Discuss the Complexity of Human Relationships as it is portrayed in "Hills Like White Elephants".
How is both setting and dialogue used to emphasize "Life At A CRossroads" as well as making "Life Changing Decisions"? What is unrealistic happiness in terms of what the characters are trying to communicate in "we can have the whole world" ... "No, We CAN't , it is not ours anymore". What does it mean to have the whole world? What does it mean to lose it? Provide concrete examples from the STORY to support YOUR IDEAS... Take ONE point you make and now correlate it to the world we live in (YOU KNOW HOW I LIKE to PUSH you to think OUTSIDE INTO THE WORLD). How can you connect "Life cHanging Decisions" and Human Complexity to the World WE LIVE In.. (an example should be concrete.. something you read or learned or researched)!
Thomas Dominic
ReplyDelete4/16/20
Hills Like White Elephants
The notion of unrealistic happiness may come across as confusing at first glance. Many people have an idea of what real happiness is, or at least they think they do. The legendary figure Mahatma Gandhi once said, “True happiness brings more richness than all the money in the world.” This is a powerful sentiment and along with his feelings on how such happiness is achieved is quite profound. “Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” Taking we can learn from Gandhi and applying it to Hemingway’s piece, we can truly begin to understand how the characters may be feeling and how significant this decision is in achieving true happiness. The women in this story is yearning to bring this child into the world, while her lover could not feel more differently. This is not some inconsequential choice; this is a choice that will forever alter their lives and relationships. To the man, this seems very cut and dry. He does not understand women much at all, during this time the ideas of women subordination and hysteria were still very much alive. “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” Another profound idea from Gandhi it gives us an insight into the Human condition specifically men. He is trapped in his own beliefs and cannot see how the alternative will affect her, or he simply does not care. This is proven when the women tell the man, “You wouldn’t have,” referring to his inability to see white elephants symbolizing his lack of feeling towards his women’s situation. There was essentially no emotional intelligence at this time regarding women, and little thought given to the ensuing chaos that such an undesired procedure would produce. The women would merely have to appease her man in order to keep the status of their relationship. This notion of appeasement should not be practiced with a choice bearing such grave consequences. And the result would no doubt leave her forever unhappy, putting on an act for the man.
The most prudent and significant connection I can make in the world today regarding life changing decisions is by addressing how far the actual number of choices has progressed, and the overall acceptance of once taboo ideals. In the 1920’s, such decisions were faced with public backlash, and often swayed the perpetrator into submission. Today however, everyone, especially women have far greater freedoms to enjoy and can act without aforementioned consequences. Something like the story of “Hills Like White Elephants” today would go down very differently. There would be less oppression of women in making such grate and significant choices in their life. That is not to say that such taboos do not still exist in the world. But overwhelmingly in the 21st century, women in particular had made much progress and were finally able to achieve unpromising happiness. Additionally, the network of support and public perception of the independent women have greatly increased. This would have given the women in the short story many more options to achieve her perfect life.
PS: The old man and the sea is one of my favorite works of literature.
ReplyDeleteYOUR ANALYSIS IS SUPERB!!!! BRAVO TOM!
DeleteMac Kenzie Tierney
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
Eng 102
In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, there are many themes presented throughout the short story. The American and Jig are like the tracks at the train station, they can never meet. While Jig, who is represented as the woman who is fertility, life and continuity, the American, who is represented as the male who is sterility, dryness and death. Unfortunately, the women depend emotionally on the male, as many women depend on their male figure during this time period. As they struggle to find common ground, the very discussion that can bring them together only tears them apart which is keeping the baby or getting a abortion. This discussion brings them life at a cross road, the woman is willing to do whatever her partner wants. She says, “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me… I don’t care about me… Oh, yes. But I don’t care about me. And I’ll do it and then everything will be fine” (Hemingway). This indicates she is ready to get the abortion because she believes him after he says everything will go back to normal, their happiness will be back after she gets the abortion. The complexity of human relationship is the woman is putting his feelings before hers because he is her only emotional support, and her unrealistic happiness. This abortion can have a great impact on the quality of the relationship because one person is going to be happy while the other will not.
Unrealistic happiness in terms when they communicate in “we can have the whole world… No, we can’t.” The woman is trying to persuade him that having this baby will bring them everything they ever wanted and more. On the other hand, he’s saying that it can’t. He believes this baby will bring them nothing but hardship, pain, and regret. His whole world is him and her drinking beer, traveling, and being happy with just themselves but for her is having a family, being a mother, and being a caregiver. When she decided to have the abortion it forces her to lose her whole world. Her true happiness was the baby, from him it wasn’t. He doesn’t recognize the truth about this situation. He only cares about himself, he doesn’t understand the difficulties involved in having an abortion. The unrealistic happiness he is making for himself will only destroy the woman.
Abortion is a life changing decision and human complexity in the world in live in today. Abortion is a life changing decision because it’s different than having a miscarriage. Yes both are losing a human being, but abortion you are choosing to end the pregnancy. Abortion will change your outlook on life, that’s because you will think about that baby every second of your life. It’s also a human complexity. That’s because internal behavior of parts of a human being becomes visible. Dealing with abortion is something most people deal with in the inside. But having a partner makes those behaviors come visible. These emotions are very strong to people, everyone has their own feelings about abortion and how to come about it. The world we live in today, is very judgemental, and everyone has something to say about you or something you did. Most people don’t understand that women didn’t have the networks and the support we have today to help us with these life changing decisions.
Mieles Mingst
ReplyDeleteProf. Brady
EGL 102
Unrealistic Happiness is experienced by everyone at some point in their lives. Its very happy to misinterpret happiness and form it to unrealistic standards. At the heart of “Hills Like White Elephants” is Hemingway’s examination of the man and girl’s deeply flawed relationship, a relationship that champions “freedom” at the cost of honesty, respect, and commitment. At first the girl is resistant to the man’s emotional manipulation. She attempts to paint a picture of the future life she and the man could have together if they were to have a child. The man, though, is unwilling even to entertain these notions, and yet he phrases his refusal in the manipulative language of love, claiming that “I don’t want anybody but you.”
In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, the American and Jig are like the tracks at the train station, they can never meet. While Jig represents fertility, life and continuity, the American represents sterility, dryness and death. Unfortunately, Jig depends emotionally on the American – as many women depended on their male counterparts in the 1940s – and lacks the autonomy and willpower required to openly affirm herself in their relationship. Finally, the express train arrives and the two prepare to board. The girl tells the man that she's fine when she's obviously lying, saying what he wants to hear, hoping to quiet him. Nothing has been solved though and the tension remains, as they prepare to leave for Madrid.
Throughout the story, it’s made clear that the man would like the woman to get an operation, which he describes as "awfully simple," "perfectly simple," and "not really an operation at all." He promises to stay with her the whole time and that they'll be happy afterward because "that's the only thing that bothers us." He never mentions the woman's health, so we can assume the operation is not something to cure an illness. He also frequently says she doesn't have to do it if she doesn't want to, which indicates that he's describing an elective procedure. Finally, he claims that it's "just to let the air in," which implies abortion rather than any other optional procedure. Abortion is a very large and controversial decision in modern society today. It really is a life changing decision compared to having a miscarriage because with an abortion you must take the initiative to end the pregnancy.
