Hills like White Elephants is a dark, dramatic, writing, which left me feeling sad for the girl, “Jig”. The American man obviously just wants to have fun without any strings attached and wants his lover to terminate her pregnancy. The girl is reluctant yet wants the man to love her with or without the baby. He tries convincing her that life will go back to normal but in the back of her head she wants to have the baby but she also wants acceptance by her lover. Ernest Hemingway’s stories are simply written but they leave me with many mixed emotions. First of all, the man is trying to convince her it is safe, yet he really has no idea, he just wants the “burden” to go away. Second, she is drinking while she is pregnant, so obviously she is not too concerned about her unborn child. I feel if she had the support of her lover, she would be taking care of herself and would genuinely want her baby. This story must have been extremely provocative for the 1950’s, but feel many real stories like this happen in the common day. I do not like how Hemingway leaves his readers guessing: I want to know the ending of the story; did she have the abortion and stay with her lover? Or did she decide to have the baby and give up her “exciting life” with her man?
Hi Jessica, Thanks for the good post. "Hills" is definitely a strange, sad story, and Hemingway does not tell us what to think in the end. Almost like placing us in Jig's dilemma--what to decide, what to do. The mix of alcohol and pregnancy, though, might not have been an issue when Hemingway wrote the story in the 1920s because the effect on unborn children was not really known till the 1970s. But are quite right in believing that Jig gives up[ caring about herself. Good post. dw
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