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Essay 2
In Hemingway's short story "Hills like white elephants", it describes a dialogue
between an American and his girlfriend who is young and named Jig. It happens when
they are waiting for a train from Barcelona to Madrid in a bar. In their dialogue, they
frequently mention an operation, but Hemingway does not tell us directly what the
operation is. However,the subtexts suggest that it is an abortion.
In their conversation, there are moments that reveal to us what kind of operation
they are talking about. First of all, the man mentions several times that it is an awfully
simple operation, and many people have done that. He tries to use this excuse to
persuade Jig. And in their conversation, Jig says "And afterward they were all so
happy"(373). She uses the word " they", which indicates that the surgery is a thing
between two persons. And many people can have this problem and most of them
choose to have the operation to handle it. And it is actually a great solution to other
people. He also tells us how the operation goes. It is just to let the air in. Form this
point, we can guess that the operation is an abortion.
What's more, the man says "I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the
time"(373). I do not think a serious surgery like a heart surgery or a brain surgery will
allow a person who is not a doctor to go into the operating room. So it must be a
normal surgery with few risks. The most important evidence is a sentence the man
says " I do not want anybody but you. I do not want any one else." this sentence
implies that if Jig did not do...