Kierah Johnson
ReplyDelete4/16/20
Hills Like White Elephants
Unrealistic happiness to me means finding happiness in an idea or thought, something that hasn’t happened yet but you're hoping it will bring you happiness when you know deep down it’ll never happen. The characters are trying to communicate the choice whether to get an abortion or not and when they say “we can have the world” and going back and fourth saying yes we can no we can’t means that having the child will ruin everything that is nice and calm. Having a child will complicate things and she said “they will take it away” means all the freedom that will be lost when that child is born.
To have the whole world means that you basically have the freedom to do whatever you please and go wherever you want with the person you love or with your friends. Having the whole world to mean just means happiness and living your life to the fullest. To lose it, means something came in the way of obtaining that level of happiness and you can’t seem to find it in anything. When the lady says “it's not ours anymore” means to me that the life her and her partner lives has to be shared if she keeps the baby and the big things in life can't be enjoyed fully.
In today's society having a child before marriage is completely normalized and women d who do have children before marriage are not criticized or looked down upon. Having an abortion is a life changing decision and it is true about what the lady said about life not being yours anymore because it’s not. You now have a child to worry about and have to reroute your whole life according to the baby and doing that could possibly be like losing the world to some people.
Relationships in the 1920’s were heavily based on women depending on the men for survival. Although women suffrage was beginning to rise, it was still a man's world. Women were still under the rule of their husbands with not much freedom to express what they wanted for themselves. You can clearly see this complexity of human relationships in “Hills Like White Elephants” by Earnest Hemingway, as Jig and her boyfriend sit by the train station conversating about an abortion. They are both at crossroads, Jig wants to keep the baby however, it is apparent that her boyfriend has the opposite feeling. He expresses that “it's really an awfully simple operation” and once it's over he doesn't have to worry anymore. During this time abortion was fairly new and risky, many women who went to get this prodecure didnt live. With the dangerous possibility of Jig not being able to survive this he still urged her to get the abortion. Jig is willing to go through this just to please him, she says “I'll do it. Because I don't care about me.”, at this point is where the realization of her losing everything in her world, an unrealistic happiness is created.
ReplyDeleteWhat she is willing to do for him to be happy and stay with her is at the expense of her own happiness. As time passes what she sacrifices for him is going to tear the relationship apart. Jig is creating an illusion for herself where she can have this temporary happiness and security her boyfriend provides her. This can tie into the story of “A Car Named Desire”, where Stella stays with her husband because he provides for her and she wouldn’t be able to live as a single mother on her own. What she sacrifices is her sister for her temporary happiness just as Jig is going to sacrifice her unborn child for the same thing. In the play you can see that everytime Stella put her happiness last for her husband it took a toll on her, this will eventually happen to Jig.
Human complexity can occur not just in romantic relationships but in all other kinds, two people can come to crossroads in any type of relationship. One example is a parent child relationship, children constantly search for acceptance and approval from their parents. As you get older the “crossroads” you may face with them become more impactful to your life. Choosing where you want to go to college or what you want to be in life should be a choice only you should make however parents can put this burden on you to be something else you don't agree with, in some cases children do follow what their parents wishes to make them happy even at the expense of theirs. Parents do give up alot of their happiness for their children as well. In friendships there are sacrifices that are made for the other to be happy.
I believe that human complexity is not only In romantic relationships and that its very interesting the way you looked at it in a different perspective. The burden of certain discussions can make it feel like crossroads with your parents. I also believe when you compared Stellas situation with jig was actually a mirror example. Where Stella chose to stay with her husband for temporary happiness and making a permanent decision when losing her sister to him . While jig choosing fake and temporary happiness to make sure that her man will still love her , and shows her vulnerability.And as you mentioned it shows that it will eventually take a toll and cause emotionally traumatic damage to her.
Delete-Salma Abdeltawab
Kevaughn Simpson
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
English 102
Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like What Elephants”, presents a wide variety of interesting themes. One of these themes is Unrealistic Happiness. The white elephant is a symbol of something no one wants - In the narrative, the woman’s unborn child. Her comments at the beginning of the story that the surrounding hills look like white elephants at first seem to be an irrelevant remark said without much thought,is actually a segue for her and the American language to talk about her baby and maybe having an abortion. The woman later on takes back this comment after observing that apparently the hills don’t look like white elephants after all. This is an indication that she wanted to keep the baby after all - the American misses this realization.
She goes on to say that the hills only seemed to look like white elephants at first glance and that they are actually quite lovely. She seemed to be stuck at a crossroads not sure which route is the right one to continue on down. These mixed feelings that she has about her pregnancy shows that she is conflicted with herself. Being conflicted is directly related to her unhappiness. The American tries to comfort her by feeding her promises of better days creating this false reality that is unattainable because of the timeline they were living with and the restrictions they were under.
"We can have the whole world" ... "No, We Can’t, it is not ours anymore". This particular part of the story shows the American trying to convince her that they can have the world which in this instance means that they can be happy with whatever decision they make, but she knows within herself that this is not true and unrealistic.
She knows no matter which path she decides to take there will be some form of backlash that will eat away at their world and make it unhappy in some way.
She wanted to have the baby but she knew she would be looked down upon by society and it also seemed that the man didn’t not really want her to keep the baby.
Nowadays having a child outside of wedlock is normalized. The women won’t be looked down upon or judged.
Salma Abdeltawab
ReplyDeleteThe human relationship is emphasized through the time period that these characters were in. The complexity of having a child while not in a relationship and men dominance. There were two characters displayed in this story a strong one living selfishly and a woman living selflessly to help herself save a relationship. This relationship was not there from the beginning the man was not there emotionally and did not want to give his women this satisfaction that he is willing to care about the maybe let alone her. He does the bare minimum and tends to ignore all the hints of her trying to persuade him to keep the baby. She tends to try to manipulate him when truly he manipulates her. “That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy.” (Hemingway 2). This quote is important because it shows how the man is more concerned about his happiness even though he says “made us unhappy” it truly only means that he was unhappy. He believed his life would go back to normal which meant that he did not have to care for her, however, if she were to have the child it would be life-changing for him and in that time period he would most likely have to claim her and the child. “But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you’ll like it?” (Hemingway 2). During this conversation it proved that jig was living through unrealistic happiness, she was trying to fulfill his needs to keep him “in love”.
The unrealistic happiness that jig was striving for and trying to get even though it did not exist, she wanted it to exist, can relate to people and social media. People on social media portray themselves unrealistically happy to prove to themselves and others that they are in fact in love with life and are surrounded by peace and happiness all the time. This goes back and relates to jig because she would be giving up a part of her just to keep someone else satisfied. Social media also tends to ask people for validation even if you convince yourself that you don’t need it, it helps some people's confidence. This validation helped jig when she asked him if he would love her if she gave up the baby, he said he loved her regardless when truly he loved her only at the thought of her giving up the baby. Jig needed constant of reassurance and validation, which is relatable to social media when people do something they are not fully convinced with and lose themselves to other people’s opinions and judgment.
