The Role of the Man in Hills Like White Elephants It is the early afternoon of a Tuesday, and it is raining. Surrounded by the calming non-inspiration of bare off-white walls, I sit and listen to the railing of my peers as they attempt to deconstruct the brilliance of a deceased writer. It is a usual Tuesday this semester. Seated in my accustomed place in the front row, just left of center, my eyes close to the high-keyed soprano and alto ranting of all the outspoken students, who are today, sadly, entirely female. They discuss back and forth the short story "Hills Like White Elephants," by Ernest Hemingway, and all that its symbolism means. They chat about choices and decision and isolation and worry. The speak of Jig, the girl in the story, and how she is facing the knowledge of the child she is carrying, and what she will do about it. They talk of the girl's youth and the imagery of setting of the tale - between a desert and lush valley, and how it represents the paths of her choice. Most evident to me, however, and indeed what moves me more than the story itself did, is that they thrash on about the overbearing and egotistical nature of the crass, thoughtless and blind Man in the writing, and how he is trying to force her to bend to his wishes. Nowhere in the room is there an once of compassion spoken on behalf of the Man, the father of the child. Not a peep is mentioned in reference to his own pain and struggle; it is an overlooked and disbelieved element in the conversation, and that fact haunts me. There is clear and reasonable evidence to support that the Man is going through just as much heartache over this decision as is the girl. Too often in today's culture a man's mindset is taken for granted in analytical for... ... middle of paper ... ... asks (324), in hopes that she has settled enough to finally talk about this - to tell him that she wants to go through with it. He is hurting and confused as much as she is, but is clinging to the things that he can tangibly comprehend: the girl and their life together, just the two of them. The shadow in the valley on the other side of the station, blanketing their future, is the darkness of their decision - the thought and memory of their child that will follow them the rest of their lives; however, it is a life with hope, in his mind, as opposed to the barren alternative. All she needs to do is believe with him that it will be alright, and believe in the love between them. "I feel fine," she said. "There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine" (324). He will get no such belief today, apparently - by either his love, or those who are reading his tale in this class.
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.
This short story is about a couple arguing about abortion. The girl, Jig, does not want to, but the American man says that it is the only thing between them. The girl wants to continue on with her life of exploring the world with the addition of the baby, but the man says that it would take the world away from them. The man has experience in this, but the woman seems not to. She is reluctant, and does not want to talk about it any more after a point. There are many elements in the story, such as disconnection, manipulation, dominance, innocence, and irresponsibility.
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.
‘Hills Like White Elephants’ is a short story authored by Ernest Hemingway about an American and a girl named Jig. In the story, the two are sitting in a train station waiting for the train to Madrid. While they wait, they have an intense ongoing debate on whether or not to abort Jig. At the end of the story, the train is about to arrive and the man carries luggage on the tracks as they prepare to leave. The end of the story does not clearly define the outcome of its decision. She said I feel good at the end of the story - happiness is a central theme of the story, but we wonder if she went through with the operation. The paper discusses the manner in which symbolism has been employed in the story to communicate about an abortion, the couple is considering to go through.
Evans, Sara. Wang, Bella ed. "Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway Study Guide : Summary and Analysis of "Hills Like White Elephants"". GradeSaver, 10 December 2010 Web. 9 March 2014.
What would literature be had every author used the same perspective for every single story? Literature would not be as well received as it currently is received. Take three American short stories, “Hills Like White Elephants,” “A Rose for Emily,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” for example. These stories, by Hemingway, Faulkner, and Gilman respectively, each utilize a different a point of view. The perspective of a story heavily influences the impact of the story on a reader and that impact varies based on the content of the story.
Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway is a short story that deals with the idea of conformity and the conflict caused by internal desire and pressure from another party. The short story is very subtle, and often uses these subtleties in combination with incredible amounts of symbolism interlaced throughout the narrative to cause the reader to look and think deeper into the motives, values and convictions of the conflict between the two protagonists respective desires. When two parties are at an impasse of desire, the conviction of their opposing beliefs become increasingly unshakeable. This results in dissension due to the severe lack of understanding between the parties involved and furthermore, they refuse to be held responsible
Theme is defined as the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person’s thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic. Throughout literary history, authors have been using theme to bring a story together and make a point. In order to make a story have a resounding feeling in readers, authors use themes to leave an underlying message which are usually lessons and morals that should be widely taught, such as in children’s books or in fables. In all three stories, “A Rose for Emily”, “Hills like White Elephants”, and “Harrison Bergeron” the author’s use a mutual theme of death and further show how death brings change to each of the main character’s lives in different
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills like White Elephants." Responding to Literature. Ed. Judith Stanford. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. 841-44. Print.
“Hills Like White Elephants” is a classical short story first published in 1927 written by Ernest Hemingway, who has been generally recognized as one of the most influential writers in American history of literature. Starting with a lengthy description of the story’s setting in a train station surrounded by hills, fields and trees in the valley of Ebro in Spain, Hemingway told the story from a third person limited omniscient, nearly in an entire form of a dialogue between an unnamed American young man and a girl named Jig while they are sitting at a bar near the train station waiting for the train to Madrid. Throughout Hemingway’s direct and clean report...
The story "Hills Like White Elephants" is a conversation between a young woman `Jig' and an American man waiting for a train at a station in Spain. The author never names the topic of their discussion but as their dialogue progresses; it becomes evident that Jig is pregnant. The man wants Jig to abort the unborn child but she is unconvinced and wants to become a mother. Hemingway has brilliantly written the story's dialogue which "captures the feel of a private conversation while at the same time communicating the necessary narrative background" (O'Brien 19). At the end of the story, it is unclear as to what decision has been made; however, Hemingway gives the reader several clues regarding what Jig feels, and what she wants to do. Jig's private thoughts are illuminated by Hemingway's description of the setting, the character, and the conflict. Stanley Renner suggests that, as a result of the couple's discussion, "Jig has become able to make a more clear-sighted estimation, and perhaps a better choice, of men" Wyche(59). The couple's inability to communicate effectively their true thoughts and emotions makes their dialogue very appealing. The story examines the gender differences and miscommunications as they influence the decision whether to abort the unborn child or not (Smiley). In his book on Hemingway, published in 1999, Carl P. Eby points out that "[f]or the past two decades, Hemingway criticism has been dominated by a reconsideration of the role of gender in his work" (Bauer 125).
In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, the author employs the use of the iceberg theory to convey a hidden message within the lines of the story for the reader. Through the use of strictly dialogue, Hemingway allows the reader to only see the part of the iceberg that is above water. The rest of the story is inferred by the reader. For example, Hemingway uses simple sentences rather than complex sentences to get straight to the point. All of Hemingway’s use of detail and explanations of scenery or background is made simple.
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.
When the term “couple” is mentioned, most people think of a romantic, “happily ever after” relationship. However, in the nineteenth century, it seemed to be the complete opposite. Women were living in chaos. During the era when women had to fight for their equality and freedom in their society, they also had to fight for their equality as partners in their relationships. Women were portrayed as submissive to men. Literature of this period often characterized women as oppressed by the male influences in their lives. There are two stories that display women as being submissive as well as oppressed. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman, the wife of a psychologist suffers from a post-partum depression and is confined in a room of a mansion
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.