The hill like white elephants, the emotions of a girl

 Set in Spain in 1927, there was a guy and a girl in a train station, waiting to go to Madrid so that the young girl could get an operation. From the annotations from the story, it is known to the reader that this girl is getting an abortion. Though there is no mentioning the ages of the characters, based on the keywords "girl", and "man", it looks to me like it's a very young girl, possibly a teenager, and an older man. Whatever has occurred, presumably an unwanted pregnancy based on the quotes by the man, especially when he mentions the fact that things will be just like the way they were before. And that they will be happy again because this "occurrence" is what makes them unhappy. The man seems agitated and the girl seems very unsure of getting this operation done. Perhaps her motherly instincts are kicking in, and the last thing she wants to feel is shame and regret about getting the presumed "abortion". In 1927, abortion was illegal in the US, thus the nationality of the man. There is no mention of the nationality of the girl, but since she didn't speak Spanish one can assume she is also American as well. While the man seems sure of this operation and it seems like he is being pushy for her to get it, she on the other hand seems very uncertain. She seems very nervous and very unsure about the operation. In the end, it seems like the decision is definitely made and she ends up having the operation but judging by the demeanor of the man, most likely they will not continue the relationship and move on with their lives. 

In this story, the couple is described to be drinking beer, possibly to calm their nerves and to drown out whatever doubts each character might feel. Going deeper into this story, since the topic is an operation, we can make an almost accurate assumption. The operation is indeed an abortion. Abortion signifies the end of life and a termination. This can also be viewed as where their relationship is headed. The end of life equals the end of their relationship. 

Comments

  1. Hosna AhmedJanuary 13, 2025 at 8:03 PM

    Hi Vanessa, your post captures the emotions the wife is going through and her desire to be a young girl again because of the stress she's enduring in relation to making the decision on the abortion. You mentioned that this story has to do with abortions which I also agree with but it wasn't quite clear early on and it took quite a bit of reading to figure it out. I think you've also done a great job at capturing some of the societal norms and including that context in your post because you spoke about the culture related to abortions in the 1920’s along with how the girl being American impacts her decision. I think your post captures a lot of the intricate multifaceted issues in the story and I liked it a lot so thank you so much for your amazing post.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Story of an hour, a dream that did not come true

 During a time when women had no voice, Kate Chopin wrote a delicate piece called "The Story of an Hour". Due to the name of the title,one can assume that this occurred within 1 hour, the hour that changed multiple people's lives. Let's start with the main character, Mrs. Mallard. A young, presumably attractive housewife with a heart condition. Upon learning of her husband's death, she locks herself in her room, and weeps briefly before the realization hits her. She is a widow, which means she no longer has a husband. She is no longer oppressed or considered someone else's property. Though she is aware that her feelings are taboo and she kind of feels guilty about feeling this newfound joy, she cannot but help feel free and overjoyed. She starts fantasizing about her new life and realizes that she will live for herself, with no baggage or anybody else to hold her down. She opens her window, and takes in the visual of nature, from the bright white clouds to the...
Read more

The Lesson, was there really a lesson?

 This story takes place in New York City during the 60s presumably. Ms. Moore, an educated black woman, takes the neighborhood kids on a trip to FAO Schwartz, a high-class ritzy toy store located in an upper-class neighborhood. Sylvia, the main character is observant about the prices of these toys and makes a mental note on how expensive they are and how they cannot afford them. Perhaps Sylvia did not know a world like the rich didn't exist before the trip, since she was only exposed to her surroundings as we see. She gets angered and frustrated and maybe feels a slight shame or embarrassment of being of a low social class. Ms. Moore wanted to teach the kids a lesson about social class and social inequality, which they can clearly see its true existence during this trip. However, what Ms. Moore does not teach them, is that these kids CAN get out of the lower social class, with proper education and training. It's sad to see how the end of the story doesn't make it clear if S...
Read more