Power and the need for control can drive people to behave despicably towards the people around them, especially towards people they consider inferior. The stories “Hills Like White Elephants” by Hemingway and “Woman Hollering Creek” by Cisneros are examples of this as the men in the stories treat their partners badly. However, each story has its own differences as to how and why these men treated their partners the way they did. In both stories, the men disrespect the woman in their life and hurt her physically or emotionally. The reason behind their treatment of their women is men's power or lack thereof. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the story, Hemingway's main male character tried to downplay the situation and told the female character what she wanted to hear, probably for his own personal gain. The story, set in the 1920s, features a couple at a train station discussing the abortion they are about to undergo. It is obvious that the male character, an unnamed American, wants an abortion. He tells Jigs that what he will get is a “simple operation” and repeats that the operators simply “let the air in” (Hemingway, 2). This is completely false and an abortion is more than he thinks it is. An abortion can have a great effect on a woman emotionally and mentally. Yet the man repeatedly tries to cancel the operation so that the woman can have surgery and he can move on with his life, proving that the man doesn't care much about the woman's well-being. The man then proceeds to tell Jigs that after the abortion everything could go back to the way it was before. He tells her he loves her, cares for her and will continue to do so. He even tells her that "[they] can have it all" (Hemingway, 3). According to him, abortion/baby is “the only thing that bothers them” and “makes [them] unhappy” (Hemingway, 2). The man is trying to convince Jig to have an abortion by saying that abortion is the only thing stopping them from going back to normal. However, the story suggests that this man will probably no longer want to be with Jig after she miscarries since their relationship was not serious. This means he is simply making empty promises to her not for her emotional well-being but for his own gain. The man in “Hills Like White Elephants” shows a lack of sympathy towards the female character and the emotional distress she is going through. After Jigs becomes more emotional about the whole situation, the man goes to get a drink at the bar. At the bar, he looks around and sees all the people there “reasonably waiting for the train” (Hemingway, 4). By saying that everyone else is “reasonable[e],” he is suggesting that Jigs is unreasonable and somewhat dramatic. He's invalidating his feelings. This once again shows that he clearly doesn't respect or care about Jigs' emotions regarding the current circumstance. In Hemingway's tale, the American man is able to have all the power in the relationship because factors such as age and wealth allow him to treat Jigs that way. One obvious factor is the time setting. This story is set in the 1920s, when men had more power than women. Another factor that could contribute to the power dynamic is age. Throughout the story, the man is called “the man” while Jigs is called “the girl” (Hemingway, 1-4). This was done on purpose because the waitress was called a woman. This alludes to the fact that Jigs and the American man have a large age difference. This age difference may have made Jigs seem the naive one in the relationship and allowedman to have more control in the relationship. Money is another aspect to consider. Near the beginning of the story, the man had told Jig that he knew other people who had had abortions, and this man had managed to get himself and Jigs to Spain to have an abortion. There were multiple tags on their luggage from "all the hotels... they had spent [the] night [in]" (Hemingway, 4). All of this suggests that men are wealthy and upper class and that money equals power. Because of this power, it is possible that Jigs could not speak as much as she would have liked, allowing the man to have some level of control over her. Unlike "Hills like White Elephants", the male character in "Woman Hollering Creek" had physically abused his partner. The story of "Woman Hollering Creek" focuses on Cleofilas and her marriage to Juan Pedro. It shows her thought process as her marriage and outlook on love falls apart when her husband begins to abuse her both physically and emotionally. Early in their marriage Juan Pedro had "slapped her once, and then again and again" (Cisneros, 405). He continued to slap her “until her lip bled an orchid of blood” (Cisneros,405). Juan Pedro had physically hurt his partner several times during their marriage. This physical abuse, along with other aspects of their relationship, had led Cleoflias to feel emotionally hurt as she felt that episodes in her life “had become increasingly sad” (Cisneros, 405). Although both men in each story had emotionally hurt their partners, the man in Hemingway's story had directly caused Jig's emotional pain while in this one Juan Pedro had caused both physical and emotional pain. In "Woman Hollering Creek" Juan Pedro had caused Cleophila emotional pain due to betrayal. After having had a difficult labor, Cleophila had arrived at her home and began to be full of doubts and noticed that things were arranged differently "lipstick, body powder and hairbrush" than Celophila where everything was arranged differently ( Cisneros, 406 ). Arriving home was described as a “sweet homecoming” (Cisneros, 406). It was “sweet as the scent of powder in the air, of jasmine, of sticky liquor” (Cisneros, 406). The combination of all these female odors with differently arranged liquors and female objects suggests that Juan Pedro could have brought another woman into the house while Cleofilas was giving birth in the hospital. In Cisneros' telling, it was Juan Pedro's lack of power and control that made him both physically and emotionally violent. Men who went to the ice house after work were described as “dogs that bite their tails before they lie down” (Cisneros, 405). They were “trying to find a way, a way, a way out – Finally some peace” (Cisnero, 405). These men, Juan Pedro, are stuck in some sort of rut. They don't get anywhere in life or work, so it feels like the work they're doing is pointless. Everyone tried to find a way up from the bottom or “an exit” as the story went. This probably makes them feel frustrated, helpless and useless. This may cause them to try to gain power and control in their personal lives. This is probably why at the end of the night, when they are drunk, “the fists try to talk” (Cisneros, 405). Winning a fight or perhaps fighting in general makes these men feel like they have more control over their lives. This could also be why Juan abuses Cleofilas. Another example in the story that shows Juan Pedro's frustration and lack of control over his life is when he complains about their house. He would “[kick] the.