Clash of Male and Female Differences in Hemingway Essays

In 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 through a river valley with hills on one side of the valley; dry and barren and those on the other side are described with imagery of living, growing thing; in choosing whether to abort or to have the child, the couple have to choice between two†¦show more content†¦Hemingway uses his characters to explain their surroundings. Only important details are put into the story: â€Å"Almost every detail of setting, even those that may seem innocuous, is a ctually demonstrating the struggle in the two main characters’ minds about whether or not to have an abortion.† (LoveBoat, The Setting of the Hills Like White Elephants). Through the dialogue of the story the couple’s attitude and respect about the conversation they are having indicates resentment and discomfort for one another. In the dialogue in the story it is obvious that the male’s language overpowers hers; â€Å"despite her sarcastic repetition of Know† (OBrien). The complicating factor in this clash is that the man’s knowledge is not informative but controlling towards the girl. The American in the story is characterized as callous and a typical male: always in control. He obviously does not care whether she has the operation; he even oversimplifies the operation pushing her to his side leaving her feeling like she needs to abort the baby. The American talks into the curtain to the barman; â€Å"Lets drink beer, Dos Cervezas† (DiYanni)the man asks for two drinks symbolizing that the American wants his life to stay the same; consisting of only him and the girl. If the girl goes through with the pregnancy he will feel as if he is a mountain; married and have to settle down. The girl on the other hand, is defined as submissive to the American and isShow MoreRelatedJohn Updikes AP and Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants1016 Words   |  4 Pagesthe world today. It is extremely interesting to realize that though love is treasured and valued, in most cases, it takes both genders to create love, and those genders are often separated by inequality. Both these themes coincide well together; the clash of love and gender inequality is interestingly captivating. In John Updikes AP and Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants, both stories send a conclusive message to the reader that equality between both sexes in love and attraction is almostRead MoreEssay on Biographical References in and Hemingways Male Characters3950 Words   |  16 Pagesfeaturing dominant male figures, Ernest Hemingway teases the reader by drawing biographical parallels to his own life. That is, he uses characters such as Nick Adams throughout many of his literary works in order to play off of his own strengths as well as weaknesses: Nick, like Hemingway, is perceptive and bright but also insecure. Nick Adams as well as other significant male characters, such as Frederick Henry in A Farewell to Arms and Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises personifies Hemingway in a sequentialRead More Censorship in Schools Essay3746 Words   |  15 Pagesthe issue of censorship. In the realm of the censorship of books in schools alone, several hundred cases have surfaced each year for nearly the past decade. Controversies over which books to include in the high school English curriculum present a clash of values between teachers, school systems, and parents over what is appropriate for and meaningful to students. It is important to strike a balance between English that is meaningful to students by relating to their lives and representing diversityRead MoreBlack Naturalism and Toni Morrison: the Journey Away from Self-Love in the Bluest Eye8144 Words   |  33 PagesA mericans without considering society s insidious racist attempts to retain black men and women as cheap sources of labor, whether enslaved or ostensibly free. A universal characteristic of Morrison s published novels has been her depiction of male and female protagonists failing or succeeding on the difficult journey to freedom through self-awareness. Of course, the struggle to realize one s identity has surfaced repeatedly in literature; however, Morrison s steadfast concentration on the importance