As discussed yesterday in class, the theme linking these two stories is obvious: abortion. However, I am interested to know why each of you think the actual word wasn't mentioned in either "The Hills Like White Elephants" or "Black Man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat." Why do you think this is?
Just like stereotypes, there are certain words that remain unspoken in contemporary society, though we are aware of their presence. What are some of these words? Why aren't they ever directly addressed, even though most people understand the meaning? Why do these words even exist?
Again, these questions are springboards if any of you are having trouble beginning a blog. What do you all really think about these stories? Not whether you like them or not, but WHY you think they are effective, i.e good literature. Or maybe you don't think they are quality pieces - I want to read what you all really think. Why do you think we are studying these particular stories?
In almost all my classes we just so happen to be learning about gender differences and gender inequalities. A main theme in this subject is mainly how women are enslaved and subordinate to men. What caught my eye about these two stories is how, yes in the Hemingway piece you do see a woman enslaved to a man, but in the Banks piece you get to see what the roles look like reversed. I found it very interesting that Banks chose to show the point of view of a man being enslaved to a woman. This general idea does not pop up in many stories or really in culture today. It is more common that the mother would want to keep the baby than the man, not the other way around. I liked how reading the two stories showed a contrast of this.
ReplyDeleteI was really surprised to even be talking about abortion in class. I was not fond of it neither was I for the stories. I think the book tried to give two different sides to back it up, but both stories made abortion look wrong, which I believe was not right. I’m not saying I’m for abortion or against it but I’m saying there was only one side in BOTH stories. I don’t think the actual word was mention because it is a very sensitive subject matter. I also think that just like you said, society may be aware of its presence but not be able to talk about it. It is probably for a reason though. No body really wants to hear anyone’s opinion on it because it is about what they think is right. I don’t think these words like abortion or sex are directly addressed because most people assume that you do understand the meaning. Also, it is not about being right or wrong on the subject; it is a personal opinion and therefore appears to be a personal matter not something that is openly discussed. It is affected in good literature because it leaves for mystery, as well as reading something that you would not normally read.
ReplyDeleteMeghan Viola
The word “abortion” was never mentioned in the story because I believe the author wanted people to understand and pay attention to his message towards pregnant woman and also enslavement. I also believe the word wasn’t mentioned in the story because it is a very sensitive topic to discuss. I consider these two pieces to be an example of good literature because the author allows you to think about the topic, rather than coming out and saying the actual word “abortion.” We see examples of enslavement in both of these pieces. In the Hemingway piece, we find that the woman is enslaved by the man. She explains to the man that she is only doing it for him because she doesn’t care about herself/body. I find it interesting how the woman in the story has no respect for her body. I believe this is an example of enslavement because the couple should be making the decision together rather than the man making the decision for her. In the banks piece, I find it interesting because we see it the other way around, the man is being enslaved by the woman. I find it interesting how the author wrote two different view points of this topic.
ReplyDelete-Amanda Bordiere
I think the word "abortion" was never mentioned in either of the stories because, the author was really just intending to get a message across, the reason why these women were doing what they were doing. Neither stories focussed on the actual abortion, but their reason for doing so. In each story it seemed as if the abortion wasn't their choice, just something they were willing to do because someone else wanted them to. In Hills Like White Elephants, the woman made it very clear that she would do whatever it took to make her boyfriend happy and make "things" go back to normal. She was enslaved by the need or want to make him happy. In "Black Man and White Woman in a Dark Green Boat" the woman was still letting her mother make decisions for her. The mother had complete control of her daughter.
ReplyDeletewhen i started to read the two stories from Hemingway and Banks i never realized they would talk about abortion because they never really mentioned it in the short stories. I think it was interesting because it made the readers think and ask themselves why wasnt it mentioned or what made these women want an abortion? They pretty much based their choice on what other people wanted to do. These women were enslaved by men. In Hills like White Elephants, the women wanted to do whatever made her boyfriend happy, and in black men and white women in a Dark Green Boat talked about how the mom wanted her daughter to have the abortion but the boyfriend wanted her to keep it. Both these stories explain how certain people with a situation are being controlled by someone else and for them to make their own life decisions.
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ReplyDeleteThese two stories seem to tie very well with the previous story, The Accident. In all three cases, the authors pull away from the actual issues, either death or abortion, to focus more on the events and reactions that arise when different types of people are presented with these problems. Either by avoiding personal involvement or focusing on something completely different, the stories make the point that those involved would find doing anything else would more comfortable than dealing with the reality of death.
ReplyDelete-Will McMullan
I feel that both stories portrayed an excellent view of our true male stereotype. Whenever there is a story of abortion, whether it be on the news or in a book, the man is always the one who is looked down upon. The woman is never thought of the sexist pig who just wants to get rid of something that could potentially ruin their life. I believe the man is always given a bad impression in this scenario, but in reality, it takes 2 to tango, so to leave all of the blame on the man is a complete insult and should be something that is looked down upon on both the man and woman of this situation.
ReplyDeleteThe reason that the word abortion is not used in either of these stories is because they are older and back in the day people would not think of abortion. Other words that are not used in society like abortion are gay marriages, illegalizing marijuana, and sex. These topics are not really talked about on television and radios because of the negative outcomes. The words above are not really talked about because of all the problems they might cause in society. These words do exist because they do happen even if people do not talk about them a lot. I think we are reading these particular stories because people are starting to talk more about these issues. Also more people are open about the words above and to help us understand them we can read stories on them. I think this is good literature because it is about real life and how people struggle to make hard decisions that are life changing.
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