The purpose of this blog is to express our thoughts and share ideas about the short stories and discussions in class. So get on the blog everyone, and let us hear your thoughts and opinions!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Respond to this question by the end of Tuesday.
What are your thoughts on the forms of control in Hemingway’s short story Hills like White Elephants? Please elaborate.
im not so sure what a form of control is and since noone else has commented yet, ill just talk about the story setup. i thought the way he dicted the dialog was very funny. it was pretty much "he said "she said" style. the way he never even mentioned what the topic of conversation was but that he let the readers figure it out tho, was interesting. to be honest i never would have guessed it was on abortion untill class on monday.
Honestly, I might need to brush up on the story a bit more, but it seems to me that it's more of a she doesn't care for herself rather than him trying to control her. I mean sure he wants her to get the abortion, but it also says that he wants her to want it also. She then responds that she would get it becasue she doesn't care about herself. So I think its more her not being in control of herself than any other issue.
I feel that the form of control in the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" was the control that the man had over the women. He was trying to convince the girl to have an abortion when she clearly did not want to have one, and was getting upset over talking about it but the man continued. Also this is the kind of control that you still see today in relationships. The man or woman tries to control what he or she does, which was what the man was doing with the girl in this short story. Also I noticed that the girl was controlling herself by saying that she does not care about herself and will have an abortion, because she doesn't care about her body. To be completly honest I had no idea what the short story was about until Dr. Pruss said it on monday! ~Nicole Treschitta~
Hills like White Elephants is a very interesting short story. It involves both enslavement and control. However, I will talk upon the control issue. This story focuses on two main characters: a man and his young girlfriend debating on abortion. The man tries to persuade and “control” the woman into having the abortion, being that her first decision was to keep the baby. Although the man gives various reasons why she should abort the child, the woman simply gives in to her partner’s decision for the mere fact of guilt, and wanting to make someone else happy besides herself and of course the baby. The woman allows the man to control her psychologically in to having the abortion.
I think he couple was into a very nomadic lifestyle. they both seemed very young and, especially her, naive. The fact that they are drinking throughout the whole story and she's pregnant affirms that. I don't think the man is manipulative at all, I think that he's being put in a very awkward position and doesn't know what exactly to say or what to do. He loves the girl, but he doesn't want a child. A child would change their relationship. But he also wants to support her. He says that all throughout the story. I think that she is just naive and too young to have a child so she knows she should get one but hesitates because she loves him and this might keep him around. I don't think either is being controlled by the other in any way. In fact I just think they are both a bit confused and in a very tough situation and don't know how to handle it. The women is controlling herself by saying she doesn't care about herself.
My reaction to this story is a bit negative, I didn't like it. At first I thought maybe she was having some sort of plastic surgery or other simple procedure. The story is very general and I didn't like that at all. I didn't know what I was reading about. Especially when she keeps drinking alcohol, how was i supposed to ever think she was pregnant with her poisoning the baby like that?
He is trying to persuade the woman into thinking the same way that he is. He doesn't tell her what to do, but he says what he wants, knowing that she's going to do it just to make him happy. For example, when he says, "Well...if you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to. But I know it's perfectly simple". By saying that he doesn't want her to do it if she doesn't want to, it makes her believe that it's all up to her. But really, he phrases it this way to make her believe that, even though he knows that all the things he says will influence her decision. She will make the decision based on what he says and he will get what he wants.
Great job, scholars! You folks are on the right track. You're thinking and interpreting the stories, especially Hemingway's story which is replete with symbolism and figurative language :)
Brianna, your insight about the man's manipulative nature is excellent.
The man seems to be playing some sort of mind games to exert his influence over a vulnerable girl. But he's not entirely to blame- as the saying goes "No one can take your self respect until you give it to them" by Mahatma Gandhi. And the girl here is naive. But then again, it's a part of growing up in a way. She'll probably, hopefully come out of this wiser someday though for the time being she's enslaved by her own sense of inadequacy??!!!
My thoughts of control in Hemingway's short story, Hills Like White Elephants is that the man is very manipulative. He knows exactly how the girl thinks and feels. She is insecure with herself and says things like "I don't care about me" and she only really cares what the man wants. He takes advantage of this. The man is in complete control and is fully dominant of where their relationship stands. He tells her to make the decision she wants to make but he is very sneaky. He keeps repeating "It's so simple" demonstrating how he keeps putting his opinion towards the situation and what he truely wants the girl to do.
