There has always been an issue with equal rights whether you’re tall, short, skinny or chubby as long as you’re a woman you will always encounter a man who will always feel superior to a woman. Even though women have rights nowadays, there are still few of them who are still suffering from equal rights all over the place. In “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, you can imagine one day waking up and knowing that you and your lover are having a meaningful life together, which should be the happiest day of your life, and then everything brakes apart because of the trust in a relationship of letting the man decide of whether to abort or have the baby. “A Doll's House” by Henrik Ibsen, shows how a woman has to follow her husband's authority by not having the liberty to make their own decisions. Both stories reflect what women went through during the nineteenth centuries which is how men were a dominant gender living a fascinating life, while women were treated less than a man all over the world.
Hills Like White Elephants discuss the story of a man and woman drinking beer and anise liqueur while they wait at a train station in Spain. The man is attempting to convince the woman to get an abortion, but the woman is ambivalent about it. In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway uses different symbols to illustrate the opinions of others that affect the relationship and lives of others.
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A huge impact on society that the story Hills Like White Elephants states is how the actual relationship of two people can affect the life of an unwanted child. The relationship between the couple impacts a decision that any mother may be sad and upset about. In the story Hills Like White Elephants the girl has a conversation with her companion. (Weeks, 4). This implies that the two lovers' opinions and decisions have an impact on the relationship. The love towards each other affects all the decisions given throughout the book. Her asking him if he will still love her if they make this decision states that his opinion matters towards her life decisions. I feel like women today do not struggle as much as the girl struggles with her relationship with her lover. The nineteenth century was a difficult and harsh decay for women because they were not allowed to do everything they wanted to do, before doing anything their husband had to be her priority no matter what, and if you were ever thinking of going to places you first had to ask for your nineteenth husband's permission. As of today women all over the world can do anything they want for example, they can go to parties, work, gym, ect and the most important of all women can have their own personal time, meaning that they are free to get rid of stress by adding more flavor into their lives.
The article ¨The Conception Of Irreversibility¨ shows the criticism of how different were men and women during the nineteenth century. For example, “Hills Like White Elephants” reflects the difference of a man and a girl who chose between aborting a child or giving birth to the child. The girl explains two different points of views: one is keeping the child and what life could be or how life could be without the child being born. Throughout life people undergo many changes male and female, boys become men and girls become women. In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” there is a man and a girl. This girl soon becomes a woman soon after she realizes the truth about men.(Yirinec, 2).
“Hemingway Hills”, this article’s One main theme is the relationship between men and women during the nineteenth century in “Hills Like White Elephants.The man plays a role as active and the girl plays a role of passive. In this gender framework, the man makes the decisions and the girl obeys. At first the girl is resistant to the man’s emotional manipulation. She attempts to paint a picture of the future life she and the man could have together if they were to have a child. “The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun.” (Weeks, 3). Women of today have rights, as a result to this they are very independable and are more confident about making their own decisions, without worrying about not doing the right thing without the husbands or boyfriend authority.
¨There was a woman having a kid¨, this article demonstrates how women felt about abortion during the nineteenth century. At the end of the story the girl is no longer a girl after she responds to the man’s question because she already has decided what she was going to do with the child. The man asks about how the girl feels, although at the end of the story she assures him that she is “fine,” they both sense that no matter what she decides to do, their relationship will never be the same. (Cohen, 2). Abortion in the Unites States during the ninetheenth century was common and how women felt during this time was very controversal because, during that time abortion was considered a religious offense. Today abortion is not a huge issue as it was in the ninetheth century, it is however similar to how women feel about it as in today´s society.
