Jig and the Stream of Life in Hemingway’s “Hills Like...

I see many people as I wander through the streets, yet I can only hear silence. I see couples getting into a restaurant, order, check their smartphones, eat, and I wonder why they do not look up, face each other and genuinely communicate. What I perceive, are men and women living not with, but next to each other. This is exactly what I imagined when I read Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants†. A couple waiting to catch a train and as they sit and drink some beers, they start talking about Jig’s pregnancy and the option of abortion. However, all I can hear is silence because they simply do not speak the same language. They are both living in different worlds filled with divergent ideologies and opinions. As a result, the words do not†¦show more content†¦While the American, a practical man, looks at things in the function of their practicality and possesses little imagination. Furthermore, he is dominant, a know-all and a manipulator to the bone . He takes care of the luggage, speaks Spanish and orders the drinks, not Jig. When sitting in the bar drinking some beers, she looks off at the lines of hills and remarks: ‘†They look like white elephants,† she said. â€Å"I’ve never seen one,† the man drank his beer.’ (251). I think Jig is referring to a concept, using figurative language for a ‘white elephant’ is, in fact, an idiom for a rare thing of which the cost exceeds its value. In this perspective, it is an intertextual reference to the yet unborn baby. For the practical American, the baby is just a costly thing, but Jig does not share his view. She values life and nature. In contrast, her lover is talking about a real white, albino elephant. He cannot comprehend what Jig is referring to. When Jig utters her disappointment about the poor taste of the Anis del Toro, they have a quarrel that ends with him saying that they should try and have a fine time (252). Yet the way he puts it sounds more like a demand, an imposition. As the discussion goes on whether or not to abort the child, the American even appears to know that Jig wouldn’t mind to do it. A matter that is clearly linked to women, nonetheless, he knows: ‘it’s all perfectly natural’ (253). When, in fact, you could questionShow MoreRelatedHills Like White Elephants : A Critical Analysis1708 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Hills Like White Elephants†: A Critical Analysis Introduction: One of the many themes in his stories for which Ernest Heming way is known, includes feminism. At Hemingway’s time feminism was known as a famous movement and it affected many important writers like Octavia Butler and Virginia Woolf. Hemingway was a literary icon of his time and he was influenced by the political, social and human rights movements of his time. He was also touched by the hopelessness of women and how their thinkingRead MoreClash of Male and Female Differences in Hemingway Essays1796 Words   |  8 PagesIn â€Å"The Hills like White Elephants† by Ernest Hemingway, the theme of abortion is illustrated by the clash of a male and female relationship and the symbolic meanings of the Middle East. While in Spain the American and the girl are torn between one decision: whether to have an abortion or to have a baby. â€Å"The Hills like White Elephants† takes place in a train station in Spain. â€Å"The station [is] between two lines of rails in the sun†(Hills Like White Elephants-Litarary Analysis ). The rails run