My reaction to the story, "Hills Like White Elephants" was that the man was very controlling of the woman. He kept pressuring her into something that she clearly did not want to do. She only agreed with him to make him happy. He pushed and pushed until he got his way. The girl should not have fallen under his spell and she should have said what she truly felt about the situation instead of him controlling her decisions about her own body.
im not so sure what a form of control is and since noone else has commented yet, ill just talk about the story setup. i thought the way he dicted the dialog was very funny. it was pretty much "he said "she said" style. the way he never even mentioned what the topic of conversation was but that he let the readers figure it out tho, was interesting. to be honest i never would have guessed it was on abortion untill class on monday.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I might need to brush up on the story a bit more, but it seems to me that it's more of a she doesn't care for herself rather than him trying to control her. I mean sure he wants her to get the abortion, but it also says that he wants her to want it also. She then responds that she would get it becasue she doesn't care about herself. So I think its more her not being in control of herself than any other issue.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the form of control in the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" was the control that the man had over the women. He was trying to convince the girl to have an abortion when she clearly did not want to have one, and was getting upset over talking about it but the man continued. Also this is the kind of control that you still see today in relationships. The man or woman tries to control what he or she does, which was what the man was doing with the girl in this short story. Also I noticed that the girl was controlling herself by saying that she does not care about herself and will have an abortion, because she doesn't care about her body. To be completly honest I had no idea what the short story was about until Dr. Pruss said it on monday!
ReplyDelete~Nicole Treschitta~
Hills like White Elephants is a very interesting short story. It involves both enslavement and control. However, I will talk upon the control issue. This story focuses on two main characters: a man and his young girlfriend debating on abortion. The man tries to persuade and “control” the woman into having the abortion, being that her first decision was to keep the baby. Although the man gives various reasons why she should abort the child, the woman simply gives in to her partner’s decision for the mere fact of guilt, and wanting to make someone else happy besides herself and of course the baby. The woman allows the man to control her psychologically in to having the abortion.
ReplyDelete-Tahliah M. Davidson
I think he couple was into a very nomadic lifestyle. they both seemed very young and, especially her, naive. The fact that they are drinking throughout the whole story and she's pregnant affirms that. I don't think the man is manipulative at all, I think that he's being put in a very awkward position and doesn't know what exactly to say or what to do. He loves the girl, but he doesn't want a child. A child would change their relationship. But he also wants to support her. He says that all throughout the story. I think that she is just naive and too young to have a child so she knows she should get one but hesitates because she loves him and this might keep him around. I don't think either is being controlled by the other in any way. In fact I just think they are both a bit confused and in a very tough situation and don't know how to handle it. The women is controlling herself by saying she doesn't care about herself.
ReplyDeleteMy reaction to this story is a bit negative, I didn't like it. At first I thought maybe she was having some sort of plastic surgery or other simple procedure. The story is very general and I didn't like that at all. I didn't know what I was reading about. Especially when she keeps drinking alcohol, how was i supposed to ever think she was pregnant with her poisoning the baby like that?
He is trying to persuade the woman into thinking the same way that he is. He doesn't tell her what to do, but he says what he wants, knowing that she's going to do it just to make him happy. For example, when he says, "Well...if you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to. But I know it's perfectly simple". By saying that he doesn't want her to do it if she doesn't want to, it makes her believe that it's all up to her. But really, he phrases it this way to make her believe that, even though he knows that all the things he says will influence her decision. She will make the decision based on what he says and he will get what he wants.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, scholars! You folks are on the right track. You're thinking and interpreting the stories, especially Hemingway's story which is replete with symbolism and figurative language :)
ReplyDeleteBrianna, your insight about the man's manipulative nature is excellent.
The man seems to be playing some sort of mind games to exert his influence over a vulnerable girl. But he's not entirely to blame- as the saying goes "No one can take your self respect until you give it to them" by Mahatma Gandhi. And the girl here is naive. But then again, it's a part of growing up in a way. She'll probably, hopefully come out of this wiser someday though for the time being she's enslaved by her own sense of inadequacy??!!!
My thoughts of control in Hemingway's short story, Hills Like White Elephants is that the man is very manipulative. He knows exactly how the girl thinks and feels. She is insecure with herself and says things like "I don't care about me" and she only really cares what the man wants. He takes advantage of this. The man is in complete control and is fully dominant of where their relationship stands. He tells her to make the decision she wants to make but he is very sneaky. He keeps repeating "It's so simple" demonstrating how he keeps putting his opinion towards the situation and what he truely wants the girl to do.
ReplyDeleteMy reaction to the story, "Hills Like White Elephants" was that the man was very controlling of the woman. He kept pressuring her into something that she clearly did not want to do. She only agreed with him to make him happy. He pushed and pushed until he got his way. The girl should not have fallen under his spell and she should have said what she truly felt about the situation instead of him controlling her decisions about her own body.
ReplyDelete