Preview

Analysis: Hills Like White Elephants

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
381 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis: Hills Like White Elephants
1.) In "Hills Like White Elephants," how might a feminist critic view the relationship of the American and the girl? Would you agree with the evaluation?
-A feminist critic might view the relationship of the American and the girl as unfair. They are in Spain and the man was given the name "The American" to symbolize that he is American, "the girl" is given to the girl to symbolize that she is neither American nor from Spain. Throughout the conversations with the waitress "the girl" couldn't communicate with the waitress, but "The American" could. Feminist critics might think that the author was trying to imply that women aren't capable of learning both languages like how men are. I honestly would not agree with that evaluation I simply see

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    As soon as the Americas were discovered, tens of thousands of people wanted to migrate across the sea. The fastest the voyage could be made was approximately one or two months. Communication between the colonies and England was extremely difficult. The regulation of religion was basically impossible. Without the government to intervene, colonists were free to grow whatever they wished and do what they wished with their money. Also, it is exceedingly difficult to govern a colony from thousands of miles away, so the colonies needed to develop their own system of governing. Britain at this pointed adopted a policy of salutary neglect. Salutary neglect allowed the North American society to develop and change into something completely different from what it originally was in England.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The essay “Mother Tongue” describes a writer who grew up with a mother of Asian origin and the limitations created by her mother’s speech. The author, Amy Tan, defines her mother’s English as “broken” and that it created communication barriers. For example, when Tan’s mother would need to call her boss about work, she would rely on her daughter to make the phone call and use proper english. When Tan decided to go into English in college, it seemed foolish since she was more skilled in math and science. The author also mentions how not everyone’s speech is the same, but that is not a bad thing. Tan decided to start writing fiction, and write a book in a way her mother would comprehend. Though the writing was harshly critiqued, Tan knew she…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This essay can relate best with reader from a Hispanic background, being that they come from a different country and they are not fluent English speakers. They can also relate to Cisneros’s family experiences. In contrast, Tan’s audience is Asian-Americans, because they can identify to the type of speech or fragmented or “broken language” like Tan mentions in “Mother Tongue.” The simplification of certain concepts that Tan practices in her writing allows her writing to be grasped by a wide range of readers. However, both pieces of writing deal with two female writers that are writing to immigrants from whom English is a second…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mother Tongue In this passage the author Amy Tan talks about the different ways people speak in America, as an example she uses herself and her mother, she tells us that one time she was giving a speech in front of a large group and she was using all this big words, and phrases like she had learned in school, but all of a sudden she remember her mother was in the audience and she started to think her speech was bad and all her words were wrong because it was an English she never spoke with her mom, because she explains to us that the English her moms speaks is very broken and very bad because of her Chinese roots, as an example she gives us a paragraph describing a story her mom told her once about a gangster that wanted to join her family, she also tells us that when she was younger she was very ashamed of her mothers broken English, which I think is very funny because I know a lot of people that go threw that problem, and hate going places were their parents have to speak English, luckily for me I didn’t encounter that problem because my mother grew up in Kansa City and learned English at a very young age, so her English has been very good all threw my childhood, the bad part was that since she knew perfect English she was able to communicate with my teachers…

    • 3392 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The author believes that language likes an invisible wall that prevents her mother from getting respect from the others. “The fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her”(765). This is how the others treat the author’s mother as well as non-native English speakers. Therefore, Amy Tan understands that there are a lot of immigrants who have been like her mother: being disregarded due to limited use of English. In addition, Amy Tan’s main point of the article is letting the audience know that the way of speaking language cannot reflect someone’s competency. The second point the author tries to say that language is not just language itself; it is about culture, background, and…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Amy Tan’s story “Mother Tongue” starts by the affirmation that she is not a scholar of English or literature. She is just a writer and the person who understand the power of language. From Tan’s observations from her daily life, she realizes that there are different types of English that she uses. The first time Tan notices the difference is when she gives a speech on her book “The Joy Luck Club” using academic English, the one that she never uses to talk with her mother. The second time is when Tan talked using “fractured” English unconsciously with her mother when walking down the street. After that, Tan recalls her memories from her early age: the phone call for her mother to the stockbroker, the meeting with a doctor in the hospital for her mother’s CAT scan result to demonstrate her mother’s realization of “limited” English. Then Tan agrees with the idea that language spoken in…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    Driving offers a sense of control, freedom and independence, for this reason, a lot of people cannot wait to learn the skill.…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Aria and Mother Tongue

