Lopsided Relationship with Communication Problems

Lopsided relationship with communication problems

In Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" indicates that there is a communication problem between the American man and the girl (Jig). The author showed that it was a lopsided relationship. The American man wanted to travel and live a joyful life and the girl wanted to settled down and start a family. In the short story it can be argued that the girl is actually depressed because she does not want to have an abortion and is being pressured.

In the American man eyes he felt that he was young with a full life ahead of him. He just didn't want a child to get in the way of that because it would stop them from traveling and seeing the world. Is it really fair to the girl if she has an abortion just to please the American man? The girl has the right to disagree with the abortion but is scared to tell her true feelings to the American man. The girl want their life to be the way it was before she got pregnant and will do what it takes to keep the American man with her.

The girl is confused about weather is she should have the baby or not. It is depressing for her so she drinks and stares at the mountains. "The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry." They look like white elephants, she said," (Hemingway 114). This is an indication of depression and being confused.

The communication between the two main characters are more like a one sided conversation. The American man speaks and the girl listens; the American man spoke too much about the abortion that the girl told him to stop talking. The American man kept insisting on have the abortion and really never gave the girl the chance to think it over. Abortion is a hard decision to make when someone is trying to start a family.