final draft

Communication between the sexes

Introduction

The story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is about a man and a girl bored while drinking and having a very scratchy conversation. The conversation between the man and the woman seems very casual, calm and relaxed but does not connect them emotionally. Their mode of communication creates a barrier between the man and the woman. Their conversation helps bring out Ernest’s demonstration of the difference between men and women.

From the conversation, we can feel the pressure between the man and the woman. It is very clear from their chat that each one of them is finding a way to fault the other one. A very uncomfortable situation is detected in their conversation. According to Pamela Smiley (1988), by looking at how the dialogue goes on between the two characters, one will realize the struggling power in communication differences between men and women. Pamela also asserts that the problem was there before and still exists today. The disconnection that exists in their conversation is super huge indicating the gap that exists in the way men and women communicate (gender difference). There is no flow in their conversation. Each conversation is halted prematurely and they choose topics which do not even have meaning. For example, the girl says “I want to try this new drink. That’s all we do, isn’t it—look at things and try new drinks?” “I guess so” the man said. The girl looks across the hills” and that how that conversation is halted. Both characters stick strongly to their nature. With both characters in this story, no one is ready to untangle from his or her nature and be free in their conversation to create a meaningful understanding chat.

In the story, the term ‘jig’ used here is sarcastic. The word jig indicates a happy dance. The conversation going on does not represent happiness at all. The girl is pregnant and clearly this is not a happy time for her. The conversation going on here is all about abortion, which does not indicate a happy moment for her at all. The two characters appear to have an unwanted problem which the man demands they should get rid of. “That is the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing made us un-happy” there is no any king of joy here. The word abortion is strictly dodged by Ernest clearly to communicate how repulsive and dirty the act is. Even the title of the story refers to the unwanted kid in the womb when the white elephant is signified to as an undesirable gift.

The style of gender communication is also clear. The American is portrayed as omniscient, knowledgeable, worldly and always in control of himself and the situation at hand (Assemi, Asayesh, & Jabraili, 2012)), while many times in the conversation the girl tries hard for the man to give assurance and confirmation. For instance, when she talks of the mountains far away she asks him “Wasn’t that bright?”. This sounds like she wants the man to praise her in her skills of communicating. Another case is when the girl comments “That is all we do, isn’t it?” a lot of times in the conversation, the girl tries to justify what she says because she is not justified with the way the man responds to her. To some extent, it is like she feels disapproved and that is why whenever the man jumps to another topic, she does not resist.

The true emotional state of the girl is not stable. This is because of the constant persuading of the man to get a n abortion done. This gives her a lot of tension and agitation. The man constantly says “It’s really an awfully simple operation, jig,” the man said, “It is just to let the air in”. sometime later he says “…It’s all perfectly natural.” Then later he says “I know it’s perfectly simple”. Even if it were me in the shoe of the girl, all these words seem just a mere comfort and it is clear that things are not as simple as the man tries hard to put them. Even if when the story ends the girl says that she is fine, I don’t think its true but rather one of the twisted style-of their conversation and it is a very strong understatement that depicts the real emotions of the girl.

The feelings between the man and the girl are totally different. It is also clear from the conversation that they are hiding their real agendas which seem to oppose each other. While Jig is content to fantasize about what could be and focus on her “emotions, and impression”, the American is focusing on “acts” and “proof” only. Those elements lead him to believe that this is the best course of action for them to take (Smiley 3). It is evident that the man can’t wait for the child to be gotten rid of, while the girl appears so undecided and unaware of what to do. She seems so in trouble. For instance, the man says “We will be fine afterward. Just like we were before” then the girl asks “What makes you think so?”. This indicates that the man is so sure of what he wants done but the girl is confused.

This man acts so selfish. He only cares about his comfort ability and good way of life. Clearly, however, because the American undoubtedly views a child as a “while elephant” while jig no longer sees it all, this shows that they have a huge difference in opinion (Hemingway 36). All he does is use all types of tactics to convince the girl to accept the operation. He tells her “It’s really an awfully simple operation jig.” And then later he tells her “It’s the best thing to do. But I don’t want you to do it if you don’t really want to.” He seems a man who wishes that the girl says yes. But the way the girl replies to his constant tactics shows that she is aware of what the man wants. She even goes to an extent of telling him “Can’t we maybe stop talking?” this shows a person who prefers not to hear anything of the rationale and examination of why she should get rid of the child. He lacks the sympathy and understanding she needs during the crisis (Assemi, Asayesh, & Jabraili, 2012). This is a clear indication that the man about the feelings and emotions of the girl, because stills he goes on persuading her.

The story also brings out the way women communicate. In the conversation, the girl is not straight and decisive. She is wavering throughout the conversation. The questions she asks are those of a person who is suspicious and unsure. For example, after the man gives her an assurance that the abortion is going to be safe and simple she asks “What will we do afterwards?” she seems to ask for advice that she does not want to follow. Even when the man is done assuring her, she will jump to another question which indicate her despair in the whole issue. She is a woman who wants to decide on her own but goes looking for confirmations.

The girl is not sure if the man is going to have the same feelings for her after she goes through with the abortion. She seems to have too much concern of what will happen after the operation. For example, she asks “What will we do afterward?” the man answers “We’ll be fine afterward. Just like we were before” then she asks “What makes you think so?”. It is clear that she wants total assurance that everything will be fine and the same after the abortion. She appears to question how sincere the man’s words are. But that is required of her since all the man does throughout the story is pressuring her to carry out the abortion in order to get rid of an unwanted burden which to him seems to be an inconvenience to enjoying life and being comfortable.

The girl is not fair to herself here. She is making it seem like the decision of the man matters more through the numerous questions she asks even after numerous assurances. The man being with her in the future seems to be the pillar of the decision she is going to make. She should have a decision of her own. She should also understand what is best for her in order to have a say in this whole issue. She is the one pregnant and letting someone make the decision for her might affect her at the end of the day.

Conclusion

The dialogue between the man and the girl communicate a lot in this story. Understanding of the dialogue brings an understanding of the theme of the story. Through the issue of abortion, the differences in gender and the communication differences between sexes is made clear. The tension the man gives the girl shows the power between a man and a woman. The girl also handles the tension with a lot of sarcasm simplifying the communication relationship between the two characters.

Work Cited

Assemi, A., Asayesh, M. E., Jabraili, A., Sheikhzade, M., & Hajmohammadian, M. (2012). Women Ignorance in Short Stories of Hemingway. In International Conference on Language, Medias and Culture, IPEDR (Vol. 33).

Hemingway, E. (1927). Hills like white elephants. Men without women, 39-44.

“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway from Charters, Ann, Ed. The Story and its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. 6th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.

Smiley, P. (1988). Gender-Linked Miscommunication in" Hills like White Elephants". Hemingway Review, 8(1), 2.