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Analysis Of Hills Like White Elephant By Ernest Hemingway

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Reading the works of Ernest Hemingway and not understanding what the message or what he is trying to say is very common. Hemingway believed that a writer should communicate with the readers using subtext, by leading them to read between the lines, His use of the diction, subtext, syntax, and tone creates a different writing style. Hemingway was direct and his use of uses subtext as a means of conveying message to readers in his writings. Sub text can allow the audience to meet his point or idea half way. It can allow each viewer to draw their own individual value and experience to resolve or explore the themes represented. He explained the secret behind his works using “the iceberg theory”. His use of diction, subtext, syntax, and tone contribute to the theme of “Hills like White Elephants.” the use of subtext also influence the reader to examine their life experience, question what it means to read between the lines in an individual level by giving them a chance to place …show more content…

As mentioned above he has his own theory on his writings. He called it the “Iceberg Theory,” and it describes his style well. Basically what that means “Essentially, he gives you the facts those hard facts are the tip of the iceberg floating above water. Everything else the supporting structure floats beneath the water, out of sight from the reader” (101books). The use of subtext comes here. We use it to dig out the message behind it.
Subtext is widely used in movies, the bible, the Quran and literature. This helps at an individual level by giving them a chance to place themselves in the place of the text, connect it to their life experience. Subtext in real life is like the conversation held between two parties with irony behind it. When emotions and loved ones are involved in life we back away from saying how we really feel afraid of hurting their feelings. But reading through the lines they can guess there is something behind to the answers

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