Preview

Abortion In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1317 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Abortion In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants
At first glance, the characters in Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants seem to be part of an adventurous and wildly romantic journey together through Spain. As the story unfolds, however, the couple’s unexpected pregnancy reveals their tarnished relationship. The man and the girl, unmarried, are faced with the burden of a pregnancy that neither of them had planned on and together, they must find a way to best deal with the situation. The unasked question hangs heavily on the couple’s minds. The man and the girl are not in agreement about what to do with the unborn child at first. The girl is clearly not open to the idea of an abortion which is the man’s obvious first choice of how to handle the situation. Self-centered in nature, the girl’s accomplice is determined to convince her that his way is the only way for a successful outcome. The first step in sensing the man’s deception is to observe that the girl, known as Jig, is not entirely convinced of the operation to begin with. In the opening of the story, Jig displays an amount of assertiveness when requesting that she and her accomplice take part in drinking beer. A small gesture such as this insinuates that the girl is not afraid to speak her mind and let her own thoughts be known. Her later actions confirm this when she observes the similarities between …show more content…
Jig begins to lean more towards the idea of getting the procedure but she still has hesitations. She wants assurance that if she follows through with his request he’ll still want to be with her. Jig asks him if he’ll be happy with her and if the abortion will take away their troubles. It’s no surprise that the man answers that it will. His word lacks any credibility not only because he misrepresented of the operation, but because he is willing to tell the girl anything she needs to hear to follow through with his
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Hills Like White Elephants Rhetorical Analysis

    Finally, she asked, “‘Can’t we maybe stop talking?’” The most blatant deception lays after Jig takes a moment to gaze across the hills. Of course, he refuses to grant her the break from the conversation about the abortion that she requests. “‘You’ve got to realize,” he said, “‘that I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to. I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you.’”…

    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Gender Differences In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants
    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Gender Differences In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

    In Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” he shows the major difference between the two which is a woman’s pregnancy and the difference in reactions between a man and a woman what that occurs. While the man in the story seems to want the woman to have the operation which is an abortion, throughout the story woman is more conflicted and unsure what she wants. By the end although we don’t get a complete resolution and Hemingway leaves some ambiguity the woman seems to have become sure that she wants to keep the baby. The interaction at the end where the man says “do you feel better” which she replies to by saying “I feel fine, there’s nothing wrong with me, I feel fine” seems to let us know that she now believes that being pregnant isn’t something wrong with her and she wants to have the baby.…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants: A Literary Analysis
    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hills Like White Elephants: A Literary Analysis

    A lot of the readers can relate to this because everyone goes through that stage of not feeling wanted. For Jig she was referring to her baby that was not wanted. Personally, Jig wanted the baby. Notice when she said “They’re lovely hills, (Hemingway, 1927)”, meaning that Jig was trying to get off the subject. The America man was trying to persuade her to abort it. Noticing that, when he said, “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig, (Hemingway, 1927).” Then, he continued, “It’s not really an operation at all, (Hemingway, 1927)” Anyone could clearly see that he was talking about aborting the baby because he kept repeating sentences like “I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s nothing. It’s not as painful, as you think, (Hemingway, 1927)”. In the end, Jig doesn’t want to abort the baby, but does anyway because it seemed like she just wanted the situation to end and also the manipulation by her man who keeps saying that if you get rid of the baby everything will go back as it…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants Conflict Analysis
    • 1176 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hills Like White Elephants Conflict Analysis

    In this short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, focuses on a couples struggle to communicate and finding common ground which leads to a crisis point in their relationship. This story sets place in Spain where a woman named Jig and the American man are seated outside of a bar near a railroad junction. The couple starts out by having a few beers and discussing a problem they are facing in their relationship, as the conversation continues between the two, you can see that the couple is starting to get slightly angry and aggravated with each other whether or not they should proceed to Barcelona in order to have an abortion. Jig disagrees with the American’s choice, although she refuses to say her thoughts openly. The…

    • 1176 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhapsody In The Sun Chapter Summaries
    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Rhapsody In The Sun Chapter Summaries

    Jig seems not to be convinced that the decision she made is the right one. The man says the abortion is “perfectly simple” and that he thinks “it’s the best thing to do.” Even though he then continues “But I don’t want you to do it if you don’t really want to”, he has already stated that according to him abortion is the best solution. Even if Jig is of a different opinion, she knows what the man’s view is.…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Short Story 'Hills Like White Elephants'
    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Short Story 'Hills Like White Elephants'

    The girl, called Jig by her lover, is torn between a moral responsibility to her unborn child and a romantic bond between herself and the American. On one hand, the American is her lover; she doesn’t want to lose their relationship. She seems willing to do anything to stay with him—almost anything. On the other hand, this unborn child has an unspoken connection that every child shares with its mother. Cutting away the baby would be cutting away that connection.…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bartleby The Scrivener Gender Roles
    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Bartleby The Scrivener Gender Roles

    Jig asks her lover if he will worry about the procedure, and he responds by saying he considers the treatment simplistic, and then Jig states, “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me.” This statement further asserts the idea that Jig is looking to appease her male counterpart and put her own feelings aside in order to remain with her lover. Jig doesn’t want to lose her current relationship, because her internalized gender stereotypes tell her that women need to be supported by a male figure. Additionally, Jig is continuously being pressured to make her decision by overbearing lover. The man states early on in the story states that, “[They’ll] be fine afterwards. Just like [they] were before,” and then finally claims that the only problem that exists between them is this decision on whether Jig should have an abortion or not. Jig is faced with the decision to either not receive the treatment, which could end in the destruction of her romantic relationship, or to go through with treatment, but regret her decision for the rest of her life. Due to the external pressure to please her lover, like a “good” women would do, Jig receptively states, “I’ll do it,” and soon begins to contemplate this decision. Even though the reader is never…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Jig's View On Abortion
    • 179 Words
    • 1 Page

