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Gabrielle Abel
Professor Lago
English 1500
17 February 2014
Through the Eyes of a Female
Ever find yourself arguing with a person about a book, television show, or maybe just
your opinion on something in general? We are all critics. We share what we like, what we
dislike; not realizing someone else could be thinking the complete opposite. Every single person
is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions. I may enjoy a piece of reading so much, while my
best friend could think it is complete garbage. There are many critical approaches a person can
use when analyzing literature. For example a person can analyze literature using a feminist
focus, race, culture or psychological approach. When analyzing these short stories Hills like
White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin; I analyzed
these poems using a feminist approach. When analyzing literature using a feminist approach a
person is looking to see how men and women are portrayed throughout a story. Men and
women have different ways of expressing their emotions that might not come across as being
what the opposite sex thinks of it.
When analyzing a piece of literature using a gender approach, try looking for sexual
identity, the roles males and females play, and the way a relationship between two sexes takes a
toll on the reading. Hills like White Elephants was a difficult short fiction to analyze because
the story had a hidden message. A young girl is put in a situation to almost choose a new life or
continue with her old one. Its almost as if she chooses the old life instead of losing the love of
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her life. And you think well be right and happy. I know we will (Hemingway 54). Shes so
in love and doesnt want to jeopardized her relationship, but at the same time having a baby
seems so much to her. In the end she only wants them to be happy together. Its not the male
acting as if hes careless he just wants whats best for the both of them.
As females, we see things differently than the opposite sex. Many things we may see, the
opposite sex may not. A man will always be looked at as the dominant figure no matter how
wrong or right he is. Men are manipulative; they will tell what we want to hear instead of what
we need to hear. Hills like White Elephants shows how a man can easily make a woman feel
as if she needs him. I dont care about me. Well I care about you. Oh yes. But I dont care
about me. And Ill do it and then everything will be fine (Hemingway 66). What is she
supposed to do at this point? She has the option of changing her life or losing the love of her life.
Its almost as if he gives her an ultimatum. You choose between bring a child into the world or
possibly losing your partner forever. If a guy really cares, he would never put you through
anything you are unsure about.
Men will always be looked at a certain way through a feminist eye. We have in our mind
that men are no good, but really it could be the complete opposite. The man in Hills like White
Elephants could be looked at as a jerk by his actions throughout the reading. Men often get
portrayed as the bad guy. After reading Hills like White Elephants a female could have
possibly called him a jerk for forcing the decision upon her. I dont care about myself. Well, I
care about you. Oh, yes. But I dont care about me. And Ill do it and everything will be fine
(Hemingway 66). He states that he clearly cares about this young woman and only wants the
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best for her. But its hard for a female to understand that because we already have this image of
men pictured in our minds already.
Ever just sit down and read a piece of literature, and wondered how the title relates to
everything youve just read? The title is the first thing you read, and from there you began to
develop analysis. A white elephant is something you will rarely see, probably never. The secret
message that not everyone may have assumed is that the girl is pregnant. The time period this
story is taken place in could have been when men and women werent supposed to have children
together unless they were married. Couples who had children that werent married were maybe
not accepted by the society. I said we could have anything. We can have everything. No we
cant. We can have the whole world. No, we cant. We can go anywhere. No we cant it isnt
ours anymore. The man doesnt want to be looked at certain way by society because hes
claiming their lives will not be the same, and that it would not be possible for the two of them.
The society gives males and females these roles that they have to live up to. The male
always has to be strong, have all the power. While the female is viewed as weak, plays the
victim role all the time. Many women are still fighting to get the respect we deserve. We are
looked over by so many men because they are seen as the superior one. We give men our
complete all; even love them more than we love our own selves. And yet she loved him-
sometimes. Often she had not (Chopin 15). This woman was tired of giving this person her all.
She has had enough and can no longer endure anymore. The husband has the upper hand in the
relationship; he is the one who works, while she sits at home and takes care of the house. She
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states that sometimes she wished she hadnt loved him, almost giving the reader the idea that
shes in an abusive relationship.
Times have changed, people grow, and things that may have seemed to be accepted
back then are different now. The roles of men and women are different now. Things are
different between men and women now. A woman doesnt need a man by her side anymore,
now hes look at as only an accessory. She said it over and over under her breath: free, free,
free (Chopin 10)! In this relationship, the woman is taking as if she is only a house wife, while
the man is the money marker. If she left him what funds would she have to support herself? It
may have been possible that in this time period the roles of men and women were different. Men
made the money; women took care of everything else. Women needed men back then a woman
was not able to support herself without one.
As times have progressed, women have changed; changed the way they think and how
they look at men. We live in male-oriented world (McMahan 1088), no matter how much a
woman can progress she will always be looked down upon by a male. As male and females may
express themselves, some of the things are taken differently in each others eyes. I analyzed
Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway and Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
using a feminist approach. Identifying how the roles of males and females are portrayed
throughout the short stories, or how women express themselves. Feminists critics are able relate
their own experiences to how a female may feel in a story. There are even times were feminist
critics identifying the wrong women do in a story, which many people may not have seen.
Feminist critics are determined to change the world for all women not just in literature but the
actual universe.
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Works Cited
Brizee, Allen, and Tompkins, J. Case. Feminist Criticism. The Purdue Owl. Purdue U Writing
Lab (2010): February 24, 2014
Chopin, Kate. Story of an Hour. The Literature and Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan.
Boston: Pearson, Tenth Edition. 2014
Hemingway, Ernest. Hills like White Elephants. The Literature and Writing Process. Elizabeth
McMahan. Boston: Pearson, Tenth Edition. 2014