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Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

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Many things aren’t expressed bluntly; people often have to rely on clues to make certain assumptions about their surroundings. Within literature, for example, many things—such as certain feelings and messages—aren’t articulated outright. Naturally, because of the omission of certain details, the reader relies on hints within the text for deeper implications. One tactic, commonly used within texts written by Earnest Hemingway, is the use of setting to bring light onto that which is unsaid. In Earnest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” the setting of the story reveals un-explicitly said ideas and conflicts within the story, ultimately showing that it is possible, in life, to derive previously unknown facts from the smallest …show more content…

A crossroads is a crucial point in a story, or in one’s life, where a big decision has to be made. The fact that train station in the story, itself, lies between Madrid and Barcelona, literally, shows examples of two possible choices that can be made: a chance to either to travel to Barcelona or to Spain. Jig, like undecided travelers at the train station, has to make a decision; she has to decide whether or not to have an operation done. Unlike the man, Jig knows how serious an operation can be. The fact that America man downplays the enormity of her decision, by telling Jig that the operation is “awfully simple” and that it’s “not really and operation at all”, shows how badly he wants her to get it. (Hemingway 2) On the other hand the reader can tell that Jig is leaning away from having the operation as Jig begins to “[look] at the ground” while the man tries to persuade her. (Hemingway 2) Due to the existence of these two conflicting viewpoints, Jig is more than aware that whatever she chooses will change the nature of relationship she has with the man forever; she might be upset with herself if she does get the operation, making her spiteful towards the man, and, if she doesn’t get the operation,

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739 Words | 3 Pages

Hemingway sets the story environment at a train station, with two very different sides of the tracks. This setting is interpreted as a metaphor for the choice at hand, an interpretation of life or death. One side reflecting a dry harsh area, with no trees, and devoid of life, on the other side of the

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1554 Words | 7 Pages

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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Topic Sentence - Uncertainty runs throughout Hemingway’s short story “Hills like White Elephants”. 1. In “Hills like White Elephants” the couple is indecisive on the subject of having the child. The American wants the girl to get an abortion but “ ‘ wouldn’t have [her] do it if [she] didn’t want to’ ”

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857 Words | 4 Pages

Motherhood In the story “ Hills like white elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is a fascinating story, set at a train station at Zaragosa, Spain. This story first appeared in a short story collection titled Men without Women, which was published in 1927. In their dialogue, conflict is created as the characters face what most readers believe to be the obstacle of unexpected pregnancy.

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699 Words | 3 Pages

In Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants”, the American and Jig are like parallel lines, they can never meet. As they struggle to find common ground, the very discussion that can bring them together only tears them apart. The relationship between Jig and the American is complex from the very beginning since their personalities, methods of communicating, and desires are different. The American represents infertility, selfishness and death but how can he not be when he’s a single man, traveling, trying new drinks, spending nights in hotels with no worry about money and now he has impregnated a women, of course he will lose his zest for her (Hannum).

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1559 Words | 7 Pages

“They look like white elephants,” (Hemingway 276) The symbolism of white elephants is huge within “Hills Like White Elephants” is very important to revealing the theme of “Hills Like White Elephants”. A white elephant can be either a troublesome possession, or a possession of little to no value, at least to its owner, it is also often unexpected. In this case, the white elephant is the girl. To the man, she is troublesome, and truthfully, something of little value to him.

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893 Words | 4 Pages

The conflict between the two characters is the issue of abortion and whether or not the girl will go through it. Hemingway does not tell us that the girl is pregnant but hints it throughout the story referring to “the operation” as having an abortion. From the start, you can take

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1629 Words | 7 Pages

The dialogue in Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” reveals a man’s and a woman’s incongruent conflict on abortion, and the author’s fundamentally feminist position is visible in the portrayal of the woman’s independent choice of whether or not to keep the baby she is carrying. The plot is very simple in the story which is less than 1500 words long. A woman and a man spend less than an hour on a hot summers day at a Spanish train station in the valley of Ebro as they are waiting for a train heading for Madrid. Their dialogue takes up most of the space and only few major actions take place.

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177 Words | 1 Pages

When she understands the American’s attitude, his selfish stubbornness that will not change, she cannot tolerate him anymore. At the end of the story she is a different person. In other words, she answers with self-assurance and is certain about her choice, not to have the abortion. Another

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1072 Words | 5 Pages

Through symbolism, Ernest Hemingway presents a couple with a shaky relationship who seem to be in a petty squabble that ultimately transforms

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329 Words | 2 Pages

The fact that Hemingway places it at a midway point hints at the fact that this is only the beginning of the relationship troubles. The girl in the story says the hills look like white elephants in the beginning of the story, but as the fight between the couple gets more and more heated her view of the hills change. She seems to be torn between the two landscapes that the author painted. This vacillates behavior toward the setting most likely symbolizes her choice to have the operation or to

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1098 Words | 5 Pages

Hills Like White Elephant is a short story by Earnest Hemingway from 1927. The story is talking about a failing relationship between an American man and his girlfriend. This couple is at a critical point on their lives. At the bar in a train station in Spain, the girl, Jig, does not want to end up her pregnancy, but she is going to sacrifice the baby to satisfied him. Because he is critical of the exploitation of his girl’s feelings concerning the continuation of unbalanced relationship.

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117 Words | 1 Pages

story and after looking at all the other text it appears that it is her telling the reader her decision on the abortion in a subtle way. In “Hills like White Elephants” Hemingway uses his method of iceberg theory. There is more to the story than first appears and one of the hidden depths of the story is the major conflict between the characters. The conversations held between the American and Jig, the setting, and the images help make it clear to the reader that the characters have to different views about abortion.

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1583 Words | 7 Pages

On the other hand, in, “Allusion, Word-Play, and the Central Conflict in Hemingway’s ‘Hills Like White Elephants,’” by Timothy O’Brien, from the United States Naval Academy, he sheds light on the wordplay and diction as proof for Jig not keeping the baby. Lastly, David Wyche, from North Carolina State University, in his essay, “Letting the Air into a Relationship: Metaphorical Abortion in ‘Hills Like White Elephants,’” determines the reader cannot know whether the characters have the abortion or not. Renner is correct because of the fact that Jig keeps the baby based on the diction, setting, and movements of the short

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1044 Words | 5 Pages

According to Smiley, “The dialogue contains the essence of the story's power; for to read Jig's and the American conversation is to recognize the powerless frustration of parallel interchanges” (2). The girl's character passes changes throughout the story. It appears that “Hemingway works out the story's conflict, which revolves around the development of his female character” (Renner 28). The girl gains power and frees herself from the following the American man. In the beginning of the story, the girl take the initiative to speak which leads to the discussion: “'what should we drink?'

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