has
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants." In The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume II. Edited by Paul Lauter et al. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991: 1471-1485.
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
Steinbeck, John. ?The Chrysanthemums.? Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. 2nd Compact ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003. 359-366
A baby is precious and life changing, which makes Jig desire to keep the baby and progress with her companion. Jig does not want to travel and repeat her everyday adventures for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, her companion will try anything to convince Jig to have an abortion. "We'll be fine afterward. Just like we were before." "What makes you think so?" "That's the only thing that bothers us. It'...
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 ...
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.
---, "Hills Like White Elephants." The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1953. 273-278.
At first glance John Steinbeck’s "The Chrysanthemums" seems to be a story about a woman whose niche is in the garden. Upon deeper inspection the story has strong notes of feminism in the central character Elisa Allen. Elisa’s actions and feelings reflect her struggle as a woman trying and failing to emasculate herself in a male dominated society. Elisa is at her strongest and most proud in the garden and becomes weak when placed in feminine positions such as going out to dinner with her husband. Steinbeck carefully narrates this woman’s frequent shifts between femininity and masculinity over a short period of time.
In the short story by John Steinbeck, The Chrysanthemums, symbolism, allegory and foreshadowing flood the story from start to finish. Steinbeck’s chosen words to describe the setting, plot and conclusion allows readers to evaluate and analyze the story in many ways. The story begins by describing the setting as enclosed, gray and repressive. Elisa Allen is introduced as the central character of the story, onto which the symbolism and allegory mainly affect. As the story develops further, Elisa’s encounter with a Tinker, leads her to “explode those repressed desires,” (Shockett) which have been suppressed by the symbolically “closed pot” (Steinbeck) in which the story takes place. The use of literary techniques
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.