Crystal Williams
Eng 102
RRQ#1: Each story describes a relationship between a man and a woman. What message do you think these authors are giving about romantic relationships and friendships? What in the stories helps you support that this is the message they are communicating?
I feel that the authors are trying to teach the readers what love is, and to recognize when it is not around. Would you compromise your body to stay attached to someone else like Jig from Ernest Hemingway's "The Hills like White Elephants"? Would you try to forgive infidelity like Magda from Junot Diaz's "The Sun, The Moon, The Stars"? Or would you stick around with someone you resent like the female protagonist in "How" by Lorrie Moore? In "The Hills like White Elephants" Jig starts out as a submissive young girl that dances with the idea of having an abortion to pacify the feelings of her significant other. She wants him to stay with her and to love her (line 58). She hopes that having this abortion will save their relationship. There seems to be a shift in her attitude by line 79 where she states "It isn't our's anymore." This line shows a different side of Jig, one that accepts her situation and makes a decision to shape her life. By line 97 her mind is made up and she decides to go along with the abortion. I feel that she realized something that I saw as a reader: her boyfriend is a jerk. There is no way he can tell you that he loves you in one breath, but in the next ask you to have an abortion. He even downplays the magnitude of the operation on lines 41-42. I do not think that Jig knew what love was or is. She begs for his affections and even tries to reason with him about the child (line 92). Jig is in a abusive relationship and does not seem to know it. In "How" by Lorie Moore, the female protagonist stays with someone that she does not want. I did not know what to think of this one. I was not sure whether she was really selfish or just evil. She cheated on her boyfriend (line 10) and only stayed with him because he got sick (line 30). She wanted to leave so bad. She wanted any way out. The protagonist does things like "think about leaving" (line 15) or tries to convince her spouse it is over (lines 27-31). This lady seems despondent and as if she does not have a loving thought in her head. What I do not understand is why wait so long if you do not want to be with him? Why waste his time? She is a just as big of a jerk as the American in "The Hills like White Elephants", and Magdas' boyfriend in "The Sun, The Moon, The Stars". She did not have a real reason to give a snap until her spouse got sick. Even when she did that, it was more for her feelings of self righteousness. Her boyfriend put up with her not having sex with him (paragraph 12), and taking out her anger on him. He is not her punching bag.
I also feel that the authors demonstrated how evil either gender can be in a relationship. In "The Sun, The Moon, The Stars", Magda has a terrible boyfriend that cheated on her. Her whole family knew about it. This man practically embarrassed her entire world. The woman that he cheated with (Cassandra) sent her a letter detailing everything. It broke Magda apart. How selfish can you be to do something like that to a woman the main character himself describes as a saint (page 5). In "How" the female protagonist has a man that loves her and she just can't wait to get rid of him. There are so many woman (or men) that would kill for something like that and she treats him like day old bread. In "The Hills like White Elephants" Jig's boyfriend is more concerned about his bachelor-hood then a unborn child. I'm starting to think that these stories have wanting for self in common. In relationships, it is important to know that the person you are with has your best interest at heart. If Magdas' boyfriend had her feelings first he would not have cheated. If Jig actually had a loving spouse (or a backbone) they wouldn't even have to worry about an abortion. If the woman in "How" would have just left that man alone from way before he got sick, she would not have wasted his time or her own. Each of the authors did a good job showing the other side of hurt and pain. The authors also demonstrated how selfish and self serving a spouse can be. The message I got from these readings was to pay attention and make sure your spouse is really your spouse.
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