Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”: The Norton Introduction to Literature (Hemmingway 590), is a short story that plays out in a bar. My initial assessment of the dialogue between a man only described as an American and what I believe is his girlfriend named Jig is one of amusement. It is just an interesting, lighthearted banter exchange between two individuals over drinks, passing the time until the train arrives.
I was roughly half way through my initial reading when I slowed down to truly absorb the words. I took me a moment to realize the situation playing out between this man and women is actually quite serious. My original assessment of amusement suddenly morphed into one of heartbreak and loss. Not for the American, but for Jig his girlfriend. The American came across as a typical male to me. His approach with Jig is shallow and self-serving. He wants to remain carefree without any real responsibilities. Jig is a completely different story. I see a young woman trapped in a situation where she has to do whatever it takes to please her guy, even if it means losing herself in the process. It starts with her lighthearted meaningless conversation and transitions over with her façade starting to erode as the story unfolds. …show more content…
Jig’s comment is short, but powerful. Without asking the question directly, Jig asks the American in a roundabout way if she goes through the operation and things go back to normal that he would now love her. The American does comment that he loves her now, but Jig is more interested in going back to how it was prior to her dilemma. Jig believes that her and the American’s happiness is dependent on going back to how it was prior to the pregnancy. It doesn’t help that the American continuously repeats his statements to her about the operation in what he believes is
I was roughly half way through my initial reading when I slowed down to truly absorb the words. I took me a moment to realize the situation playing out between this man and women is actually quite serious. My original assessment of amusement suddenly morphed into one of heartbreak and loss. Not for the American, but for Jig his girlfriend. The American came across as a typical male to me. His approach with Jig is shallow and self-serving. He wants to remain carefree without any real responsibilities. Jig is a completely different story. I see a young woman trapped in a situation where she has to do whatever it takes to please her guy, even if it means losing herself in the process. It starts with her lighthearted meaningless conversation and transitions over with her façade starting to erode as the story unfolds. …show more content…
Jig’s comment is short, but powerful. Without asking the question directly, Jig asks the American in a roundabout way if she goes through the operation and things go back to normal that he would now love her. The American does comment that he loves her now, but Jig is more interested in going back to how it was prior to her dilemma. Jig believes that her and the American’s happiness is dependent on going back to how it was prior to the pregnancy. It doesn’t help that the American continuously repeats his statements to her about the operation in what he believes is