Arts Paper 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Arts Paper 1 - Essay Example â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants,† had aroused a sense of empathy in me towards Jig. From her eyes, I saw the point of view of a girl who wished to turn into a woman by making her personal choice towards motherhood. As the idea of conception had always been biological, the idea of motherhood in these changing contemporary times had evolved. In times where women find equal right and opportunities in the American society especially in the time when the story was set, I saw that to Jig, to become a mother or not to become a mother should be a woman’s choice as an individual—not imposed by nature, not imposed by society, not imposed by her other half. Whether she wanted it or not, the choice belonged to her. I saw Jig’s first argument to her decision to become a mother as the valley had been described as â€Å"the country being brown and dry.† With this allusion I saw Jig’s view of her life; it did not resemble anything full of life and beauty. It was the stage of her life when she kept on traveling with her lover, the American, enjoying pleasures life can offer—alcohol, sex, travel—but I thought she saw it something â€Å"dry† and empty. Although it occurred to me that Jig wanted to pursue motherhood, there was a counter-argument to her decision. The country indeed looked brown and dry, but her other choice were â€Å"hills like white elephants.† White elephants had connotations about something grand, something pretty but the owner cannot get rid of yet it would be so costly to keep. In other words, her other choice, the baby would be like a white elephant to her. It would cost her a lot to raise the baby—time, effort, her pleasurable life—if it would be her choice. Even though Jig wanted to make that choice, to her, there was a dilemma: her lover, the American’s contention. In order for them to be together, at least for him to stay with her, Jig should have an abortion. The American views their