At this point, the young woman is emotionally damaged. She understands that she has to choose between her lover and her unborn child. She also realizes that she really has no choice at this point and that she is not in control of her body. This is why she ends up emotionally removing herself from the situation in order to go through the abortion. For instance, she says to her lover, "Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me"� (363). It is as if she is giving into her dominant male lover. Her body was used for pleasure and now, due to the consequences, the evidence must be discarded as if it were trash.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The “Man” is encouraging her to have an abortion and states “ I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. Its just to let the air in.”(401). The “Man” is implying that an abortion would be no big deal and further states, “ I’ll go with you and stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural. That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy.” The term “natural” used by man in this statement implies the abortion is a natural thing to do. This statement gives the impression that the “Man” is attempting to lure Jig into his way of thinking using their surroundings. Jig is disenchanted from nature and what it represents in the story and sees it from his “simple” solution to a clear problem. Their unhappiness is seen in their drinking of alcoholic beverages to dull the pain and feel like nothing is wrong, and implies their inability to face reality. Gazing across the landscape the “Girl” expresses how the hills look like white elephants. This statement is used as a distraction for the so-called “white elephant in the…
- 1289 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
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 -
As she thinks, it becomes clear how much having this child means to her, and how having the abortion will in no way repair the relationship she and the American man have.…
- 1000 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
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 -
Yet looking closely, we can see how the girl has changed her perspective. Her intentions seem to be completely different than the man. We can assume that the couple have not settled down because of the girls statement about what they do, “That’s all we do, isn’t it- look at things and try new drinks”(116). We can also suggest that they travel quite frequently when the narrator claims, “He did not say anything but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights”(118). Through the remarks of the girl we can assume that by keeping this baby instead aborting would allow her to settle down with the man. She also began to stand up for herself as she repeatedly tells the man if he can please stop talking.…
- 823 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The American sees it as a problem that can easily be solved as where Jig sees it as a beautiful experience. Jig looks to the hills and says; "they look like white elephants" by saying "white elephants" she is referring to her pregnancy. Jig continues to say, "They're lovely hills" meaning having a baby will be lovely. The American tires to minimize the beauty of it and explains, "It's really not anything. They just let the air in." Even though the conflict is the man and Jigs issue with keeping the baby or getting an abortion, it is ultimately up to Jig to decide. Towards the end of the story when the man gets the final say about the abortion, the girl says, "I'll scream." Meaning she has made up her mind and she does not want to hear anymore from the…
- 949 Words
- 4 Pages
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 -
Ernest Hemingway’s "Hills Like White Elephants," tells the story of an American man and a girl who is named Jig. They are both sitting outside of a train station in Spain looking across a valley while drinking beer. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway discusses the landscape before them, the valley of the Ebro River, that has long white hills. As the American and the girl begin to have a conversation, the girl remarks on the Ebro River of the way it looks. After a while the American asked her if she wanted to do the operation (an abortion which was learned in the author's comment at the end) and explained to her that she would be fine. However, she began to think if she participates in the operation would the American lover still be with her. Nevertheless, the American knows that if the operation is not done he would not be able to do certain things; therefore, he is trying to eliminate the reasons to settle down with Jig. Towards the end of the story, Jig and the American would argue about the operation; even though the American does not want a child.…
- 571 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Because even though she is the one pregnant it is still part of him and he should have the right to tell her how he feels about the situation at hand. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway structures the short story into a dialogue between two characters, the American and the girl, also known as Jig. Throughout the short story, the conflict between the couple is unstated and vague, but it can be inferred that the couple is discussing about abortion, even though it is not stated explicitly within their conversation. The American is trying to persuade Jig to go through with the abortion; he makes it seem as if it is not a big deal, which reveals the man’s coldness and ignorance about what exactly an abortion entails both physically and emotionally to a woman “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,” the man said.…