    Jig's View On Abortion

    The man controls the woman by saying that the operation - an abortion - is really nothing, even though he doesn’t know what it’s really like. Right from the start, the man thought to control the woman to do the abortion by saying that it's nothing. The man states this opinion, “I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just let the air in”. (24) The man says that it's nothing, but he never had a operation - an abortion - in his life and saying those stuff to her. The man says this for the woman would react and say yes because the man is saying that it’s OK and it’s safe to the operation. The man also says to the woman “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig, the man said. it’s not really an operation at all”. The…

    • 179 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants Analysis
    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hills Like White Elephants Analysis

    The story "Hills like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway is a fascinating story about one couple having faced with an unexpected pregnancy. The theme of the story is about the couple's decision between life and death. The main character Jig and The American are in disagreements on weather to keep their baby, or have an abortion. The couple's lack of communication creates the conflict in the story. For example, Jigs says, "We can have all this..." "And everyday we make it more impossible" While this problem is going on, the couple is sitting at a train station in the middle of a valley. Each side of the valley represents either life or death. As Jig moves about in the story, she faces different sides of the valley, which helps to determine the decision she will make. With the many descriptions and symbolism throughout the story, the final decision seems as if Jig is keeping the baby.…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants
    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hills Like White Elephants

    The American’s assertion of the abortion appears strongly throughout the discussion but in doing so he fails to gain a sufficient understanding of the girl’s views. He tries to coax the girl, using calming phrases such as “[it’s] an awfully simple operation” in order to break her initial negative impression of the operation (115). Seeing that she still is not fully agreeing with him, he switches tactics and becomes more passive, saying to the girl, “if you don’t want to you don’t have to”, but adding in, “I know it’s perfectly simple” (115). The American uses different methods of persuasion throughout the discussion, but constantly presses his view of getting the abortion.The main concept regarding the man stands as his indifference to the girl’s responses and reactions. For example, after the American’s persistence annoys the girl, she says, “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” (117). The American then silently looks at their bags, and continues his persuasion, trying his passive methods again which shows his lack of understanding of the girl’s position. This point also supported when he asks the girl “what did [she] say”,…

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Abortion In Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants
    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Abortion In Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

    Since its creation, abortion has been an extremely controversial and sensitive topic. Regardless of how one feels, there always seems to be a subsequent reticent disposition when discussing abortion because the subject is so vexatious. The apprehensiveness to genuinely discuss an abortion is essentially the infrastructure in Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants”. The reticent, yet passionate conversation between the protagonists sets the stage for numerous interpretations. Nevertheless, by writing such an ambiguous piece, Hemingway demonstrates the exceedingly powerful impact literary devices can have on a piece of literature.…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants: The Hills Of Dynamics Between Men And Women
    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hills Like White Elephants: The Hills Of Dynamics Between Men And Women

    Men tend to take over a conversation no matter what the subject. In the short story, The American man overpowers Jig in the conversation. The choice of words he uses to try to exert control over Jig is the main way he takes over. The American man uses words like "perfectly" and "simply" to describe their situation. He uses those words because he is not the one who has to go through with "the operation". Jig has to go through it and she knows it is not that simple. The man is also the one to bring up "the operation" i.e., abortion. Jig happens to be talking about the beer they are drinking saying, “It’s lovely” (Hemingway 276). The man…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants Feminist Analysis
    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Hills Like White Elephants Feminist Analysis

    Initially, Jig appears dependent upon the American as she first agrees to do the operation for him, telling him she does not care about herself (Hemingway). Jig shortly thereafter demands her boyfriend to cease discussion of the subject. As the train is close to arrival, the doomed status of the relationship is revealed while the American retrieves their collective bags from inside the bar. He notices the other patrons “waiting reasonably for the train”.…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hills Like White Elephant By Ernest Hemingway
    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hills Like White Elephant By Ernest Hemingway

    (Hemingway 592) When the man and the woman are discussing about what they called the operation, it becomes unpredictable that they are not talking about any operation; they are talking about one of the most controversial subjects today around the world, abortion. As this couple is going through difficult times, the man seems to be not so happy about having a baby because it would end the fun times they were having, but it could also mean the end of their relationship if the man does not accept the child. The man tells the woman that she doesn't have to get the operation if she doesn't want to, which in reality it seems like the man is really trying to push her to get the operation to get rid of the baby. At the end the woman makes a decision and realizes that after all the hills don't really look like white elephants, which means the she is considering in keeping the baby.…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants
    • 1266 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hills Like White Elephants

    In this journey we call life, we are confronted with many challenges, most of which we share as a society. One such challenge is the issue of abortion (pro-life vs. pro-abortion). Throughout the world this remains a hotly debated topic among many people (families, religions, and governments). Exploration of such a challenging topic does not require us to look too far before we run into controversy. It is readily available in print, music, art, media, and on the worldwide web, in addition to other channels. In this analysis, I shall attempt to examine some aspects of the core issue of abortion through a short story, and observe the climax, tension, and heart felt emotions people endure because of their differently held cultural views. The short story “Hills like White Elephants” was written by Ernest Hemingway in 1927. He brought the characters to life with his vivid imagery and strong dialogue. The short story is about a young couple in the country of Spain, awaiting the arrival of a commuter train outside a restaurant. The couple is in a heated discussion centered on the girl’s pregnancy. The American man tries to use his powers of persuasion to convince the girl (Jig) to have an abortion, however, she has a different view on the thought of having an abortion; she did not want to go through with it.…

    • 1266 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics