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Hills Like White Elephants Iceberg Theory

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The iceberg theory is a style of writing arguing that the words on the page should only be a small part of the story, using as few words as possible to hint at a larger unknown story hidden beneath the surface. Its namesake came from a simple view of an iceberg. It seems small and insignificant from a surface level viewpoint, but upon further analysis, a realization occurs. The tip of the iceberg (or the words on the page) only make up a small fraction of the actual story and the intent of the author. In “Hills Like White Elephants”, Ernest Hemingway conveys the subject of abortion through the theme of human interaction by using the iceberg theory. There are several instances of dialogue that hint at the subject of the conversation being abortion. “‘It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig,’ the man said. ‘It's not really an operation at all.’ The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on. ‘I know you wouldn't mind it, Jig. It's really not anything. It's just to let the air in.’ The girl …show more content…

Humans are naturally social creatures, and need human interaction in order to function properly. The girl rationalizes her current situation by continually asking if the man would still love her. “‘And if I do it you'll be happy and things will be like they were and you'll love me?’ ‘I love you now. You know I love you.’” (Hemingway 3). She does not want to have to abort her unborn child, and continually asks for reassurance in going through with the operation. Jig relies completely on the man, and is afraid she will lose the relationship she has with him, or the potential relationship with her child. “‘What do you mean?’ ‘ I don't care about me.’ ‘Well, I care about you.’ ‘Oh, yes. But I don't care about me. And I'll do it and then everything will be fine.’" (Hemingway 3). She seeks to fulfillment in others, and only cares for herself if others care for

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Throughout their conversation, you can decipher a tone where the conversation sheds light on his feelings towards the procedure and her feelings. He says “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig. It’s not really an operation at all” (Hemingway 124), in an effort to persuade her to in fact have the abortion. She, on the other hand, seems silent at first, but then questions how their life will be better after this procedure. Her uncertainty shows in her responses, and in other findings “… the sensuous beauty of a love relation that is quickly deteriorating, now that she has become conscious of her lover’s selfishness” (Maynard 273).

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The man she is with keeps pushing her to make a life-changing decision about an abortion and she says, “I realize… Can’t we maybe stop talking?,” (Hemingway 3). Including this issue specifically is bold for Hemingway as it is controversial, yet he crafts it to bring even more attention to the Girl’s rights and intentionally characterizes her with this strong will and independence. She later threatens to scream, demonstrating that the Girl is unafraid to bring attention to this altercation. Hemingway provides the Girl with a voice that many women did not have. The man craves authority and manipulates her by saying, “I think [getting the abortion is] the best thing to do.

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Throughout the short story (1), “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway is speaking about a seemingly unwanted pregnancy and a woman’s uneasiness with going through an abortion. However, Hemingway never explicitly says in this work of fiction (2) that it is about abortion or that the woman, Jig, is uncomfortable with it, but uses symbolism (3) to present this to the audience. At the time “Hills like White Elephants” was published, in 1927, abortion was illegal in most places and a very taboo subject that wasn’t to be openly discussed in public. Thus, Hemingway relied greatly upon the use of symbolism to get his message across for this reason as well as the third person narrator (4) that did not give insight into the character’s thoughts within this piece of literature (5) . He uses symbols such as the train station, white hills, the baggage, and the drinks to point towards the underlying internal conflict (6) of Jig’s decision that is being heavily influenced by the American man, who wants Jig to get the abortion.

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Although never explicitly stated, the assumption of the reader is that the procedure the couple is conversing about throughout the story is an abortion. Very uncommon at the time but encouraged and argued for by the American the woman is conflicted by this decision of whether or not to have the procedure done. During the argument between the American man and Jig, he points out that, “We can have the world”(Hemmingway 231). This alludes to the life the couple could have if she got the procedure done but Jig responds with, “No, we can't. It isn't ours any more”(Hemmingway 231).

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This story symbolizes a couple’s opinion about life. It also symbolizes how people approach different opportunities that come through the course of life. The man clearly wants to live a life that is favored around living care free and traveling. He wants to see and do as much as possible with less responsibilities. Jig, the women in the relationship, is seemingly interested in keeping the child.

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Which is making him more selfish and he does not to have any responsibilities. Also, the reader is also left with a great doubt, as there is no solution. Jig is a Spanish pregnant girl, and she is about to have an abortion. She seems young because she is depending on a careless man.

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