Draft Essay
Is it a communication or a conversation? Liya Li
Images of Men and Women ENGL 252-W02-24770
Professor Rita Rice
2/17/2012
Why people would not consider a man as a woman or vice versa? Men and women are distinct by many ways: different mind-set, different physiological functions as well as characteristics, and so on. Those differences become obstacles between sexes, bonding them together but also separating them apart. One of the obstacles is derived from their different mind-set, which ultimately turns out to numerous difficult conversations between men and women. “Hills like White Elephant,” written by Ernest Hemingway, is a short story mainly composed by a dialogue between a man and a girl. The conversation, which is an argumentative talk, between them is hard and futile because neither of them achieves their goals. Indeed, a bisexual conversation sometimes can be hard, not because there is a language barrier, but because both the man and the woman don’t understand what each other want from the talk. In her article “Sex, Lies and Conversation; Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other,” Deborah Tannen explores the conversation issue between men and women. Tannen discussed how different the purpose of the conversation men and women have. According to Tanne, for women, “What is important is not the individual subjects that are discussed but the sense of closeness, of a life shared, that emerges when people tell their thoughts, feelings, and impressions; (Tannen Deborah)” however, unfortunately, “men don’t know what kind of talk women want. (Tannen Deborah)” In “Hill Like White Elephants,” no closeness is showed by the man during the conversation because the man keeps persuading the girl to do the abortion by repeating it is a “simple operation. (Hemingway, Ernest)” When he says “I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you,” the girl’s response: “doesn’t mean anything to you?” shows how much she
Images of Men and Women ENGL 252-W02-24770
Professor Rita Rice
2/17/2012
Why people would not consider a man as a woman or vice versa? Men and women are distinct by many ways: different mind-set, different physiological functions as well as characteristics, and so on. Those differences become obstacles between sexes, bonding them together but also separating them apart. One of the obstacles is derived from their different mind-set, which ultimately turns out to numerous difficult conversations between men and women. “Hills like White Elephant,” written by Ernest Hemingway, is a short story mainly composed by a dialogue between a man and a girl. The conversation, which is an argumentative talk, between them is hard and futile because neither of them achieves their goals. Indeed, a bisexual conversation sometimes can be hard, not because there is a language barrier, but because both the man and the woman don’t understand what each other want from the talk. In her article “Sex, Lies and Conversation; Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other,” Deborah Tannen explores the conversation issue between men and women. Tannen discussed how different the purpose of the conversation men and women have. According to Tanne, for women, “What is important is not the individual subjects that are discussed but the sense of closeness, of a life shared, that emerges when people tell their thoughts, feelings, and impressions; (Tannen Deborah)” however, unfortunately, “men don’t know what kind of talk women want. (Tannen Deborah)” In “Hill Like White Elephants,” no closeness is showed by the man during the conversation because the man keeps persuading the girl to do the abortion by repeating it is a “simple operation. (Hemingway, Ernest)” When he says “I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you,” the girl’s response: “doesn’t mean anything to you?” shows how much she
Cited: Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants." House of Desmond. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. < http://thedesmonds.com/Hemingway/elephant.html> Tannen, Deborah. "Sex, Lies and Conversation; Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?." Georgetown University: Web hosting. Washington Post, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/tannend/sexlies.htm>