I really liked the way you used social media as a medium of relating the short story to contemporary society. It's true, people on social media can often find themselves seeking validation from others by acting a certain way or doing certain things just to please other people. this can lead to an unrealistic sense of fulfillment and confidence as all of it comes from the opinions of other people.
DeleteCJ Odom
ReplyDeleteProf. Brady
4/16/20
ENG 102
There are many themes present in Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” such as the complexities of human relationships and unrealistic happiness. In the short story Jig and her significant other are in a relationship that has many faults. At the time women were gaining more and more rights and independence from men. However, women were still heavily dependent on men and were not completely given complete freedom to express their own wants and desires as they wanted. As Jig and her significant other sit waiting for the train and drink, they talk about a very serious topic that they must have, getting an abortion. This is where one can start to see the faults in the relationship as Jig thinks that keeping the baby and bringing the baby into this world will open a new world of opportunities for them. However, her significant other believes otherwise, he thinks that the way they live now is perfect and that she should get the abortion. Jig as a woman represents life and fertility whereas her significant other represents dryness and sterility. Jig as a woman of the time is willing to do a lot to please her significant other even going as far as saying; “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me… I don’t care about me… Oh, yes. But I don’t care about me. And I’ll do it and then everything will be fine” (Hemingway). This illustrates she is comfortable getting the abortion because she loves him and wants their world to as perfect as it was prior to this conversation being as prevalent in their relationship as it is currently.
Jig willing to go through with the abortion to please her significant other is the buildup of an unrealistic happiness as it is not what she truly wants. "We can have everything."(Hemingway). Jig says this in order to try to persuade her significant other into seeing her side, that bringing a baby into their life will be a good thing for them, to which he replies "No, we can't."(Hemingway). He believes that bringing a baby into their relationship will lead to hardship and will change they way they live forever. He tries to persuade her into getting the procedure saying "It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig… It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig."(Hemingway). This exemplifies that he does not understand the complexities of an abortion, at the time it could be very dangerous for a woman to undergo this procedure. Even as they are leaving for Madrid, she tells him that she is fine despite not being fine and only tells him this to silence him. This indicates that she is willing to do and say things just to make him happy and get rid of this conversation, in order to get things back to normal. She is creating an unrealistic happiness by not revealing her true feelings and not being to truly stand is for what she wants.
Abortion is a life altering decisions and a part of the many human complexities in the human world. It changes a person, to choose to terminate the life of an unborn child, as opposed to losing the unborn child to a miscarriage. The man tries to assure Jig that the operation will be good for them. He even manipulates her with his words of " I'd do anything for you."(Hemingway). These words imply that because he would do anything for her because he loves her, she should feel a similar way. He also goes and says "And you think then we'll be all right and be happy… I know we will."(Hemingway). Assuring Jig that the abortion will make them happy and lead to a better life together. He is also creating this sense of unrealistic happiness, because although he believes the abortion to benefit them in the long run Jigs has an opposing view, a view that does not hold as much weight as that of a man at the time. Jig is in a compromising decision, because this is a serious procedure, one that she does not want to have, but is willing to for the sake of her relationship. However, having a child out of wedlock at the time was frowned upon and if her significant other were to leave her with a baby, she would be worse off. This is a conversation that has withstood the test of time and continues to be prevalent within contemporary society. One that leaves various women conflicted in their lives due to the stigma that comes with having an abortion.
DeleteChristina Ruggiano
ReplyDeleteSo many themes are portrayed in Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” such as “Complexity of Human Relationships”, “Life at A Crossroads”, and making “Life Changing Decisions”. The American man and the girl are two lovers, but abortion is discussed when the girl gets pregnant. The theme of Complexity of Human Relationships is now seen because the American man had love for the girl with or without an abortion and told her “Well, I care about you” when she told him she did not care about herself. Everything Jig was saying “we can’t” to, the American man was responding with “We can…”. This short story takes place in Barcelona, Spain during the 1920’s which plays the huge part in the struggle the two lovers face when deciding whether an abortion is a good choice or not. Abortion was not an illegal operation and causing the American man and the girl to face “Life at A Crossroads” and “Life Changing Decisions”. Ernest Hemingway’s also uses dialogue in “Hills Like White Elephants” to help portray these two themes as well. The American man say’s “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig…It’s not really an operation at all”, but he also makes her aware that he would not make her do it if she did not want to. This shows the American man’s perspective on abortion, but the girl says “But I don’t care about me. And I’ll do it and then everything will be fine”. Jig is just planning on having the “operation” because she thinks it will make the American man happy and less worried.
Happiness is something that everyone wants to feel all of the time, but unrealistic happiness is something that is only in your head. The American man has this idea that him and the girl “can have the world” but in reality, they cannot. The girl faces the facts and says “No, we can’t. It isn’t ours anymore”. To have the world means to have what makes you happy, not to have control. The American man had Jig and that was all that he needed. That was his whole world. The girl felt that she lost the whole world because she was getting irritated by her lover. She felt he was putting pressure on her to get an abortion without completely saying that he wanted her to. The girl repeatedly told the American man to stop talking like she was pushing him away. She says, “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” He brought her happiness, but if she loses him then maybe she will lose the whole world too. Whether the American man and the girl have the “whole world” depends on how they choose to handle their new-found parenthood. In the 1920’s it was not appropriate to have a child before marriage, but in the world we live in today it is more common and handled in several different ways. People have support systems, medications such as plan B and birth control, and they have people who are there for them. Pregnancy before marriage is not treated like a crime now, but in the 1920’s it was not taken lightly. Hence, the girl’s response to the American man when he is telling her the world is still theirs. “Life Changing Decisions” and “Complexity of Human Relationships” play a big role in Hemingway’s short story, but these two themes are handled and portrayed completely different from the 1920’s till now.
The short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway discusses the complexity of human relationships. Throughout the whole story it is clear that the relationship between the woman and man is one sided. The woman would do anything the man wanted to make him happy. When making the life changing decision if she should have an abortion all the woman said is she doesn’t care about herself and she will do it if it makes him happy. Even though it is clear that the woman doesn’t really want to have the abortion, the man just brushes it off and pretends like he doesn't see it. This shows how the relationship is toxic and most likely will not last.
ReplyDeleteThe character's relationship shows signs of an unrealistic happiness. In the story the man says "we can have the whole world" meaning that if she goes through with the operation then they will both be happy and everything will just get back to normal with no change. However the girl responds by saying “No, we can't, it is not ours anymore”. By saying that they can't have the whole world, it shows how she really feels and if she goes through with the operation she won't be happy. She will not be able to pretend like the situation never happened and it will always be on her mind. Even though it is evident that she doesn't know if she wants to go through with it, the man is still in a way persuading her to do it. He tells her that it is an easy operation when in fact back then it was very risky and could result in death. He reassures her that after she goes through with it she will be happy again and they will go back to how much they loved each other before. He is painting a picture of unrealistic happiness, when in reality the only thing that might make the woman happy is have a baby.
