Literature review
The essay is about blending the ideas of the scholars who have made an interpretation of the story “Hills Like White elephant’ and determining the method of their analysis to agree or disagree with their opinion on whether the lady in the story took an abortion
Fredric Busch point of view
Theme on antifeminist
Fredric Busch interprets the story as being anti-feminist. He expresses the notion of men controlling and being superior to women. The American man says she loves the girl the way she is and doesn’t want anyone else but her. The man is to abortion but the lady feels she should not take the abortion. Jig has to make a decision, and to make her husband happy, she is most likely to have the abortion so as to keep the relation. The woman is to do what the man want and not according to her feelings. “Then I’ll do it, because I don’t care about me”
“The girl looked at the ground of the table legs and…..”She didn’t say anything. This shows the girl is weak and will be easily swayed by whatever the husband wants. It is like she doesn’t have a choice but to follow her husband and to proceed on to have the abortion
Symbolism.
After the conversation with the American about the idea of the operation, jigs stands up and move to the end of the station. She wonders what will happen after the operation. She sees the beautiful scenery across the other side. Fredric feels this is the other beautiful of their relation when the girl undergoes the operation.
When the train is about to arrives, the man takes both the language and carries
Them to the tracks where the other passengers were waiting for the train. He then moves to where she was sitting and asks her how she feels .she says, “ I feel fine” this probably shows the man won and jigs will probably have an abortion.
Use Irony.
Fredric uses irony. The title of the short story,’ Hills Like White Elephant ‘ is a beautiful and the story seems it will be nice. But as once you read the story, things start to change. The story is sophisticated complex and full of disharmony. The couples are in disagreement on whether to keep their baby or have an abortion. The title is completely ironical with the story. Unlike the beautiful title, nothing good is to happen and the girl is most probably will take an abortion
There is a bamboo bean curtain separating the people inside and outside the bar. It has the words ‘Anis del toro ‘ Written on it. Jigs asks the American man what its means. The man responds that it is a drink and they should try it .Jigs agrees and surrenders to what the man says . This shows also that she will also follow the American man’s say and take the abortion
Patrick Burchett interpretation
Use of dialogue
Hemingway narrates the story entirely through dialogue. He describes the characters in the story by what they say. The author gives scanty information about the characters background information and also on what happens afterwards. The view on whether or no the girl did the abortion lies completely on what is conveyed through the dialogue. Hemingway portrays the American man as mature, experienced and smart. On the other hand the girl is pointed out as weak, undecided and easily persuaded. From what we learn, it is most probably the girl was persuaded and agrees to have the pregnancy
Symbolism and plot setting
Burchett views the white elephant as unwanted gift or a curse that we must get rid of. He views this as the pregnancy that is uninvited and jig showed get rid of it. On their side , there was no shade, no trees the station was in between ,on the other side there were field there was river and trees. The plot setting shows life, and the challenges that comes on the way. We have make choices on whether to be on the barren or the barren side. the girl probably took the abortion so as to be on the happy side with her husband
Stanley Renner interpretation
Renner feels that ‘Hills Like White Elephant ‘ sympathisies with the woman and he sides with the girl and her values .he prejudices the idea of abortion and the idea of male’s selfish act of proposing for an abortion.
Symbolism
The hills symbolises the womb, and the white elephants symbolise that what is scare and beautiful hence valuable. Everyone would make a decision to cherish that which is beautiful and valuable. Pregnancy is and so the gift on a new baby and so Jigs is likely to make this decision and keep and treasure her unborn child
According to Renner life can be viewed as a train’s journey. You can decide to continue with your journey or go back Jigs has choices in her life. She can decide to have an abortion or to keep the baby. However this is an express train to Madrid and it doesn’t turn back. Train was to stop for only two minutes at the station and then continue with the decision Likewise Jig is to follow her mind and make her own decision of keeping the baby. She knows once she makes the decision there is no turning back. Once she takes the abortion she can never go back to having her baby back.
The bamboo bead curtain that separated in and outside of the bar is also symbolic and represented the opposing feelings of Jin who want to keep the baby and the American who is for the abortion. ‘Just let the air in’ from this we can also deduce the American simply means the lady has the decision to do what she wants. Jig stands up and walks toward the end of the station. She moves on to watch the other side of the station to discover her own feeling Renner interprets this as the girl is distancing herself from the male influence. Jinn will properly follow her insicts and follow what’s her heart is telling her-keeping the baby
The plotting, the scene endings looks just like a part in a film and we are unware of what happens before or after and this is let on the power of the reader to decide In my own views both the both Burchett and Fredric views are strong, and Jin could have probably take the operation to save on her breaking relationship.
Work cited
Bausch, Richard, ed. The Norton anthology of short fiction. WW Norton & Company, 2015.
Renner, Stanley. “Moving to the Girl’s Side of’Hills Like White Elephants.’.” The Hemingway Review 15.1 (1995): 27.
Rankin, Paul. “Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants.” The Explicator 63.4 (2005): 234-237.
