In Paul Rankin’s Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants, Rankin uses other sources to analyze Hemingway’s short story characters, The American and Jig. He approaches evidence of the man opposing Jig’s pregnancy, actually being rather inferior, and not contributing much to the story, as he doesn’t seem to have much to contribute to his partner’s pregnancy also. In this essay Rankin also brings to light the transition of Jig from merely a girl to nearing motherhood. “Is Jig merely ceding her will to the superior and dominant male’s, or is she, rather, manipulating him to her advantage by giving him the illusion of the upper hand?” This line poses an interesting argument on what Jig’s stance was in the passive argument the couple face on their journey through life.
The American is unable to understand Jig’s point of view. as subtle as Hemingway created the conversation, through careful analyzing, one can infer how it becomes heated and Jig becomes more passionate as she argues with her partner. The man treating her pregnancy as if it were an illness while Jig is referring to the unborn child as the “whole world.”
In the last paragraph, Rankin analyzes Jig’s Statement, “There’s nothing wrong with me.” We then begin to realize that perhaps the unborn child isn’t the symbolic white elephant but instead the man. The seemingly quick-tempered, irresponsible, and self-centered character is the real white elephant.
The American is unable to understand Jig’s point of view. as subtle as Hemingway created the conversation, through careful analyzing, one can infer how it becomes heated and Jig becomes more passionate as she argues with her partner. The man treating her pregnancy as if it were an illness while Jig is referring to the unborn child as the “whole world.”
In the last paragraph, Rankin analyzes Jig’s Statement, “There’s nothing wrong with me.” We then begin to realize that perhaps the unborn child isn’t the symbolic white elephant but instead the man. The seemingly quick-tempered, irresponsible, and self-centered character is the real white elephant.