Even though abortion has now become legal in most states in the United States it is still one of the most taboo subjects. It is a life changing decision and difficult decision for a woman to decide whether or not to abort a pregnancy. Once you decide to have an abortion there is no going back and you have to live with the decision. However when compared to the 1920s when it comes to abortion women are now able to have more resources and support. She is able to prevent an unwanted pregnancy even before it happens with medications like birth control. Although if a women still gets pregnant and decides to have an abortion she is able to have a safe procedure and is even given counseling if needed.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleterittany Cooper
ReplyDelete4/16/20
“Hills Like White Elephants”
This idea of unrealistic happiness makes it hard for many individuals to live life for themselves. Constantly putting others needs before their own, it’s easy to take care of everyone else and the feelings they may have, putting their own happiness and feelings to the back burner. In the story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, our female character seems to be faced with this problem of not being able to live for herself. She’s set on maintaining a “strong” relationship with her partner and preserving his happiness that she doesn’t care about what happens to her in the end. Her happiness essentially meant nothing. This was normal for a woman in the 1920’s to be emotionally dependent on a man. Although this decision to have an abortion was easy for the American man to make, Jig struggles with this idea. On one hand she wants to do whatever her partner asks of her if he truly does see them finding happiness after the procedure is over, but we can obviously tell that Jig doesn’t not want to go through with it. She won’t come out completely and express that, but she hinted at how she could not see the two of them finding happiness like everyone else after she’s had the abortion. It starts to make one question how strong this relationship was to begin with.
To end the conversation Jig says, “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me. […] I don’t care about me. I’ll do it and then everything will be fine”. This idea that abortion is “simple”, and everything will return back to “normal” is another idea of what unrealistic happiness is. An abortion is a big decision that requires a lot of thought and strong will to actually go through with. The decision should be a mutual agreement between the two partners AFTER all bases have been covered. The American man is clearly not ready to make that big of a commitment and start a family so that’s why it’s so easy for him to find this “happiness” once the procedure is over and wants Jig to believe that it will happen for her as well. When Jig says, “We can have everything” she wants her partner to understand that a baby is a step towards finally building a stronger foundation for the two as well as a family. When the American man says that they “can have the world” this stems from this idea that he believes with another person in the picture all of their freedom will be lost. They won’t be able to move freely as they once could, and it won’t be all about them anymore. Without freedom, how could there possibly be happiness? As a reader we know that this conversation is very one-sided, and all the American man can think about is how this will affect his life not what will happen to Jig.
It’s understood that having a baby although the two were not married was frowned upon, but this piece relates to how uneasy many woman have it today. We all want happiness and there’s this idea that you have to put yourself through the most in order to get there. It’s not easy for a woman to just have an abortion and it’s clear that in the 1920’s men could not understand that, and many don’t today. The complexity of human relationships is not a topic that many people talk about but have experienced at some point in life. Relationships are flawed and it’s clear that the relationship in this story was not strong enough on both ends to withstand this type of situation making it easier for the man to have the upper hand in the end.
After reading Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” a theme of the complexity of human relationships is constantly portrayed. Throughout this piece the couple argues indirectly about whether or not the girl should get an abortion. The guy in the story seems to have more dominance over the girl in the story which is an example of how a relationship should not be and expresses the theme of a complex relationship because the key to a successful relationship is communication, which is clearly a problem for this couple. I feel the setting and the dialogue emphasize "Life At A CRossroads" as well as making "Life Changing Decisions" because they’re not married in this piece so having the child would bind them together, so this would be a major life changing decision for them and they have to decide whether or not they want to do it together or not.
ReplyDeleteThe unrealistic happiness in terms of what the characters are trying to communicate in "we can have the whole world" ... "No, We CAN'T , it is not ours anymore" is that not only is this choice going to affect the couple but now it’s going to affect the life or death of the unborn child, hence the “...it’s not ours anymore”. The girl in the story is leaning more towards having the baby and giving it the life it deserves while the guy feels that it would be a problem and wants to stop it before it’s too late. In my opinion, to have the whole world means to be extremely happy and wanting nothing to change in the world around you, you’re happy with how your life is going and you want it to stay that way. What do I believe it means to lose it is that something done by you or someone else takes away the things that give you joy, you are then deprived of whatever it is that you love and makes your world spin.
I can connect "Life Changing Decisions" and Human Complexity to the world we live in, by looking at stories I’ve heard in the past about people who get divorced and people who struggle in relationships. Most divorces and relationships end because the people in the relationship are nowadays unable to communicate problems their going through and express how they feel towards their significant other.
Annamaria Vaiano
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
17 April, 2020
English 102
In Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” the complexity of human relationships is shown through the conflict occurring between the Jig and her significant other. Jig is pregnant and considering having an abortion despite the fact that deep down she knows that isn’t what she wants. Her partner is indirectly pressuring her to go through with aborting the baby and because of this as well as her desire to please him, she agrees. Jig asks her partner if this is really what he wants and he responds by telling her that “it’s the best thing to do” and that it’s “perfectly simple” (Hemingway, 230-231). The man claims that if Jig doesn’t want to do this then he doesn’t want her to. If that were true though, then he would make more of an effort to show her that he’d still love and support her if she chose to have the baby. Due to him not doing this, Jig knows that either way, things between them are inevitably going to change. As a result of this, she tells him “I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me” (Hemingway, 231). By agreeing to have an abortion, she is sacrificing her own wants and feelings in an effort to prevent her and her significant others relationship from not working out. Unfortunately, though, that’s only going to leave their issues unresolved and make more room for resentment in their relationship. The complexity of human relationships is shown through this conflict due to there being no apparent solution to this problem. They both want different things but are also willing to give up what they know would make themselves happy in order to please each other. Regardless of what they do, there is no denying that their relationship will no longer be the same after this.
In terms of what the characters are trying to communicate in “we can have the whole world” ... “No, we can’t, it’s not ours anymore” (Hemingway, 231), unrealistic happiness is demonstrated through both, Jig and her partners belief that they will be able to maintain the same relationship with one another after this. One way or another, someone is going to have their feelings and wants ignored. Because of this, them thinking that they will both be able to attain happiness is unrealistic. To have the whole world means many different things to different people. To me, it means to be fulfilled and content. Especially with yourself, those that you love, and where you’re at in life. In the case of the characters in this story, them having the whole world would mean finding fulfillment in one another and wanting the same things. It seems as though for them to lose each other would be the same as them losing their whole world. That’s why they’re both trying so desperately to find a solution to this problem that would make them both happy.
