The term appeasement is defined as the act of appeasing by, pacify or placate (someone) by acceding to their demands. This action has come up and been used numerous times throughout the course of history and is still seen today in American foreign policies. Two of the most common and prevalent usages are in governmental foreign policies and attempted growth in intimate relationships. Many great short stories in literature like “Hill Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and ”The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne that uses this powerful theme of appeasement to stress main ideas throughout the story. Both these short stories’ and American foreign policy exemplify that the usage of appeasement has proven time and time again to have negative effects to the user and is a flawed idea with few benefits
This desire to make the ones we love happy and this willingness to do anything for them cause us to become blind to this dangerous act of appeasement. This blindness to appeasement is apparent and shown throughout Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants”. The woman in the story is faced with a dilemma of; should she go through with having a kid or should she appease the man she loves and get “an awfully simple operation”(3 Hemingway) also know as an abortion. All she wants is to improve the relationship with the man that she loves; it’s this same love that causes her to use this unsatisfying and volatile usage of appeasement because of the fear of losing him. “And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me”(3 Hemingway)? It’s this fear of what if I don’t listen to him that causes her to trust him and believe that if she does what he’s suggesting that everything will get better. “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… That’s the only thing that’s bothering us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy”(3 Hemingway). This proves that the only thing he cares about is getting rid of the baby and it’s this blinding ability of her love for him that causes he to misinterpret his intentions and allows for her to overlook the dangers of appeasement that don’t only put her life at risk but their the same ones that end their baby’s life.
The character Georgiana in “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the same blinding and appeasement filled love that was experienced by the woman in “Hills Like White Elephants”. Similar the woman from Hemingway’s piece, Georgiana has a flaw that can’t be overlooked by the man she loves; it’s this love that leads to her usage of appeasement and her demise. “Her husband tenderly kissed her cheek—her right cheek—not that which bore the impress of the crimson hand”(9 Hawthorne). Georgiana’s flaw is that she has a small crimson hand-shaped birthmark on her left cheek. Her husband, Aylmer finds this mark to be an abomination, Georgiana believes that the birthmark is the only thing that prevents him from loving her the same way she loves him. "If there be the remotest possibility of it," continued Georgiana, "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 dis- gust,—life is a burden which I would fling down with joy. Either remove this dreadful hand, or take my wretched life”(8 Hawthorne)! Much like the woman from hills like white elephants, Georgiana has chosen to appease the man that she loves and get rid of what is causing problems in their relationship in the hope that he will love her more. Georgiana is doing this because she has become blinded by her love for him and in turn believes that appeasement will improve their relationship allowing for him to love her, the same way she loves him. Georgiana actions aren’t just similar to the ones performed by the woman from Hemingway’s piece they’re identical. Both women are blinded by love and chose appease men that their in love with, thus causing them to willingly risk their lives and go through dangerous operations to remove the thing that hinders both men’s love.
Throughout history, many countries have used this act of appeasement in foreign policy to avoid conflict in an attempt in trying to improve relations. The desired results of these actions are very similar when compared to those of the women from both hills like white elephants and the birthmark. Appeasements use in foreign policy has proven to be a failure time and time again and was the Major cause in the biggest world war and largest genocide of people. “German Chancellor Angela Merkel, (signaling that she wants to move away from the neo-appeasement policies toward Iran that were pursued by her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder) made explicit the analogy between the current Iranian regime and the Third Reich. Mrs. Merkel warned against a repetition of the complacency demonstrated by the international community during the early years of Nazi rule. "Looking back to German history in the early 1930s when National Socialism was on the rise, there were many outside Germany who said, 'It's only rhetoric - don't get excited,' " she said on Saturday, referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statements calling for Israel's destruction and questioning the Holocaust”(1 Washington Times). American and neo policies of appeasement toward Iran should be stopped, when will people learn that the usage of appeasement doesn’t work. If the use of appeasement precedes to continue here this has the ingredient’s for an almost an identical scenario to the one that caused world war two and ironically the targets of a genocide stayed the same. “The interim nuclear agreement with Iran, which is currently the subject of a new round of negotiations in Vienna, is a "historic mistake." By every measure, Iran is a bad actor…First, Iran is still a state sponsor of terrorism…Second, Iran has repeatedly ignored U.S. and United Nations demands to curtail the nuclear development needed to build weapons of mass destruction…Third, Iran is still hostile toward Israel… Appeasement did not work in the 1930s with Adolf Hitler. It did not work in the 1990s with North Korea. It will not work in 2014 with Iran”(2 Washington Times). Eight years after the previous attempt at peace and a better relationship with Iran, the actions of appeasement continue. Similar to both short stories, the appeased is just going to ask for more and more to see what they can get away with. These men hope that the fear of a lack of love is enough for them to get their way. In Iran’s case, the fear of not having a good relationship and the possibility of war is enough for countries like America to continue to appease them.
Appeasement is like a drug and when someone sees the opportunity to take it they do. In both “Hill Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and ”The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne the women of these short stories used appeasement to try and gain the love of their man. These women even went to the extent of going through dangerous operations and believing that if they had these procedures that they would gain the love that they desire. This is very similar to the way America is appeasing Iran, America is giving Iran the ability to make nuclear weapon’s in the future in the hope that they develop a better relationship. By doing this America puts itself in a vulnerable position, they can be attacked by the nuclear weapons and harmed by their choice of appeasement, identical to how the women can be hurt during their procedures. This desire for mutual love and peace between all countries and in relationships is a complicated thing but the use of appeasement isn’t the answer. People need learn and find alternate ways to achieve these goals, if the usage of appeasement continues there will always be this endless cycle of the demanding and giving that only leads to broken hearts and destruction.
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