Complex Relationship between the American and Jig in Hemingway’s Hills

The Complex Relationship between the American and Jig in Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† In Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants†, the American and Jig are like the tracks at the train station, they can never meet. While Jig represents fertility, life and continuity, the American represents sterility, dryness and death. Unfortunately, Jig depends emotionally on the American – as many women depended on their male counterparts in the 1940s – and lacks the autonomy and willpower required to openly affirm herself in their relationship. As they struggle to find common ground, the very discussion that can bring them together only tears them apart. The differences in each character – in their personality, means of communication and desires – truly emphasize the constant opposition that burns between them, this very opposition leads to the couple’s inevitable separation, as Jig discovers herself and her independence through the dilemma at hand. The ubiquitous conflict between the American and Jig is underlined by the tremendous differences in their personality, communication methods and desires. In the beginning, the environment seems relaxed, neither, the American nor Jig, is speaking. Jig is looking out at the scenery that is â€Å"brown and dry† (paragraph 8) – like their relationship – as the American orders drinks. Unlike the American who is disconnected, Jig seems to be imaginative, intuitive and connected with her world, while she gazes out the window, she remarks that the hills â€Å"look like white elephants† (paragraph 9). At this point, she seems to have something on her mind: white elephants are believed to be rare and precious, although they require much upkeep, commitment and sacrifice, e... ...g and the American is what eventually tears them apart, they have different needs and desires and this, in turn, allows Jig to discover her independence, despite the difficult choice she faces. After having weighed everything, Jig would have probably had the abortion. Regardless of whether she leaves the American or remains forever unhappy with him, Jig’s decision is made: she takes a final stance and acknowledges – in an ironic tone – â€Å"I feel fine†¦ there’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine† (paragraph 110). The question of self-affirmation has been solved here, as she looks to her own self, her own happiness and her own will to look at things as they are. WORKS CITED Hemingway, Ernest. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants†. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 4th Compact Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008. 290-293.