Nick Andrle
ReplyDeleteEnglish 102
4/17/2020
The Crossroads of Life
In “Hills Like White Elephants” by Hemingway, both the complexity of human relationships and the setting and dialog of the short story develop the idea of crossroads in life. First, Jig, who is pregnant, struggles with the idea of having an abortion preformed, however her significant other is pushing her to go through with the procedure claiming that, “"It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig," the man said. "It's not really an operation at all."(Hemingway, 2). He claims that the operation is simple, as well as the operation not being an operation at all. Contrary to the actual procedure, especially during the time period, the procedure could result in the death of the woman. The complexity of human relationships is shown throughout this internal and external conflict in the sense that Jig loves her significant other no matter what choice she makes, however, whatever choice she does make will impact her for the rest of her life.
During life, many are faced with being stuck at crossroads in life, during the story, the setting and dialog show how Jig is stuck at one of these crossroads. For example, “The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry” (Hemmingway 1). In this example, the setting shows how Jig is stuck, one side, the countryside is beautiful and lush with life. And on the other side, the countryside was brown and dry. Both scenes represent Jig choosing to go through the abortion, or Jig not choosing to go through with the abortion. Another example is, “Then what will we do afterward?” (Hemingway 2). In this example, Jig asks what happens afterward, showing that she is at a crossroads, not knowing what happens next in her life. This simple yet powerful quote shows how the dialog reveals Jig being stuck at a crossroad.
To have the whole world is to have what you most desire in life, each and every person has their own desires thus everyone has their own version of having the whole world. In Jigs case, her whole world is her unborn child. For example, “We can have the whole world.
No, we can't.” (Hemingway 3). This example shows how Jig's world is her child, her significant other attempts to explain that they will be better off after she aborts the child, however Jig feels differently, denying every attempt to make the situation better. Another example is, “No, it isn't. And once they take it away, you never get it back.”(Hemingway 3). In this example, Jig is explaining how once she loses her unborn child, she will never get it back. Showing how she can and never, will be the same again if she goes through with the abortion.
While the story is from a different time period, its rippling effect can be felt in our modern age. Even though abortion has become a lot safer and a lot more main stream, it is still a very diffiult decision for women across the world to make. Also, it leaves entire families at crossroads in life, facing the choice to abort their unborn child or not to, and whatever choice that is made will impact them for the rest of their lives.
Works Cited:
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills like White Elephants”. 27 August, 1927. https://faculty.weber.edu/jyoung/English%202500/Readings%20for%20English%202500/Hills%20Like%20White%20Elephants.pdf. Accessed on 17 April, 2020.
Human beings are unique creatures with immense emotions and biological needs. Within society, humans must coexist with each other in a world filled with conflicts and differences. However, the outside forces of the world can take a toll on the relationships human beings share, and as a result, these relationships range in complexity. Relationships are not easy, and they require a lot of compromises., both parties may not always walk away happy after a disagreement. For instance, the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway focuses on the complex relationship between a man and woman concerning their fears of pregnancy and the possibility of creating a family. The characters share two different views on the idea of getting an abortion. Hemingway's simple dialogue and minimalistic style of writing stem the true nature of the couple's relationship and the burden of a life-changing decision.
ReplyDeleteThrough the story's setting and dialogue stems the notion of "Life At A Crossroads," as well as the difficulty of making "Life-Changing Decision." Interestingly, the story's setting correlates with the themes of these analogies. For instance, the story takes place at a train station in Barcelona, Spain, in which a couple is waiting for the next train to Madrid. It is not until the end of the story that the reader realizes that the train symbolizes the relationship between the American man and the girl, Jig. Throughout the story, there's this tense discussion between the man and woman about an "operation" and the state of their relationship. They are stuck at this crossroads on whether they should have an abortion. During the 1920s, abortions were illegal yet an increasingly common operation during this time. The dialogue between the characters is very uneasy. The male appears to be very assertive and adamant on Jig's getting the surgery. On the other hand, the female appears to be uncertain about her decision, she does not know what she wants. She states, "And if I do it you'll be happy and things will be like they were and you'll love me?"(Hemingway 3). Not only is she not certain about the procedure itself, but she also is not certain that their relationship will improve if she was to have the operation. Thus, her pregnancy is like a white elephant. A white elephant, despite its beauty and uniqueness, it is a burdensome gift, in this case, a baby. Thus, they are unable to come to a clear decision by the time their train comes. Their crossroads are between having a relationship and enjoying the world or settling down and raising an unwanted infant.
Furthermore, the characters seem to have this strange illusion in their head, that once they have this operation that their problems will be solved. Everything will go back to the way it used to be, and they can move past this stage in their life. They have this unrealistic happiness in terms of making important life choices and living freely without responsibility. They do not understand the consequence nor the effects an abortion will have on their relationship. Besides, they are not communicating how they truly feel about the situation. For example, the American character states once Jig has the "simple operation," they could have the world. In return, she states, "No, we can't. It is not ours anymore"(Hemingway 3). In a way, if they lose that baby, they lose the possibility of having a family, a home, and a life together. Additionally, Jigs will lose a piece of herself and realize the false sense of happiness she has in her relationship. From the beginning of the story, Jig realizes that her relationship lacks communication, love, and meaning. She states, "That's all we do, isn't it-look at things and try new drinks?"(Hemingway 3). Thus, how can they have the world, when they do not even have a true connection. When you have the world, you have power, control, knowledge, and limitless opportunities. You are free to do as you please with no limitation, but to lose it is to lose yourself. You lose your soul and life's greatest accomplishments like a family, a home, and marriage. Like in the world today, many people are afraid of commitment and marriage. Once married, an individual can no longer live a single lifestyle. Everything will revolve around an individual and their partner. Some people are terrified by that type of commitment. In a marriage, an individual vows to be there for their partner "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, till death" due them part. Marriage is life-changing decisions that many millennials feel they can not commit to. Similar to a baby, marriage is a path that one must choose to undergo and understand both the sorrow and happiness it brings.
ReplyDeleteWork Cited
Delete"Hills like White Elephants." (1927). from Men without Women. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Web.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWaldina Lopez
ReplyDelete4/16/20
Hills Like White Elephants
Unrealistic happiness is when you are searching for happiness in something or someone but in reality that something or someone is hurting you rather than making you happy. Just like in “Hills Like White Elephants” Jig and her boyfriend are planning on having an abortion. They believe the abortion will bring them happiness. Although Jig is having second thoughts if she wants to follow through with the abortion. An abortion is a life changing decision. Sadly, Jigs boyfriend does not see abortion as being a big issue or seeing it as a life changing decision.
