Themes In Hills Like White Elephants

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Dogs on Hills In the short story, "Hills like White Elephants," by author Ernest Hemingway who was published in 1927 writes about a couple waiting for their train to arrive. An American man and the girl he calls "Jig" in Spain. Throughout this story the American is trying to convince Jig to have a particular operation. Which the readers later find out is an abortion. On another note, in the story, "The Lady with the Dog" written by Anton Chekhov who was published in 1899 talks about an older gentleman who becomes fascinated by a married women. Although the protagonist disparages women and calls them "the lower race," he secretly acknowledges that he is more at ease in their company. Hemingway and Chekhov 's themes portray their views on women …show more content…
He enjoyed hunting, fishing, outdoor activities and of course writing. Hemingway published “Hills Like White Elephants” in 1927 in his critically acclaimed second collection of short stories, Men Without Women. Particularly his lifelong difficulty in building meaningful relationships was a focus point within his writing (Literary Resource Center 2). Hemingway 's ridged concept of masculinity definitely plays into the story and how the theme is presented to the reader. The idea that women are of the lesser, weaker sex and men must be rugged individuals or they do not add up to Hemingway 's …show more content…
They have the mindset that women are of lesser stature than men. Women are viewed as weak, confused, melodramatic, and easily influenced. In these stories, men are portrayed as rugged individuals. They have the final say in every decision as they feel they empower women. Each story also reflects the author 's lives. Both author 's have experienced multiple relationships with women and their stories reflect their personal views on women. They feel that their characters should posses the active manly lifestyle. After past experiences, they feel that they are far superior than women. This common theme that is shared between these two stories of feminism vs. masculinity is a controversial topic. It is controversial in the sense that there is no right answer to who is more superior. However, in the eyes of Chekhov and Hemingway, they are the more superior sex. For example, in Hemingway 's story, the American does not show any apathy towards Jig as she is a confused woman and did not know if she should go through with the abortion, but since the American was "superior," she was forced to agree to have an abortion. In Chekhov 's story, Gurov is viewed as a rugged man who does what he wants and does not care about being loyal to women and their opinions as he feels he is far better than him. All in all, both stories reflect their views on feminism vs. masculinity as

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