male figure in Hills Like White Elephants is inferior to Jig, the female counterpart within the story, yet Jig's realization of her strengths against the male is her power to refuse having the abortion surgery. Of course, the story is never resolved and many critical analysts of Hemingway's story have sought to make a prediction about what decision Jig will ultimately make in the face of such a selfish and immature man; Rankin is no different. The orientation of his article is mostly analyzing the dialogue between the man and Jig, paying special attention to her responses and reactions rather than his. In this way, Jig is always the most important person within the story due to the fact that she is the one who is debating whether or not to have the operation. Rankin takes the position that Jig is stronger than the acts, but these displays of strength...
[ View Full Essay]