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the story “Aria” by Richard Rodriguez and “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan both authors write about their experiences and struggles as a bilingual child. In “Aria” and “Mother Tongue” they describe their private language as an expression of intimacy with their loved ones. Growing up at one point they felt embarrassed and ashamed of their parents inability to speak English fluently. Tan writes “My mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English,” (Tan 543). They were their parents’ connection to the outside world and often had to be the voice of their family. Rodriguez and Tan both believe that there’s more options and advantages once they became Americanized. “The social and political advantages I enjoy as a man result from the day that I came to believe that my name, indeed, is Rich-heard Road-ree-guess.” (Rodriguez 518). Rodriguez and Tan emphasize the importance of language and the power it holds either intimately or publicly.The assumption you can make about the authors personas is that they have a strong bond and love for their intimate language.…

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When eavesdropping on a person’s conversation who is nearby, sometimes a person won’t get all the information on what they are talking about or find out how their conversation ended. Sometimes a person could infer the wrong things or not get the whole story. Also, since the people talking in the conversation might not tell the full story, the person listening might not get to know how the end of their conversation went, but if they are lucky, they might. The narrator in the short story “Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemingway, was not so lucky and didn’t find out the ending, or many details of what the couple was disgusting. The story just ended with the woman saying “There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m fine”…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    The both ladies stares at the sceneries. Mrs. Mallard stares through her window and the girl stares at the mountains. Both stories has an essence of freedom. For Mrs. Mallard, the death of her husband means she can finally have the freedom to live for herself. But the freedom she got was all of a sudden and she couldn’t take it even though she feels like she is free from everything. To the girl, freedom is her choice. She wants to have a baby and it is her freedom of choice but the American doesn’t want her to have a baby. The two stories shows us the ladies depended on their partners and the men commands. Throughout the story “Hills like White Elephants” the American tells the girl what to do. He even won’t give her the chance to decide whether to have an abortion or not, instead he says to go for it. But the girl doesn’t want it to…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Linguistic Battle of the Sexes” describes how men and woman act different in public places. She states, “American men tend to talk more than women in public situations, they often talk less at home.” This pattern she describes is wreaking confusion and imbalance in their interests. When it comes to relationships men and woman have many communication problems starting from childhood.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After reading “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, it was rigorous for Asian Americans learning the English language. The article discusses the different languages of English that Tan had learned and frequently used throughout her life. Then the difficulties that she had learning in school because English wasn’t her best subject. Additionally, were issues that follow along her, due to the way Amy’s mother spoke English. English as a second language for Tan was very difficult, but through her mistakes, she succeeded. When she became a writer, it got easier after she realized the variety of languages she had already spoke throughout her lifetime. She constantly used diverse languages with multiple people and had absolutely no idea she was. It became easier for Amy to differentiate and correct herself. Tan’s life was hard for her to become the aspiring writer she wanted to be. As an Asian American, to succeed in something that no one believed she could was foolish. And even though English wasn’t Amy’s first language, in the long run it changed her understanding of the English language. Tan’s purpose was to show us how language can separate, unite, or isolate those who don’t speak perfect English. Literacy should have no limitations on how people view other people.…

    • 307 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Vicarious Liability

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Under the English Common Law, Vicarious liability is a principle of the tort laws. The law imposes liability of employees and agents to their employers. Under this law, the liability of any tort committed by an employee that falls under the scope of his duties to the employer is transferred to the employer. This includes both the intentional and unintentional torts. The inclusion of the intentional torts came in to effect after the ruling in the case of Lister V Hensley Hall Limited. Before this case, intentional torts were not considered for vicarious liability. The reason for vicarious liability is to allow the injured parties to have better means of recovering their damages as employers are well placed to offer indemnity. This is because they have a comparatively immense number of assets than their employees and are economically well placed to pay damages. Vicarious liability has also proved to be a good way of reducing risks taking by employers and ensuring that sufficient precautions are observed in doing business. For vicarious liability to hold, the court must identify sufficient connection between the offender and the employer. The employer will be held responsible for the torts committed by his employers while performing their duties after ascertaining the above conditions (Emanuel 2009).…

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays