Ballad Of Birmingham

Outline

Thesis: While the man and the girl begin, their relationship with little concern about what the future holds for them, and no limitations or rules with regard to each other, their forced to face the consequences of their carefree lifestyle when the girl realizes she is pregnant. The man proves to be cold, selfish, and manipulative as the girl shows herself to be naпve, confused, and genuinely concerned about the seriousness of their situation.

I. Characteristics of the man

A. Cold

B. Selfish

C. Manipulative

II. Characteristics of the girl (Jig)

A. Naпve

B. Confused

C. She is genuinely concerned.

On the Road Again

Character Analysis

by

Meagan D. Lasseter

ENC 1102-004

January 30, 2006

Defelix

Word Count: 1,012

Everyone has a point in his of her life when the time comes for him or her to make a difficult decision. In Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" (reprinted in Arp & Johnson 268-272) a man and a girl who are traveling around Europe without a care in the world must make such a decision. While the man and the girl begin their relationship, they have no limitations with regard for each other. They have little concern about what the future holds for them until forced to face the consequences of their carefree lifestyle when the girl realizes she is pregnant. The man proves to be cold, selfish, and manipulative as the girl proves to be naпve, confused, and genuinely concerned about the seriousness of their situation.

The man in Hemingway's story is worried about a pending abortion that he expects his lover to have. When the story begins, readers can see how cold the man is by the way that he speaks to the girl. When the girl speaks to the man, he brushes her comments off. In an attempt to make clever conversation Jig observes that the hills off in the distance "look[s] like white elephants" (269). Instead of trying to make her feel "bright", the man tells her flatly, he has "never seen one" (269). Rather than admit that he does not want the baby because of his own selfish reasons, the man tells Jig "That's the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy"(270). It is evident that he does not want this baby. The man cares more about his own well-being than the fragile state of his lover. The man is willing to manipulate his lover in order to be triumphant. He speaks very nonchalantly about the abortion. He keeps telling Jig that it is a simple operation, nothing to it really, when that is farther from the truth then one would think. Having an abortion not only takes a toll on one's body, but it affects their mental state as well. The man keeps telling Jig that she does not have to go through with the abortion if she does not want to, but in actuality, that is not what he wants. If Jig does not have the abortion, he will most likely leave her.

Jig wants what all women want, the American dream some might say. Jig wants the cute house with the white picket fence. Most of all, Jig wants a nice husband and a few cute kids. Jig is younger than her lover and naпve in her approach with her older man. She does not want to have an abortion and believes she can change the views of the man. She keeps hoping for the man to have an epiphany and realize that he really does want this baby. Jig is confused and torn on what her decision will be. Does she get an abortion because that is what the man wants, or does she follow her heart and tell him forget about