Jig is caught in a crossroads. She wants to make her boyfriend happy and maybe there is this unrealistic happiness if she does go through with the abortion. At the same time, she wants to have her unborn child. This is obvious when she says “And once they take it away, you never get it back” (Hemingway 231). "we can have the whole world" ... "No, we can't, it is not ours anymore". Jig knows she might regret getting an abortion because her world is now her unborn child and once they take it away she can never get it back and she would have lost her world. Like everyone says there is no love stronger than a mothers’ love. Even if Jig wanted to have her kid she would have to risk the fact that her boyfriend would leave her because it is clear he does not want to be held down by a kid. He wants to continue to explore the world but he cannot do that when he has a kid he has to support. Jig cannot risk this happening because this story takes place in the 1920’s and just like Stella in “A Streetcar Named Desire” she could not leave her husband because both women cannot leave their significant other because they depend so much on a man. Stella “So we’ll go to one of the little places in the Quarter afterward and you’d better give me some money” (Stella, 1854).
” This “saintly” woman is not virtuous on Badhwar’s view of the matter, as the woman is making obviously self-damaging life choices, while seeming devoid of a healthy amount of self-love.” (Paul 614). Paul states that women can make extremely hard life changing decisions while still having self-love for themselves. Jig does not show this because she is willing to make a life changing decision but she does not care what will happen to her. “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me.” (Hemingway). Having an abortion is a dangerous procedure and she has a high chance to die but she does not care about herself so if she does die because of this procedure she would not care. She would hate herself even more if she does follow through with the abortion because she would see herself as a murderer for killing her unborn child.
Work cited
Delete"Hills like White Elephants." (1927). from Men without Women. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Web.
Bloomfield, Paul. “Well-Being: Happiness in a Worthwhile Life.” The Review of Metaphysics, vol. 69, no. 3, Review of Metaphysics, 1 Mar. 2016, pp. 613–14, http://search.proquest.com/docview/1774544074/.
My second paragraph ends after Stellas quote. I also forgot to add another work cited.
DeleteMays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature . Shorter thirteenth edition., W.W. Norton & Company, 2019.
-Walidna Lopez
Deon Hoppin
ReplyDelete4/16/20
“Hills Like White Elephants”
Jig has found herself in “life at a crossroads”. Jig is forced to get an abortion because her boyfriend does not want to have kids. Although it seems like her boyfriend is making all the “life changing decisions”. She does not have a word in whether is she wants to go through with the abortion or not. Her boyfriend believes they will find this unrealistic happiness when they get an abortion. When in reality it could cause a lot more damage than brings them happiness.
“We can have the whole world.” (Hemingway). Jigs boyfriend believes if they do not have a kid they can do whatever they want and travel the whole world a drink all the alcohol they could ever dream of trying. They are from America traveling in Spain, seeing as they are waiting for a train that will take them to Madrid. It seems as the boyfriend is not ready to have kids because he wants to experience so much more and he feels as a kid will hold them back. Although Jig does not see it as that anymore. She does not seem to want to have the abortion which means she wants to have her kid and her world now revolves around her unborn child. “No, we can’t, it is not ours anymore.” (Hemingway). Jig is willing to give up her world to give it to her unborn child. So the baby can experience life at its best.
“I argue that the American culture myth of a systematic life plan fundamentally obstructs happiness, ultimately dominating and enslaving the individual in what Georg Simmel calls the tragedy of culture.” (Linda 24). A lot of people plan their whole life out believing it will bring them happiness and if something goes off course they will never be able to find that happiness they are searching for. Most of the time the plan people have don’t go as they planned. If a woman gets pregnant and they decide to keep it, their plan is thrown off course but they love their child so much they would not change it for the world. This is probably how Jig feels. She has fallen in love with her unborn child sadly she cannot be a single mother because back then women depended on men for everything. While women now a day could never depend on a man for anything at all. They can have a job and be able to support themselves and their kid.
Work cited
"Hills like White Elephants." (1927). from Men without Women. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Web.
Lazcano, Linda. “Myth of the Life Plan: A Search for Happiness.” Human Architecture, vol. 9, no. 1, Ahead Publishing House Okcir Press, Jan. 2011, pp. 43–53, http://search.proquest.com/docview/920095423/.
Great Job Scholars!!!!! Nice work! I enjoyed class yesterday!!!! I wish all of you a healthy and safe weekend!
ReplyDeleteIn the short story “Hills Like White Elephant,” by Ernest Hemingway, the complexity of human relationships is shown between the two characters and develops into the theme that is dealing with issues while at certain crossroads in life. This is presented when Jig, the main female who is pregnant, is presented with her struggling with the decision of having an abortion performed on herself while her significant other pressures her to go through with the abortion. While she is reluctant and wants to keep her child, her conflict is her significant other pushing her to go through with the abortion, “That's the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy." Jig is put in a much more difficult situation due to her boyfriend’s opinion in the matter. He claims that the child is the reason for their unhappiness and thinks that getting rid of it would provide them happiness. The complexity of their “human” relationship is the conflict between the two characters and Jig’s inner conflict with whether or not she wants to proceed with terminating the pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteFor the characters, the “unrealistic happiness,” is believing that they could possibly be happy even after going through the procedure. In his eyes, he believes that the abortion would provide them a happier future but realistically their unhappiness is much more deep-rooted. "I know we will. You don't have to be afraid. I've known lots of people that have done it," he uses this narrative to reassure the both of them but it doesn’t actually reassure Jig. Her boyfriend says to her "We can go everywhere," then Jig states "No, we can't. It isn't ours anymore." The boyfriend exhibits “unrealistic happiness.” To have the whole world, it means for you to be able to have all that you desire. Jig is doing something that she does not want to do but is being pressured into doing so by her boyfriend.
This piece is indicative of the time period it was written in, during this time, women were heavily influenced or put in positions that they weren’t happy in. Much like Jig, who doesn’t want to terminate her pregnancy but is only going through with the procedure because her boyfriend is pushing her too. Overall, she believes that because he believes that it is the right thing to do, she should definitely go through with it.
Work cited
"Hills like White Elephants." (1927). from Men without Women. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Web.
Lazcano, Linda. “Myth of the Life Plan: A Search for Happiness.” Human Architecture, vol. 9, no. 1, Ahead Publishing House Okcir Press, Jan. 2011, pp. 43–53, http://search.proquest.com/docview/920095423/.
Forgot to add the heading :
DeleteBismah Dhar
EGL102
Professor Mignano-Brady
Devin Scali
ReplyDelete4/18/20
Professor Mignano-Brady
Hills Like White Elephants
In this short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway the theme of complexity go human relationships comes up throughout the story. While reading this it seemed to show that the man had more of the control in this relationship. While they were taking about the abortion he seemed to be pushing towards her getting one. "I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural. Then what will we do afterward? We'll be fine afterward. Just like we were before” (Hemingway). This is showing how he was trying to convince her this was the right thing to do.
Also in this short story it shows unrealistic happiness. This comes up in a couple of different ways but the quote that shows this the most when they were talking about how they can have the world. "We can have the whole world. No, we can't. We can go everywhere. No, we can't. It isn't ours any more. It's ours” (Hemingway). She is trying to show how this baby could be really great for them and bring “the whole world” in a way. But on the other side of this the man is thinking the complete opposite and saying that it can and he thinks the best decision for them id for her to get this abortion.
