American in Hills Like White Elephants

Readers often enjoy characters than they can relate to or look up to. For example, heroes and characters with good intentions are commonly found to be the readers favorites. However, characters who are insensitive or rude can also be memorable characters. In Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, The American is insensitive towards Jig, which makes him an unsympathetic character.

In the beginning, the American is insensitive when he states his opinion about the the decision Jig must make.

Jig and the American are sitting in the train station, when he suddenly brings up the operation: “It’s really an awfully simple operation Jig,’ the man said. ‘It’s not really an operation at all.’ The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on. ‘I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air The girl did not say anything.”

The way that the American abruptly brings up the topic shows that he does not have any regard for Jig’s feelings.

He tells her that the operation is “awfully simple,” when he isn’t the one actually having the operation done. After he shares his opinion, Jig won’t even look at him. She just looks at the floor. He goes on to say ‘I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig,” when she never actually said how she felt about it. This is insensitive because not only does he not listen to her opinion, but he tells her what she is feeling.

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Also, it is clear that Jig is uncomfortable because she looks at the ground after he tells her what he thinks she should do and then proceeds to not say anything to him. The fact that the American does not realize that she is uncomfortable, proves that he is not sensitive to her feelings.

The American is also insensitive in his responses to Jig. After much discussion, Jig asks for silence: ‘Would you do something for me now?’ ‘I’d do anything for you.’ ‘Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?”” He did not say anything but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had stayed. ‘But I don’t want you to,’ he said, ‘I don’t care anything about it.’ ‘I’ll scream,’ the girl said.

The only way Jig can get him to stop talking is to say ‘please’ seven times, which proves that she is fed up with him being rude to her, and shows that she doesn’t really expect him to listen to her unless she makes a big deal of asking. This also shows Jigs childish way of dealing with the American which could be the reason he doesn’t listen to her. He pauses for a moment, and looks at their bags rather than at her. This shows his blatant disregard to her speaking to him, as he is clearly distracted by something as simple as hotel labels on their bags.

Also whenever the American speaks, he uses “I”.This shows that he really only cares about himself, because he constantly says “I”, rather than “we” or “us.” When the American doesn’t stop talking after Jig asks him to, she threatens to “scream” which shows there is a lot of tension between the two because she is very frustrated, to the point where screaming seems like the only way she can get him to listen to her.

Lastly the American in insensitive in his actions. After the exchange where the girl asks for silence and can only get it by threatening to scream, the American removes himself from the situation rather than respecting Jig by giving her the silence she asked for, then goes to have a drink at the bar, alone. “He picked up the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks. He looked up at the tracks but could not see the train. Coming back, he walked through the bar-room, where people waiting for the train were drinking. He drank and Anis at the bar and looked at the people.”

This moment shows that while he does make the decision to keep the baby, by moving the bags the other side of the tracks, he is insensitive to Jig by going to the bar for a drink, alone, afterwards. The American having a drink at the bar is a form of communion and because he doesn’t do this with Jig, it shows that he may not really be committed to raising a baby with her. In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, The American is an unsympathetic character because he is very insensitive towards the girl in the story. He is continuously rude to her through his actions, words, and mannerisms. Readers can not easily sympathize with him because most people in his situation would be comforting towards Jig. However the way he is insensitive to Jig is striking to readers, so he turns out to be a memorable character.