No Good Answers
There are few issues for writers of prose, poetry, or lyrics more controversial than abortion. It inflames most who read it, and the issue can seldom be resolved without animosity. Ernest Hemingway and the Ben Folds / Darren Jessee songwriting duo circumvent this problem by not actually letting the audience know the final outcome. That decision is left to the individual reader or listener.
Ernest Hemingway tackles this risky subject in his1927 short story “Hills like White Elephants.” The story revolves around a dialogue between lovers waiting for a train. Throughout the conversation, they discuss the merits and pitfalls of an “awfully simple operation… just to let the air in” (840).
In the Folds / Jessee song “Brick,” a young man chronicles his journey with his girlfriend to what is presumed to be an abortion clinic. It is the day after Christmas and the girl’s parents have gone out of town. “They’re not home to find us out / And we drive.” In the days and weeks following, the girl appears to become more and more distraught until they are forced to confess.
Although neither of these works mentions the word abortion, each gives clues as to the subject being addressed. Both sets of couples seem somewhat resigned to having the abortion, but the discussion is still on the table.
In “Hills,” the arguing couple repeatedly mentions the “simple operation” (840). The American remarks that he has, “known lots of people that have done it” (840). Jig comments, “So have I,” but goes on to say, “And afterward they were all so happy.” (840). This statement seems tinged with irony. The American continues to insist how “very simple” and “perfectly natural” it all is (840). Jig, however, appea...
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...be she had the abortion and is deeply troubled, or that she is still pregnant and has been too frightened to tell anyone.
With the couple in Hemingway’s “Hills,” their discussion appears to come to a head when Jig begs the American to “please please please …stop talking?” (841). After that, the train is nearing and each goes back to their side of the wall with seemingly nothing resolved.
Though these two works come from very different eras, the truths in them remain virtually unchanged. Neither Hemingway nor Folds and Jessee offer any solutions nor make any judgments. They simply present some of the realities of unplanned pregnancies with the hope that someone somewhere will be spared the agony of this decision. It is never, nor should it be, an easy decision to make. It is, however, a decision everyone should make every attempt to avoid having to make.
We all have expectations, something that we expect as a result of something we did, but what about the unexpected something that we did but never fathomed the consequences? We often times call the unexpected a “curve ball” and that’s exactly what happened to the couples in the short essays “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, they were thrown a curve ball. The couples in the short stories have extremely hard decisions to make. The woman have the most important decision to make and the men have to decide to support the women in the lives or make a decision to move on. Sheri will most likely have her baby because she cancelled the abortion and she has bonded with her baby in her womb, and Lane Dean Jr. will marry her because he realizes he loves her. On the other hand Jig will most likely have the abortion because she fears the American will leave her if she doesn’t, and the American will stay with her because now they can travel without a baby spoiling his plans.
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills like White Elephants." Responding to Literature. Ed. Judith Stanford. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. 841-44. Print.
...ys how an unborn, unwanted child may bring dilemmas like poor communication, inability to make a decision, and damage to relationships; all in a symbolic and creative manner. Relationships issues such as a couple’s inability to communicate efficiently, their distant nature towards one another, the resurfacing of deeper issues contribute to the decision a woman makes regarding abortion. In addition to whether or not a child is born, a man’s defiant and persuasive manner combined with a women’s desire for the relationship she fell in love with can be the difference between a thriving relationship and a broken one. Heminway’s inventive story uses hidden symbols to explore the topics of abortion and relationships in such a way as to leaving the reader wondering and debating if the couple is going to break up or if the American merely changes his mind about the operation.
The short story ‘Hills Like White Elephants’, written by Ernest Hemingway, tells us about a man and a girl ( also known as ‘Jig’) who are waiting for their train to Madrid in a small train station. While they are waiting, they have a discussion about the girl’s pregnancy. They discuss whether they should let the child be removed or not, although the abortion is never explicitly mentioned in the story.
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
“She may be unmarried or in a bad marriage. She may consider herself too poor to raise a child. She may think her life is too unstable or unhappy, or she may think that her drinking or drug use will damage the baby’s health” (126). The emotional appeal in this paragraph could make the reader think they are pro-choice. Apart from their use of pathos, the authors do a great job using a mixture of both ethos and logos. Page 130 is an example of both, which were used expertly to help the reader understand their point of view and the
It’s a huge symbol of what lays down at the end of the road for their relationship, but also upkeeps their ways of life towards being fearful of having a child. The “American Man “appears to manipulate Jig in giving up the child for their joy ride of adventure. For example, the “American Man picks up the suitcases and carries them to the other side of the station”, he’s showing selfishness towards Jig in wanting to continue the joy ride (Hemingway 547). On the other hand, “fields of grain” symbolizes life, therefore depicting the fertility of Jig (Hemingway 532). Jig alone is stuck in a depressed state of mind, and allowing her American boyfriend fonder his actions into accepting the abortion method to continue their travels together. The story was “published in 1927”, at the time abortion was not a skeptical topic, as it showed societal attitudes toward unwed mothers (Piers 3). There wasn’t really government aid back then, therefore, Jig would endow a tough time raising the child while finding work. Late 1920’s alone were on the brink of an economical tragedy leaving many people unemployed, and leaving Jig in a more stressed situation of raising a newborn. Not only is Jig facing a rough decision, but the issue of illegitimacy would have arisen against her. If the father refused to help raise the child, then the only option open to Jig would have been
---, "Hills Like White Elephants." The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1953. 273-278.
Johnston, Kenneth G. "Hills Like White Elephants." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Tim Akers. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. 155-172. Short Stories for Students. Gale. Web. 13 Jan. 2010.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Fiction 101: An Anthology of Short Fiction. James H. Pickering. Twelfth Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2010. 638-641
Abortion is a considered a sensitive topic in society; as a result it is not frequently mentioned or discussed. However; Marquis has decided to voice his opinion on the matter.
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” 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
When a woman gets pregnant, she and her partner make a serious decision whether they should give birth to the unborn child or abort it. However, sometimes every couple can have a different outlook about giving birth or aborting because every male and female has his or her ways of thinking. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” the author, Ernest Hemingway tells a story of an American man and his girlfriend, Jig, who have a disagreement in the train station on the subject of whether to keep the unborn child or to abort. However, the author uses binary opposition of life and death to portray the polemic argument a couple encounters regarding abortion. As a symbol for the binary opposition of life and death, he represents the couple’s expressions, feelings, and the description of nature.
In the short story by Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants," a couple is delayed at a train station en route to Madrid and is observed in conflict over the girl's impending abortion. In his writing, Hemingway does not offer any commentary through a specific character's point of view, nor, in the storytelling, does he offer his explicit opinions on how to feel or think about the issues that emerge. The narrative seems to be purely objective, somewhat like a newspaper or journal article, and in true Hemingway form the story ends abruptly, without the couple's conflict clearly being resolved. The ambiguity of the ending has been a subject of much debate; however, the impact of what is not said in words can be gleaned through the symbolism of their surroundings. Upon examination of the setting, the couple's final choice becomes instantly apparent.