There are some decisions in life that are absolutely life changing. Abortion would definitely be one of them. This is a huge thing and it has to be really thought about you cant just jump right into it. It would impact both of their lives tremendously. They were talking about how if she had an abortion that their lives could go back to the way they were but she isn’t convinced at all thats how it will be. It without a doubt more complicated then that
Cassandre Decady
ReplyDeleteProfessor Brady
English 102
17 April 2020
Don’t Lose Yourself
In Hills like white elephants, the complexity of the main character’s relationship is something that I was able to take note of while reading this piece. I was able to interpret some tension on page 230 when the male character says “well, let’s try and have a fine time” and Jig the female character replies “All right. I was trying. I said the mountains look like white elephants. Wasn’t that bright?” From those replies, I interpreted that there may have been some tension from both characters. After completely reading the piece I was able to understand the tension that was there. Throughout the piece, readers are able to get insight into the complexity of Jig and their partnership. Jig is pregnant and her partner wants to have an abortion. Although throughout the piece Jig gives some indication that she may want to have the baby, she will do what her partner wants because she cannot take care of a child especially because of how unconventional this was in the 1920s. It obviously was not impossible to do but it would be difficult because they were also an unmarried couple. Society during this time placed extreme judgements on people who had children out of wedlock.
At the start of the piece, the author creates a setting that I believe is meant to symbolize “ Life at a crossroads” and this very serious decision of keeping the baby or
having an abortion. The setting is set at a small establishment, almost a resting area before they continue their journey. This symbolizes the crossroads in which Jig and her partner stop at to make their decision. In the piece, the setting is contrasted with the descriptions of the “white hills” by Jig and the barren or empty valley. This may be an attempt by the author to symbolize white as life or rebirth, and the barren or empty valley may symbolize the abortion meaning death. If the decision of abortion is made it will cause an end to a life, therefore making it life-changing.
ReplyDeleteThe line in the piece where Jig says “We can have everything”, I believe that she was imagining for a moment that they could possibly keep the baby. I believe that for a moment that she forgot about society’s judgements or what was considered acceptable, she just imagined that it could be okay. When her male companion replied “No we can’t...it is not ours anymore”, I believe he meant that with a child they would be a living a different life than they currently do. Everything would be about the child so in his perspective, their life wouldn’t be there’s. In Jig’s perspective, I believe the whole world was the child, her relationship, and everything else. Losing the world to her may mean the possibility of losing much more than her partner believed. I believe she would even lose herself. In my perspective losing the world is losing true happiness. I feel that once you lose that happiness in this world you may lose sight of the beauty of the world. For example in this piece Jig seems to be on the track of losing sight of her happiness in her overall life because she wants to be happy in her relationship. She may even go as far as having an abortion to do that. If she does go through with the abortion she will be living with artificial happiness because that is not what she may actually want for herself.
Romana Pasha
ReplyDeleteHills Like White Elephants
The complexity of the human relationship in Ernest Hemingway’s the short story, Hills Like White Elephants, is the idea of male dominance in the late 1900s where women were more lenient towards the idea of pleasing men. The phrase, “life at a crossroad” portrays the idea of people, especially women, were invalidating their feelings in order to feel as if their lives weren’t at a “crossroad”. In the short story, Jig, a pregnant woman had to make a decision with her boyfriend about having an abortion. Throughout the story, Jig’s boyfriend was pressuring her into getting an abortion by stating, “It’s really an awfully simple operation Jig” portraying to the readers how often he invalidates Jig’s feelings. The idea of having unrealistic happiness is the false feeling one feels in order to please others. Jig had unrealistic happiness because of how the readers could depict how unhappy she was with her boyfriend who was pressuring her to get an abortion. Although her boyfriend seems to care about her wellbeing, the idea of him pressuring her portrayed how he wasn’t ready to handle his responsibilities and persuaded Jig constantly throughout the story.
To have the whole world means to have freedom. When you have freedom, you are able to perceive the world in your own shape and form. Jig did not have “her own world” because of how often she pleased her boyfriend throughout the story. Jig stated, “And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?” (Hemingway). Jig seems not to care about her feelings as much as she cares about her boyfriends which depicts to the readers how she had lost herself in a way. Jig represents the idea of how women felt in the late 1900s when their jobs were to please their significant others. To lose the world is to not have freedom which Jig symbolizes in the story. Jig lost herself in a way where the readers could see how uncomfortable she was with having an abortion. Jig had no say and had “lost her world” compared to her boyfriend who “made” her world.
The connection of ‘life changing decisions” and “human complexity” can be portrayed in modern day with society’s view of abortion. Back then, women didn’t have as much independence as they do now because of the mindset of pleasing their significant others. In today’s society, women are free and are able to choose to have an abortion or not based on their own viewpoints instead of choosing one over the other. Abortion is considered a life changing decision because of how you are able to choose if you want a child or not. Abortions are also normalized in today’s society compared to back then where women, such as Jig, did not state their feelings about having an abortion.
Ivana Davila
ReplyDelete04/20/2020
"Hills Like White Elephants"
Human relationship is a complex idea to wrap your head around. Every relationship has a different type of dialect between both parties. The way an individual reacts and expresses their emotion is all based on their past experiences and relationship. The morals and ideas influenced by multiple factors that could include society or other relationships with friends and family members. “Hills Like White Elephants” by Hemingway demonstrated the complexity of a relationship based on the dynamic. The American and the girl had a unique relationship. The girl is pregnant with the American's child, causing the American to try and convince her to abort their love child. Even asking for the abortion demonstrates the type of relationship the pair have with each other. "I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural."Then what will we do afterward?"We'll be fine afterward. Just like we were before."’ (Hemingway, line 66,69) The American is the dominant one in the relationship, the girl craves the relationship the two had. The girl is willing to undergo a dangerous abortion just for the illusion of how her relationship with her lover will be afterward. The fantasy of everything being back to normal is what gives the girls uncertainty aside. There is no way their relationship will ever be the way it used to be. The American and the girl have already changed so much from the moment she became pregnant. The response to the pregnancy of the two influenced how either party saw each other. The memory of the abortion will be forever what connects the two, something that will affect their relationship for the rest of their lives.
Unrealistic happiness is portrayed throughout the short story. The American has an idea of this unrealistic happiness that is filling his thoughts. "we can have the whole world" ... "No, We CAN't, it is not ours anymore”. The American truly believes in these thoughts that cloud his mind, his life will be how it use to be. Youth brings this feeling of freedom, these two were young and able to travel all around with no serious responsibility. The skies the limit in the mind of this young American in Spain. The American saw the only thing that was blocking him from achieving unrealistic happiness was the pregnancy. It was the girl who says the future of their lives, she understood the two could not live their lives like this forever. The thought of being worry-free with the world in his reach was the future the American wanted, yet the girl understood it would be impossible to achieve.
