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Comparison Of Power In Their Eyes Were Watching God And Hills Like White Elephants

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Power dynamics between male and females is a sensitive subjec that has impacted society throughout time. Addressed by Zora Neale Hurston and Ernest Hemingway, both writers depicted the power and control men exuded over females while also choosing different ways to highlight the results of this misuse of power. But while both works analyze the subject of power, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston highlights lack of equality over a lifetime , whereas in the short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway emphasizes the manipulation of power at one point in time. Hemingway portrays his message through dialogue, lending the reader ques to unveil the hidden message. In contrast, Hurston allows the reader to feel the …show more content…

Her second husband, Jody, was a very powerful man that restricted Janie's freedom in many ways. A significant way Jody physically confined Janie was by creating the rule, “Her hair was NOT going to show in the store” (55, Hurston). This is significant because Jody restricts Janie's freedom by removing her hair, resulting in a loss of power for Janie. Jody becomes jealous of the attention that Janie's hair draws and he wants to oppress that freedom to remind Janie who is dominant in the relationship. Hurston also includes this in the novel to display how Jody has control over Janie's body and the power that he holds over it. Similarly, in “Hills like White Elephants”, the American man uses toxic masculinity to over power the girl. This is displayed when the girl tries to get the American man to stop talking about the abortion, but he does not. “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” she begs, to which he responds with, “But I don’t want you to, I don’t care about anything” (478). The American man's ignorance to Jigs asks conveys his belief that he is above the girl and has the power over the girl in the relationship. Additionally, it is implied that he believes his words hold much more importance than hers because of his gender in the

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