Ernest Hemingway Legend Essay

Ernest Hemingway is the ideal of an American legend, rugged, no-nonsense, with personal adventures rivaled only by those in his constitutebreaking fiction. His sparse composition style created a literary furor and his success came early and grew until the daytime he died. In addition to his canonical novels, Hemingway was also adept at short fiction, including one only six-words long. Besides, his male bravado, he also sliceaged to grow the alienating loads of advance(a) life in his fiction. The modern themes of miscarriage, feminism, and craziness are expressed simply and eloquently in Hills handle exsanguinous Elephants.In the short story Hills Like albumen Elephants, Hemingway explores modern disaffection in a tense discussion between a rival waiting for a hold in. Two Americans in Spain, the man is trying to atmospheric pressure the woman into some operation, though it is never revealed what this operation is. Throughout the tense, thus far sparse conversation, th e man insists she leave the operation, yet the woman resists. It becomes increasingly micturate that the operation they discuss may be an abortion, and the tension between the 2 symbolizes something uniquely modern. though abortions have been performed for centuries, it remained taboo until the twentieth century.Hemingway, though never specifically citing abortion as the subject in the story, displays the alienating effect it has on family relationships and couples Its really an atrociously simple operation, Jig, the man said. Its not really an operation at all. The young lady looked at the ground the table legs rested on. I know you wouldnt mind it, Jig. Its really not anything. Its just to let the air in (Hemingway). The man refuses to completely acknowledge the significance of the situation, perhaps suggesting either his refusal or dismissal of Jigs role as a woman worthy of making her own decision.According to critic Paul Lankin, as the man persists in opposing the continu ance of Jigs maternity, he grossly oversimplifies the issue, regular to the point of self-contradiction, calling abortion first an awfully simple operation and then not really an operation at all (234). His dismissive attitude speaks of a former socially pleasurable condescension by men towards women during a time when women were often treated as second class citizens. This frank discussion between the man and the woman seems only possible in modern literature and seems insufferable during Victorian times.The tension between the man and the young lady is palpable in the short story. Though they are travelers, imbibing alcohol and waiting for the train to their next destination, the conversation is filled with underlying themes of male dominance and female person perseverance. The man continuously belittles the girlfriends feelings towards the pregnancy, and his argument includes umpteen attempts at downplaying the importance. The man persistently tries to convince her, even t hough he seems to cloak sincerity in much of his words Well, the man said, if you dont want to you dont have to. I wouldnt have you do it if you didnt want to. But I know its perfectly simple (Hemingway). The girl does her best to contend with the man, believing that if she listens to him the relationship will be back to normal. She hides her worry with levity, including her comment about the hills flavor like white elephants. It becomes apparent that more than fear over the procedure, the girl is coming to the realization that her relationship with the man is not what she thought it was the girl clings to a dream of family and togetherness until the last minute, and terminally decides to give it all up as the requisite price of staying with the man-not knowing, as the reader does, from the many hints provided by Hemingway, that the man is likely to leave her, even if she goes through with the abortion (Hashmi 3).Her final declaration that she is fine is the affirmation that a ma n cannot dictate her womanhood and her life decisions. In the end, she becomes the one with the strength and wisdom, understanding that the relationship is forevermore changed. The newfound disconnect between the man and the girl will be permanent after this episode, exemplifying the theme of alienation brought by many modern decisions.Though the man believes that the only way to preserve the golden relationship is to maintain the status quo, even if it means aborting their baby, the woman disagrees. The American tries to make himself sound perfectly reasonable and rational, but as the negotiation continues, it becomes clear that he is both selfish and hypocritical (Overview Hills Like White Elephants).The couples disagreement, about something as monumental as creating kind-hearted life, is a clear sign that they have little that bonds them otherwise than their superficiality. The girl even comments in the beginning of the story how, Thats all we do, isnt it look at things and try new drinks? The man responds, I make believe so (Hemingway). Later, when the man claims that everything will be the same after the abortion and the baby is the only thing that made them unhappy, it seems like a avouchment lacking all truth.The very fact that keeping or aborting a baby is a choice, is a uniquely modern issue. The reality of having to even consider it completely destroys their carefree lifestyle as travelers in atomic number 63, and underlines their existences as solitary beings alienated from each other. Ironically, the man claims that he only wants her and no one else, but his statements seem insincere.The girl realizes their alienation from each other and the happiness they once knew with the claim that Europe isnt ours anymore, which expresses her knowledge that much(prenominal) an innocent return to a secularized American-in-Europe experience of time is impossible (Grant 3). Europe is not theirs to share, seemingly as if enjoyment is also no time-consumi ng theirs to share. The complexity of their modern dilemma illustrates the true distance between them.Hemingways story is one that could only be written during modern times. Though not many years removed from the Victorian Age, the themes of abortion, feminine independence, and modern alienation have continued to echo throughout the literature of modernity. duration short and devoid of lengthy descriptions, the dialogue and significant themes give Hills Like White Elephants a lasting power that only continues to grow as time goes by.Works CitedGrant, David. Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants and thetradition of the American in Europe. Studies in Short Fiction. summer, 1998. 25 July 2008. .Hashmi, Nilofer. Hills Like White Elephants The Jilting OfJig. The Hemingway Review. deliver 2003. 25 July 2008..Hemingway, Ernest. Hills Like White Elephants. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Lauter, Paul. 3rd Ed. capital of Massachusetts Houghton Mifflin, 1998.Hills Like White El ephants. Short Stories for Students, Vol. 6. The Gale Group, 1999.Lankin, Paul. Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants. The Explicator. Summer 2005 v63.