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Peer Pressure

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Submitted By brandonb27
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Peer Pressure, it can be used on anyone, and be used by anyone. In "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway, it is even done in a relationship. Jig's unidentified boyfriend tries to manipulate her into getting an opertation done, by using peer pressure. The operation is assumed to be an abortion, and the unidentified boyfriend repeatedly tries to get her to get it done. He does not just ask her to have operation, he avoids the straight forward question, and keeps implying that he wants her to do it. In this story, it is easy to see Jig's boyfriend is trying to peer pressure her into the operation and he is not a person she should stay with because he only cares for him self, he can't handle responsibilities of having a child, and he seems like a very devious individual.

Jig's boyfriend only cares about his well being, this is based off of how he does not ask her if she wants to keep the child, and he just keeps trying to get her to get rid it. In a relationship, the couple should communicate, and tell one another how they feel about something; In this story, there is not any communication, and that is probably because she knows he does not want the child. Although, he seems like a complete tool, he is pretty smart on how he goes about trying to get her to have the operation, that is shown simply by this, "I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural" (Hemingway 351). He is basically trying to persuade her into getting this by saying everything will be okay, and that he will stay with her. He can probably easily persuade her by saying this because he knows that she just wants him to be happy, and by acting this way he is insinuating that he will be happy once the operation gets done.

Throughout the story, it is very easy to see that this man cannot handle the responsibility of having a child, and some might argue that is the reason he is pushing her so hard to get the operation. In the story, Jig even implies that she wants to keep the child by using some clues, but the boyfriend just shrugs it off because he doesn't want to keep the child. One reason it is obvious that he cannot handle the responsibility of the child, is because if he said that he wanted to keep the child, this story would not even exist. That right there basically proves that he could not handle the responsibility that comes with having a child.

Just based on how he lies to Jig saying he loves her and stuff just shows he is a very devious guy; If he really cared for her he would man up and take care of the kid, and be happy with her no matter what her decision be, to keep the kid or not to keep the kid. Hemingway wrote, "Well," the main said, "if you don't want to you don't have too. I wouldn't have you do it if you really didn't want to. But it's perfectly simple" (Hemingway 352). Even though he said this, you can tell that he does not really mean what he says because he still says something about the operation. She seriously needs to figure out how sinister of a man he really is. In conclusion, Jig's boyfriend, is a pathetic excuse for a boyfriend, and should not even deserve to have any say so on whether to keep the child or not. That decision should be up to Jig and Jig only. Maybe one day Jig will finally come to her senses and understand that her boyfriend is a very shady individual, that does not really care about her. All he cares about is himself, and no one deserves to be with someone like that. As previously stated this man is not worth a dime because he only cares for him self, he can't handle responsibilities of having a child, and he seems like a very sinister individual.

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