Hills Like White Elephants Rhetorical Analysis

Pamela Smiley wrote an article called “Gender-Linked Miscommunications in Hills Like White Elephants” that explains the dialog differences and the frustration that occurs between opposite sex conversation, for instance the man in the story is precise, straightforward, and has low emotional content, but Jig is imprecise and tries to tie in emotions. Smiley indicates in the article that men are more goal-based and women may tend to be emotional oriented. This is significant because it shows how women can often submit to a male, rather than follow their own decisions. Possibly one of the most interesting facts pointed out that happens in Hills Like White Elephants is that Jig exhibits dependency on the American, which is something I did not notice

before. This is significant because his language becomes distant and he answers Jig in short sentences which means he could be trying to withdrawal from her and her needs because he doesn’t want to be trapped as the only one she can rely on. Smiley points out that Jigs dependency on the American could have gotten to be too much, because he truly only has two objectives, which is to keep the appearance of them joining in a decision, but yet really wants Jig to get the abortion and Jigs bind is that she wants both her lover and child. Smiley takes this perspective and explains that there is basically four characters in Hills Like White Elephants, the Jig who is creative, affectionate, and nurturing of the female language and the Jig who is hysterical and manipulative to the male language, then the American is a power oppressor, cold, and hypocritical to the female language, and the American that is stoic, sensitive, and intelligent to the male language (Smiley, P. pg. 10). This article shows the differences in how males and females think and how the communication barrier leads to bigger misunderstandings. Noticing this pattern of the male being straightforward and cold suggests that Jig stating “I’ll do it. I don’t care about me” is also a part of this collation in terms of outcome, by this I mean the outcome of the males language towards Jig makes her agree with him, even though she is jeopardizing her own future and this is could be seen as manipulative to the male.
Sherlyn Abdoo writes in the article “Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants” that the drink Anis del Toro shows the different views that each character has on the baby. First she states that this drink is very bitter, because of the wormwood that it is made out of (Abdoo, 239). She then compares the lover’s relationship prior to the conflict has having a “first sweetness” and then brings up the bitter conflict or pregnancy, but stating the story “emphasizes not only that life’s bitter taste is caused by late and inadequate fulfillment of desire, but that the long, bitter aftertaste obscures the memory of its first sweetness” ( Abdoo, 239). The American man’s view on the pregnancy is bitter like the “wormwood” in the drink, but Jig see’s the pregnancy as bittersweet which is why she continues to drink it, and in theory lets the reader know that she wouldn’t mind keeping the baby. Knowing the significance of the drink and how it means different things to each character changes the way the reader interprets other sayings by Jig. Jig stating that she is “thirsty” suggests that she is longing for something, such as the baby and is surprisingly similar to her drinking because the “woodworm” is bitter(sweet) in terms of outcome. By this I mean Jig wants to keep the baby and believes that hard times have good ending. Noticing this pattern of subtle hints of wanting the baby with Anis del Toro and drinking suggests that the American wants to drink with Jig for a different outcome. The American and most people know that drinking while pregnant is something that should not be done, but he wants to continue drinking with Jig because he feels like this means she has decided to keep the baby, but in reality it is the opposite.
Lewis Weeks states the significance of the hills and the white elephant in his article “Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in Hills Like White Elephants”.

He states that the first time the hills are mentioned they are literally mentioned as being “long and white”, but the second time around they are compared to the country side which is “brown and dry”, which symbolisms the limitations and aridity of the couple’s relationship (Weeks, pg. 75). A surprising fact that he put together was color symbolism which included the drink tasting of (black) licorice and the white elephant, contrasting the difference between sorrow and joy with the colors used. This again related back to the brown and dry countryside and how up and down the relationship between the couple is. Weeks also compared the white elephant to something that is unwanted or given away, because this is how the male sees the child, but Jig sees the child in comparison to Buddha’s mothers dream where she envisioned a beautiful white silvery elephant. This is all significant because it shows that the male sees things that are dark such as the drink as a positive rather than the beautiful hills and the meaning of the white elephant. The reader gets a sense of how much the male does not want Jig to keep the child and how awful their communication with each other seems to be. Referring back to the color symbolism having a purpose of showing the reader the “good side” and “bad side” of every reference and color selection made, suggests that Jig stating “wasn’t that bright” fits into this data collation because the purpose of the word bright to show lightness and joy which is what Jig feels about being pregnant even though it is not directly stated. It is important to see that Jig is the one trying to remain hopeful, despite the manipulation she is receiving from her

lover.