Elements of Comparison between Hill’s Like White Elephants...

Both â€Å"Hill’s like White Elephants† by Ernst Hemingway and â€Å"The Birthmark† by Nathaniel Hawthorne have many common elements of comparison between them. The main element of the stories that will be compared is this thought of an operation. Both stories stem from these two operations and the comparisons derive from how the women react and respond to the two men in the story. Both stories are comparable by the common theme of a life changing operation, how the women first react to the operation and how the characters develop throughout the stories. There is a common theme in â€Å"Hill’s like White Elephants† and â€Å"The Birthmark† of a life altering decision. Both women are thinking about having an operation that will affect them for the rest of†¦show more content†¦This makes it seems as though she doesn’t have a complete say in the matter and that she wants to do whatever will please the American. Jig is putting off her own thoughts and catering to what the American wants which shows her passiveness and submission to the American. Alex Link also gives us a good example of Jig’s submission when she says â€Å"Will you please, ... please, please stop talking† (Hemingway ---)? Alex describes this dialogue as a request rather than a demand, and that â€Å"it is made optative by its modal use of â€Å"would† and the repetition of â€Å"please,† emphasizing both the urgency of the request and its powerlessness† (68). This powerlessness shown by jig’s response expresses that she still wants the Americans consent and she isn’t making her own demands. This kind of agreement and submission to the American is also shown in â€Å"The Birthmark† when Georgiana tells Aylmer that If there be the remotest possibility of it, let the attempt be made at whatever risk. Danger is nothing to me; for life, while this hateful mark makes me the object of your horror and disgust† (Hawthorne 3). She says this even though she feels content with herself and she doesn’t believe that the operation is necessary. Georgiana has no reason to remove the birthmark from her face, she is simply being submissive toward Aylmer and his requests. Jules Zanger gives more evidence of Georgiana’s submissiveness in the beginning of the story by noting that â€Å"The