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  • Essay / "Hills like white elephants: gender question and symbolic layer

    In the short story “Hills like white elephants”, there is a constant power struggle between the two characters. At first glance, the woman appears shy and resigned. to the fact that she will do whatever it takes to make the man happy. The man is seen as domineering and almost indifferent to the woman's feelings when making his argument for aborting the child. or the American, controls the decision of whether Jig will have an abortion or not, but through the dialogue about abortion, the symbolism of hills versus mountains and train tracks and baggage, Jig subtly implies that she has already been invented. the mind to keep the child.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayHemingway's use of dialogue between the two characters regarding the abortion procedure provides insight into the relationship. dynamics and position of the characters. The American begins the conversation by explaining to Jig how abortion is "terribly simple." This shows that he thinks she should do it and also how little he has thought about the operation and the impact it will have on her. Jig does not respond, which may be interpreted by the audience as a silent challenge to his comment. He continues to sneakily try to persuade her by saying that he knows many people who have done it and that the child will only make them unhappy, while she never gives him an answer, thus reinforcing the belief from the public that its position is as follows. she does not want to abandon the child. The purpose of this dialogue is to show the reader the decision American and Jig must make and how he tries to control her and persuade her to abandon the child. Another way Hemingway shows the conflict the woman faces is when their conversation turns to discussing the lands and hills they are looking at, as well as the symbolic meaning behind them. “The girl looked at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the land was brown and dry” (Hemingway). She then compares the hills to white elephants, which in some cultures are considered a useless or bothersome commodity, especially expensive to maintain or difficult to get rid of. By describing the earth as dry and brown, Hemingway uses it to symbolize infertility, which could be a worry that torments Jig's mind. What if she aborts this baby and can't have another? Stanley Renner of Illinois State University uses symbolism to describe the conflict as follows: “the hills on one side of the valley are dry and barren; those on the other side are described with images of living and growing things. Thus, by choosing to abort or have the child, the couple is choosing between two lifestyles.” The man is unaware of his internal debate and seems not to want to discuss it at all. The train tracks and luggage are the most striking symbols of the couple's decision. The train tracks symbolize the two different paths the couple could take: abortion or no abortion. Both paths are irreversible. Renner brings up an interesting point that the two tracks are not only two different paths they could take, but also two opposing views on abortion. “The two lines of rails represent the opposing choices available to them; the two sides of the valley represent two opposite directions in life, this side is the direction the American wants to follow and the other is the direction the girl wants to follow” (Renner). The baggage symbolizes the.