In Timothy D. O’Brien’s criticism of Ernest Hemmingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants,” he concentrates mainly on how allusion and word play contribute to the central conflict of the short story. The story mainly consists of the dialogue between the American and Jig. The choice of the nickname Jig, along with the repetition of certain words such as “know” and “fine” stood out to me while reading the story. In addition to the word choice, the train never comes at the end of the story, leaving it open for interpretation. The O’Brian discusses these word choices in “Allusion, Word-Play, and the Central Conflict in Hemingway’s ‘Hills Like White Elephants’” used by Hemingway in “Hills Like White Elephants” play a huge part in the overall conflict
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Jig is indecisive because she is conflicted between pleasing the man and doing what she wants to or needs to do. That may be one reason why she is referred to as “the girl,” because she is immature and cannot make the decision on her own. Even more, the man calls her by a nickname that does not seem to have any romantic meaning. According to O’Brien, the man calling her by the nickname Jig suggests a negative connotation. He talks down to her by saying, “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig… It’s not really an operation at all” (Hemingway, 539). When the man refers to the abortion he uses words that dismiss it, like “simple.” This not only makes the operation sound insignificant, but he acts like she is making a big deal out of nothing. Furthermore, the word thingamajig refers to a name that is forgotten or unknown, which also contributes to how she is viewed by the man. He sees her as a passing dance or unimportant part in his life (O’Brien, 21). How the man views her is important to the conflict because the abortion is a decision they need to make together, on the same page, but he cannot help but see her and the abortion as a trivial part of his life that he wants …show more content…
His speech is distant and mechanical, while hers is emotional and perceptive. When she sees the white elephants in the hills, he says, “I’ve never seen one,” and the next time she alludes to the hills he changes the subject (Hemingway, 591-92). He sees the situation as black and white, either she has the abortion or she does not go through with it. She, on the other hand, sees it as grey, because of her want for them to be happy like they used to be, to “have the whole world” (Hemingway 593). The girl tends to speak in metaphors, like that of the hills, and the man stays “goal-oriented” and “logical” in his speech (O’Brian, 20). O’Brian writes of how the man’s speech is that of a “western male” and how Hemingway’s use of the word “reasonably” additionally shows an “exaggerated version of the male approach to the problems of life” (20). The dialogue in the short story agrees with the general idea that women are more sensitive and men are more cold and removed from the situation, making this conflict more real and relatable throughout the
Jig is indecisive because she is conflicted between pleasing the man and doing what she wants to or needs to do. That may be one reason why she is referred to as “the girl,” because she is immature and cannot make the decision on her own. Even more, the man calls her by a nickname that does not seem to have any romantic meaning. According to O’Brien, the man calling her by the nickname Jig suggests a negative connotation. He talks down to her by saying, “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig… It’s not really an operation at all” (Hemingway, 539). When the man refers to the abortion he uses words that dismiss it, like “simple.” This not only makes the operation sound insignificant, but he acts like she is making a big deal out of nothing. Furthermore, the word thingamajig refers to a name that is forgotten or unknown, which also contributes to how she is viewed by the man. He sees her as a passing dance or unimportant part in his life (O’Brien, 21). How the man views her is important to the conflict because the abortion is a decision they need to make together, on the same page, but he cannot help but see her and the abortion as a trivial part of his life that he wants …show more content…
His speech is distant and mechanical, while hers is emotional and perceptive. When she sees the white elephants in the hills, he says, “I’ve never seen one,” and the next time she alludes to the hills he changes the subject (Hemingway, 591-92). He sees the situation as black and white, either she has the abortion or she does not go through with it. She, on the other hand, sees it as grey, because of her want for them to be happy like they used to be, to “have the whole world” (Hemingway 593). The girl tends to speak in metaphors, like that of the hills, and the man stays “goal-oriented” and “logical” in his speech (O’Brian, 20). O’Brian writes of how the man’s speech is that of a “western male” and how Hemingway’s use of the word “reasonably” additionally shows an “exaggerated version of the male approach to the problems of life” (20). The dialogue in the short story agrees with the general idea that women are more sensitive and men are more cold and removed from the situation, making this conflict more real and relatable throughout the