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Abortion In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

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Ernest Hemingway was an influential American novelist and short story writer in the 20th-century. Best known for his works such as The Sun Also Rises and The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway used his past experiences in the war and his influential status to become a well renowned writer who emphasized what Gertrude Stein would later coin “The Lost Generation”.
In his short story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, Hemingway uses a young couple to address the issue of abortion in the late 1920’s. Through his use of setting and symbolism, Hemmingway is able to indirectly speak of the conflicts surrounding the topic of abortion in the late 1920’s. The story begins at a train station that is placed in the middle of Barcelona and Madrid. The couple …show more content…

The color of the hills play significance to the story because they symbolize the purity and innocence of the unborn baby. The girl describes the hills “like white elephants” (Hemmingway, “Hills Like White Elephants), symbolizing the unique and uncommon birth of her unborn child like the uniqness of a white elephant. The rest of the setting also play into the idea of having an abortion.
The “fields of grain and trees along the banks of Ebro.” (Hemmingway, “Hills Like White Elephants”) are representative of the fertility that the young girl has. As the girl is enjoying the scenary around her a “shadow of a cloud” (Hemmingway, “Hills Like White Elephants) encroaches upon the scenary.
The shadow represents having the abortion. The girl becomes sad when she sees the shadow, telling the American that they could have everything. The American tells the girl that they can not have it all and to “come on back in the shade” (Hemmingway. “Hills Like White Elephants). This gives the reader an incite to how each character feels about the unborn baby. The girl enjoys the uniqness and purity of the baby and wants to stay in the sun while the American wants the girl to have the abortion and to stay in the shade. Throughout the story the girl is put through different decisions and choices that she must

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