Life at a crossroads is a strong theme in Hemingway's piece. The setting of the was at a train station, with an American and a girl waiting for the train. While waiting for the train, the two are not just physically at a crossroads, but they are also at a crossroads with life decisions. The choice is between choosing to keep the unborn child or terminate the pregnancy as an attempt to bring normality back to their lives. The theme of life at a crossroads is a common one in the modern world. Many young girls today have to go through the decision of terminating a pregnancy or deciding to go on with it. These girls feel pressured a lot of times into aborting the child, just as the girl was. It is either society, family, friends or partner putting the idea of keeping the child or going on with an abortion. Unexpected pregnancies can almost always create some sort of crossroads. When the decision is such an impactful one, it can change the way the young person feels towards the topic of abortion and their outlook on life as a whole.
Gabriel Moses
ReplyDeleteEnglish 102
Fishbowl
04/16/2020
"Hills Like White Elephants" a fictional account written by Ernest Hemingway that portrays many conflicting themes. A reoccurring concept is the complexity of human relationships, throughout the story, we witness a couple struggling to communicate with each other. Jig is one of the main characters. In the story, she is in a relationship and is currently with child and is slowly being persuaded to have an abortion by her boyfriend. Jig's account begins with her travel by train to Spain. Throughout the story, she is faced with the dilemma of getting an abortion to keep her boyfriend happy or keep the baby. Jig uses the hills as a distraction from her current circumstances. She also uses the railroad to serve as a metaphor for her life outcomes. She ultimately has two choices either stick to her guts and keep the child or follow the boyfriend's lead. "Life at A Crossroad" is emphasized by the railroad tracks because they never cross and in a strange way Jig is trying to keep her relationship from going down a negative path. "Life-Changing Decisions" is expressed through dialogue by Jig's boyfriend saying, "It's not really an operation at all" (Hemingway 230). This line gives us a brief look into the couple thinking about having an abortion. Having an abortion will cause everything in their life to change. They just have to decide whether it will be positive or negative.
Unrealistic Happiness is best described as portraying to everyone that your life is great, but in reality, you are truly unhappy. The American has depicted unrealistic happiness by saying, "we can have the whole world"…"No, We CAN't, it is not ours anymore" (Hemingway 231). This line shows how the boyfriend is willing to tell Jig that their relationship will no longer be the same if she chooses to keep the baby. Secretly, he is using the idea of unrealistic happiness to get his way in the relationship. With Jig we can see that she isn't truly happy but pretends to be fine because she doesn't want to have a different stance to life than her boyfriend. For both characters, they appear to be hiding their true feelings behind the thought of having a baby. The American has a mindset that is clouded by one-sided thinking. If Jig was to abort to the baby, there would be some resentment towards the American which would cause them to slowly drift apart. Although the American wats her to go through with the operation if Jig was to keep the baby, he would also develop resentment towards her because he craves freedom and doesn't want to be tied down by another person. The American fears losing the world he views as theirs and tries to reclaim it, by suggesting the abortion.
“Life-Changing Decisions" and "Human Complexity" connect to our modern society through abortions. In the past abortions were something you couldn't bring up and it was a disgrace in many communities. In our present-day, it is illegal in states such as Alabama, Michigan, and Texas for women to have abortions. In the past women were dependent on men so they were more concerned with doing whatever makes the man happy, but now we have elections that help choose pro-choice leaders. Abortion is a consequential life-changing decision that requires a lot of thought and if a woman wants to go through the process, they have to deal with the negative aspects of getting rid of their child.
Work Cited
Delete"Hills like White Elephants." (1927). from Men without Women. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Web.
Eric Tavarez
ReplyDeleteThere is a certain point in everyone’s lives who has or will experience unrealistic happiness. Some know what true happiness is and there are some who think what happiness is. In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants" the setting of the story helps emphasize “Life at A Crossroad”. The American man and Jig are at a bar at a crossroad making life making decision about whether or not to have to baby. One wants to have the baby and the other does not. They are to separate paths just like the crossroad which will never meet both has a different path which will never meet. The dialogue between them also helps emphasize “Life Changing Decision”. The whole story is them talking about having baby or not. For example, “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me… I don’t care about me… Oh, yes. But I don’t care about me. And I’ll do it and then everything will be fine”(Hemingway). This shows that she will do everything for the American man by going down his path which she will think that she will be happy. It shows the unrealistic happiness in the relationship between them.
In the story it shows unrealistic happiness because Jig think she would be happy of having the abortion which is not true. In the story Hemingway says “"we can have the whole world" ... "no, we can’t , it is not ours anymore". Jig is saying we can have the whole world if they have the baby, but the American man say no we cannot if they have the baby. She thinks that if they have the baby is could bring in happiness and will make them happier. The man says that they cannot have the world because their world will become taking care of the child and not having just him and her alone. What having the whole world means to me is bring happy. Happy with everything in your life having things go your way all the time. Enjoying what you do every day and having someone by your side to brighten up your day and also being happy with yourself. I think that is what having the whole world means to me. And losing it I think the opposite of what I just said. Losing what you used to enjoy doing, losing the people you loved, not caring about yourself. Everyday just becomes depressing. I think that is what losing it means to me.
There is always a point in everyone’s lives that will have a life changing decision. One example could be going to college. College could change your life it could either be a good one or bad one. But mostly it would be good. Lots of people lives has changed because of college making them successful. For example, Tim Cook CEO of Apple is now worth $625 million dollars. He went to college to get a bachelor’s in science in Industrial Engineering along with an MBA from Duke. If he never went to college maybe his life would have been different. College isn’t for everyone but there are other things that could be a life changing decision.
“Hills like White Elephants” describe the communication difficulties between two people who are literally face to face with one another. Not one of language barrios, or an inability to hear what one is saying, but not being able to relate and feel each other out. Though they are having a conversation, neither person is on the same page, leading to an awkwardness that both try to ignore and avoid.
ReplyDeleteThe American and Jig are both in a Spanish bar having a drink together as they wait for their train to arrive. The American begins to engage in conversation with Jig, but very shortly after she begins to look outside at the mountains in the distance, saying that they look like “white elephants”. The American had never heard of them, and Jig then disregards her statement. And asks for more beer. Jig seems uninterested in what the American has to say to her, almost dodging his initial attempt to talk to her. Time and time again Jig will try and avoid the Americans first engagements to talk to her until he brings up having a procedure done. Though it is not stated, it is most likely about an abortion. Jigs constant need for reassurance about his attraction to her and sticking to a normal life as well as the American explaining that nothing will change show a barrier between them. The American begins to keep talking, to which Jig goes to agree with him just for him to stop talking, saying “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” It seems as if they cannot get to be on the same page.
Trying to communicate a life changing decision while not being able to hear each other out can lead to “life at a crossroads”. Both people know what each other is saying, but is either unresponsive to what is truly important in the matter or have no intention to really communicate. This is especially true in relationships where an argument can lead to both sides addressing different aspects of the situation but never fully understanding each other or dealing with the matter at hand. They may listen, but don’t hear one another, which is the main problem is disputes. Not being able to understand what the other is saying results in poor communication and a wall that blocks both people.