FREE ESSAY ON ANALYSIS OF HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS

ANALYSIS OF HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS

ANALYSIS OF HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS
David Kenison
English 301 - 01
Stephanie Zuk
September 14th 2000
Who is the boss?
Society is pressuring people so much to succeed in life and to become someone they can
not be, that people act in any way they can to reach this goal. Often, they use power and
domination to show that they are important and can influence the world. Hills Like White
Elephants reflects the power of men over women. The plot, characterization and semic
codes prove this claim.
First of all, the plot of the story ' shows that the man has more control and authority
than the woman. Since he is the protagonist, he takes more space in the story. He has
more influence because he is the main character and because the story is based on what he
wants. His goal is to convince Jig to get aborted; so once again, he is more important
since he wants something in particular. On the contrary, Jig is the antagonist because
she is opposed to the idea of getting an abortion. She wants to keep her child, but her
husband is insisting so much that she can not transmit her opinion and express how she
feels. The plot of Hills Like White Elephants clearly demonstrates the power of men over
women.
Secondly, the man has more power than his wife because the characterization proves it
very well. The woman is very weak and consults her husband before doing anything, as if
she could not make a decision by herself. 
'What should we drink?' 
'Should we have another drink?
She is unable to use her judgment and has to have her husband's approval before doing
anything. Also, even though she would like to keep the child, she puts his feelings
before hers and would do almost anything to make him happy. 
'And you think then we'll be all right and be happy'
'And you really want to?' 
'And if I do it you'll be happy and things will be like they 
were and you'll love me?' 
She is willing to sacrifice what she desires the most to please her husband. This is a
very big sign of inferiority and being manipulated by her husband. She cares more about
his happiness than hers. Finally, the girl has no confidence in herself and does not
consider herself as someone important: 'I don't care about me'. On the contrary, the man
is very forceful and dominant. He is always repeating that everything will be fine but
deep inside, he only wants to get rid of the baby.
'But I don't want anybody but you. I don't want
any one else'
'I don't care anything about it.'
He insists that she must do the operation and is putting a lot of pressure on her.
'It's really an awfully simple operation'
'You don't have to be afraid, I know lots of people that have
done it'
'I won't worry about that because it's perfectly simple.'
He is so persistent and almost commands her to get aborted that she feels she has no
choice but to accept. He is also playing with her feelings by saying that things will be
great. He tells her he will love her and everything will be like they used to. Of course,
she is very tempted but still confused because she really wants this baby. He is very
manipulative and almost compels her to do it. His strategy is to repeat the same words 
over and over again to convince her:
' Well, if you don't want to you don't have to.
I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to.
But I know it's perfectly simple'
The girl is so fed up of hearing his persistent comments that she says: 'Would you please
please please...stop talking'. She feels overwhelmed and powerless about the situation.
The characterization shows that men have more power than women.
Finally, the author tells society that men dominate women through the semic codes ?. The
man is opposed to the girl. He manifests superiority while she is inferior. He has a lot
of influence, but on the other hand, she is being influenced. He wants the death of their
child, yet she wants him to live. He uses his reason to cope with the situation, but she
is much more emotional. He is strong and confident, while she is weak and fearful. The
man is very determined, but she is hesitant. Brief, the man has a more confident attitude
and uses his authority on his submissive, weak, and undecided wife. The semic codes
demonstrates the power of men over women.
In short, Ernest Hemingway transmitted the message that men control and dominate women
and it is noticeable through the plot, the characterization and the semic codes. Who is
the boss today? Are men still leading society or have women taken more room and have they
begun to influence a bit more the world?
Footnotes
1 Plot:
x = the man / domination
y = abortion / power over the woman
z = Jig / inferiority
2 Semic codes:
man / girl
superior / inferiority
having / being
death / life
reason / emotion
sterile / fertile
decisiveness / hesitation