Personal Response to Hills Like White Elephants
As I read “Hills Like White Elephants,” I could not help thinking of my sister, Jesse. ... “And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me? ... ” His lies, like this one, sound caring and meaningful, but they are really just sugar coated selfishness. ... He was like a snake pretending to be a sweet little puppy. ... She said things only when she thought he would like them, she did things only if she thought he would like them. ... He had to choose to accept responsibility for his actions or to pretend like nothing happened so he could keep his party life. ... He told her that everything would go back to like it was before and that he did not want anyone but her. ... ” David, like the man, promised Jesse that everything would be better that way, that there was nothing complicated about it and would be selfish for her not to. ... Jesse reached out for the support of others in her family and friends, while Jig felt like there was no one else. ... Hills like White Elephants made me think of what it may have been like if Jesse had made a different decision. ... Like Jig, she may have stayed trapped in her lifestyle. ... After all, the man seemed to care about her, just like David, but she just did not realize that he only said those things in hopes of keeping his lifestyle the same. ... I wish that I could show girls like Jig that there is more to life than a wild lifestyle with a man that does not love you.