In a relationship the guys and the girl's opinions both matter to make a good decision for them and others. But, in the story, they argue about the decision of accepting a life into the world or just not wanting him. There is an excerpt from the story that caught my eye that he says, “ that I don't want you to do it if you don't want to. And I know it's perfectly simple.” (Week, 4). This quote caught my eye while reading because, in my opinion, he decides for the girl and not taking on what she wants to do. In his perspective, I understand that he may not be ready to become a dad but they decided to love each other in any type away. His perspective and him telling her that he will be happy either way if she has the baby or gets an abortion affects the way women may view this story. This couple had money to go around and travel the world as stated in the article (Week,6). Many people are against abortion and back then in the 19th century abortion was illegal but available to those with the right connections and money. Abortion was illegal in Spain, where the couple was having their discussion. I can see the differece of abortion as of today, women just do the abortion, sometimes they do it without seeing the effect that can cause them in the future, is as if today there is a higher chance that women might keep the child rather than not having it. Today is so different from the nineteenth century, today women have more support from the government because women's opinions matter a lot and make a difference in today's society.
Hills Like White Elephants can have different symbols and can be viewed from different perspectives. This short story makes any type of life decision made or in the making affect the life of anyone or someone unwanted. The different types of symbols given throughout the story vary in the opinion taken by the viewer. (Cohen, 5). In my opinion, if a couple really in love and says that they are happy with each other decision, they shouldn't have decided to have the abortion. They should've loved that child more than the love that they both have towards each other. I think that the issues that women had in the 19th century reflect what today's women go through, everyone has their own story behind whether you are a man or a woman, it does not matter because life can be difficult sometimes. We sometimes think that our lives are a little harsh, but that's nothing compared to what women went through in the nineteenth century. Can you imagine how difficult for a woman in the 1900s life would be? I do not think so because the fact that they had to stay at home everyday doing the chores of the house,taking care of their kids, and missing all the fun that was outside besides their house, well that is harsh. What if their husband was at the bar or at a party with another woman, while you were waiting for him all night to have dinner with him? Doesn't that mean that maybe all the hard work that you did at the house for years was a waste of time?
The main theme to the story, “A Doll’s House” is reality vs marriage, deception, and society. (Farfan, 2). In ¨A Doll's house¨ the consequences of Nora's debt shows that she deceived her husband, as a result she then believes that marriages that are based on deception, do not last long because a wife can not borrow money without her husband’s consent. Women today do not have the same rules as in the nineteenth century, I mean a husband might somehow be bothered if they see their wives borrowing money, but it is not as if they will get angry and aggressive towards their wifes. Some women of today borrow money from someone else without even asking their husband permission, they do not see that as wrong because they know that they will pay that money back. Women in the nineteenth century were seen as an enemy, it was totally wrong to borrow money from someone else without your husband's authority and once you disobey that rule there was no turning back, because the damage was already made. For example, when Mrs. Linde tells Nora that “A wife can not borrow money without her husband’s consent” meaning that this was strongly wrong and unforgivable. ¨A Dolls House¨ shows that Nora could not do certain things without asking her husband’s authority of whether it is right or wrong, all of these symbolize the difference between a woman and a man during the 19th Century. (Farfan, 5)
¨The Role Of Women¨ this article mostly shows criticism between Nora´s and her husband's relationship. For example, people thought that Torvald and Nora were a happily married couple, and that their relationship was astonishing but the reality was that Helmer does not really love Nora as much as she did. Helmer tries to hide the reality by showing in front of others how he’s a great husband, and hides the real relationship that he has with Nora.(Thresher, 2). In today's society there are a lot of people that pretend to be someone they are really not. Both men and women sometimes care about what people think about themselves, rather than just being confident of who they are. I feel like women in the nineteenth century cared more about what people said about them rather than today. In today's society there is a more probability of chance that people will accept you by who you are, I mean there are still disadvantages going on about what people think about you, but today there are more things to worry about instead of just being all day judging someone else.
¨Hills Like White Elephants¨ and ¨A Dolls House¨ was mainly written to show readers what women went through during the 19th Century. Both the play and the story reflected how many women did not have a lot of rights, and they were considered less, meaning that men were preferable because they were more superior than women.
The nineteenth century was the heaviest and harshest time of all for women, because they did not have the same opportunities as of women today. Women in the 19 Century had to stay only in their house, while women of today can do both things; have a job, and take care of chores in the house. Today thanks to the equal rights amendment that was passed on March 22, 1972 which provided legal equality for both sexes, since that day women are equally treated as men do. After the nightmare and struggle that women went through at the end they found a door full of dreams and opportunities that they could accomplish.
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