- 557 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In his article “Moving to the Girls Side of “Hills like White Elephants””, published in 1995, Renner discusses an alternative conclusion that can be made through analyzing “Hills”. He believes that most critics have not paid enough “attention to the development of the female character” (27). Also, he suggests that Jig has been “underestimated considerably” (27). It is clear that a decision has been made by the end of the story, but it does not plainly say what. The reader must use the minimal information provided to interpret what they think happens. Hemmingway only provides this minimal information in order for the reader to be able to come to their own conclusions. In “Hills”, the majorities of critics have interpreted this information and have decided that the girl gives in to the American and has the abortion. Through close looking of the story, it is more likely that the woman refused to have an abortion and the American “acquiesces” (27) to her desires. Renner‘s analysis is both a valid and extremely interesting way of seeing this story. He effectively relates his reasons for being on “the girl’s side” to the reader with well used examples from the primary text.…
- 1748 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
First and most importantly, there is the word abortion which accompanies the reader throughout the whole book. The narrator’s lover describes the abortion as something ‘legal, simple’: "He said I should do it, he made me do it; he talked about it as though it was legal, simple, like getting a wart removed" (Atwood 79) to persuade her that there is nothing wrong with it. The narrator, hurt by the abortion, seeks comfort in persuading herself that she did not experience the abortion but the divorce, she simply substitutes the word abortion by the word divorce. It might be because ‘to divorce somebody’ means "to separate a person, an idea, a subject, etc. from sth; to keep two things separate" (Oxford Dictionary 444). The same meaning has the verb ‘to abort something’; because when a foetus is aborted it is also separate – from its mother. She needed a rational connection between these two words to be able to replace them. Later on the narrator even confesses that: "He [the lover] didn’t want our relationship to influence anything; it was to be kept separate from life" (Atwood 174). The second part of the sentence might not speak about their relationship anymore, but about the abortion while using the word ‘separate’. It was the child…
- 2005 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The fetus feels as if its mother is not alone and that he/she should have a say in the matter of whether or not he/she should get to live. The unborn fetus repeatedly says “Why can’t we just talk it over”, he/she feels that an abortion is not the correct decision to be made. There is an urgency coming from the voice of the fetus because it is a life or death type of situation. If the mother goes through with the abortion, the fetus will cease to exist. The fetus goes on to say that it does not blame the mother for being human, but it does blame her for not having faith. If the mother were to have faith in Christianity and God, abortion would not even be an option. The Christian faith denounces abortion and sees it as murdering an innocent human…
- 785 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Abortion isn’t just a form killing, but think of it more as a second opportunity for those who aren’t prepared to bring a child to this world or even thoese who were sexualy abused. Many mothers are forced to keep their unwanted child due to their religion or even out of guilt, but what most people don’t understand is that this mother may end up hating their own child or even abandoning them due to the regret of having them. In the article the writer states,”From the nine categories of reasons developed by Bankole et al., it was concluded that the most common…
- 561 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
On one end, a woman has the option of keeping the baby, raising it, caring for and loving it, watching it grow old while ruining her reputation or have a living reminder of the father (if the father is not in the picture or is a rapist). At the other end, she can kill the unborn fetus and kill any chance of that fetus having a life, but the woman can retain her life not have to take on the responsibility of caring for a child. The two choices she has both contain “pros” and “cons.” The woman might become afraid of the choice she must make because if she chooses life, she will have to have the responsibility of taking care of a living being and people will judge her; she also might fear she does not possess the resources to help maintain the life of the baby (money for food, diapers, bottles, etc.). If the woman were to choose abortion, she might be fearful because she will being killing something human, something that is a part of her, something that is alive. She could be consumed in guilt because she might consider herself selfish and a murderer. The woman would also become afraid that she might lose some people who are important to her because of the people’s opinions; she will lose people either way. The woman has become ambivalent on this subject and does not want to choose; not because she wants both, but because she doesn’t want the consequence of the choices she…
- 980 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Imagine being defenseless and helpless while literally being ripped apart. That is what an unborn child feels when a mother chooses to destroy the life within her. The tools used to conduct an abortion are truly inhumane and torturous. Some tools like the forceps is used to crush, grasp, and pull the child's body apart. Another tool such as a syringe with spinal needle is used to inject salt water in to the mothers’ uterus. The unborn baby swallows and breathes this poison and dies in a process that sometimes takes twenty four hours. The toxic saline solution causes severe burns over the unborn child’s entire body.…
- 709 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays