ipl-logo

Symbolism In Hills Like White Elephants

706 Words3 Pages

The story “Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story in which a man and his girlfriend have a discussion at while waiting for a train at the station. Though it is not specifically mentioned, one can conclude that discussion is about getting an abortion. It is obvious that the man wants it more than his girlfriend, which leads to the conflict of the story. They end up boarding the train without making the decision. It is worth noting that this short story has a degree of vagueness to it that most stories do not have. The author gives people just barely enough details and dialogue for readers put together what’s going on. The author uses dialogue, characterization, and symbolism to display the theme of “choices” throughout the story.
The way …show more content…

There is the symbolism of elephants, which could refer to the saying “the elephant in the room”. That saying means there is an obvious situation that no one wants to discuss. This could be further supported by the girl’s reluctance to discuss the topic or make a choice. She tries the end the conversation multiple times by saying things like “Can’t we maybe stop talking?” and “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” (Hemingway 185). That would explain the vagueness of the story and, why no choices are made. The one that stands out the most is the train station. It symbolizes the idiom “at a crossroads”. That means that one is in a situation where a choice has to be made. Since most of the story revolves around the idea of making a choice, it is a big indicator of the theme.
There are many different themes in “Hills Like White Elephants”. However, the way Hemingway manipulated dialogue, characters, and symbols within the story helps define the main one of choice. Despite the lack of important choices being made by the man and woman, the idea of choices still resonates. Mainly because whole story revolves around a choice being made. Though it is not specified, it’s obvious that they have to come to a decision soon. There is a lot left out in this story. Nevertheless, even when Hemingway says so little, he means so

Show More
Related

Hills Like White Elephants Rhetorical Analysis

739 Words | 3 Pages

In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway, there is a relationship unfolding, a complex relationship difficult to understand. The relationship is revealed by a conversation between a man and a woman, a topic of conversation that people rarely discussed in the period that the story was set. After researching interpretations, it is consistently said “She is pregnant, and he wants her to have an abortion” (Weeks 76), to which I agree that this conversation is about abortion. With the man seemingly pushing the topic and the girl hesitant and questionable, it is unsure as to the result of their conversation. However, it is my belief that she chose to follow her heart and not get the abortion.

Read More

Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

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.

Read More

Hills Like White Elephant Literary Analysis

746 Words | 3 Pages

By definition a “White Elephant” in literature is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness. In the following short story, the situation that the couple is in can be described as a “White Elephant”. Throughout the story a couple, a Spanish woman and an American man, are sitting at a train station waiting for their train. While there, they decide to talk about the issue at hand, a pregnancy. Jig, the Spanish woman, is eager to keep the unborn child as the American man who is the father is not.

Read More

Hills Like White Elephants Symbolism Essay

622 Words | 3 Pages

Essentially, getting on the train to Madrid would lead to the abortion, and the train to Barcelona could lead to life, the birth of a baby, and the start of a family. Hills Like White Elephants is a short-story with a much deeper meaning than first perceived. What can appear to be a casual conversation is actually the turning point in a couple’s relationship, and could either lead to the formation of a family and the birth of love or the backtracking in their relationship. Rereading stories and looking for deeper meaning in symbolism is vital, and can lead to a better understanding of life and it's

Read More

Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis Essay

832 Words | 4 Pages

Literary Analysis: Hills Like White Elephants The “Hills Like White Elephants”, written by Ernest Hemingway, is a story about a couple who have a decision to make. Though it is never said anywhere throughout the story, the couple is faced with an unwanted pregnancy. The characters have a tough decision to make nd they have different opinions on what the right choice is.

Read More

Relationships In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

853 Words | 4 Pages

The struggles presented between these two characters bring to light issues in human relationships that weigh into everyday life. Hemingway’s short story reveals to readers how relationships affect communication, decision

Read More

Deep Symbolism In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

991 Words | 4 Pages

So many times, one reads a story, and only sees what is right in front of them, but other times, they notice much more depth to what they are reading. This is most often used in short stories, and every single small detail is crucial. In Ernest Hemingway’s, Hills Like White Elephants, there are many secrets and deep details hidden into this story that all point to the very sensitive subject of abortion: this subject is disguised in the elephants, the characters’ drinking habits, and the landscape. The whole story in itself represents abortion.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Hills Like White Elephant And The Story Of An Hour

1004 Words | 5 Pages

Chopin may suggest that Mrs. Mallard feels restricted to live her life with a partner in her life. Hemmingway does not reveal the thoughts of the characters leaving readers at suspense. Readers must interpret what is going on between the girlfriend and her boyfriend in Hills Like White Elephants (Hemmingway). The white elephants in his story represent fertility. Both the woman and her boyfriend struggle to speak of abortion.

Read More

The Theme Of Abortion In Hills Like White Elephants

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

Read More

Hills Like White Elephants Literary Criticism

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.

Read More

Hills Like White Elephant Setting Analysis

1515 Words | 7 Pages

“Avoiding the White Elephant” In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemmingway, a girl and an American man in a romantic relationship are at a crossroads, both as the setting, and in their romantic relationship. The American man and girl have been nomadic together as a romantic couple, but at the current moment the two are stagnate arguing. When the two start downing alcohol, it becomes clearer that the girl is pregnant and the man is inclined in favor of her to get an abortion, though neither ever directly speaks the issue. The two remain to argue around the obvious issue at hand, the girl remarks on the barren but beautiful white hills around them and the alcohol they are drinking, the man is persistent to reach agreement

Read More

Hills Like White Elephants Character Analysis Essay

1267 Words | 6 Pages

It is almost entirely told as a conversation and at that a conversation with no direct indication as to the done or context. This style of omission and reportive writing at first glance leaves the reader largely in dark and gives a sense of pointlessness to the story. Yet with close inspection and multiple readings the dialogue of the main figures of the story reveals a lot of details about their character and subject matter of their conversation by allowing the reader to interpret the meaning and tone of what the character are saying without having told them directly. With this method Hemingway not only reveals what his short story is about but also creates characters entirely through conversation managing to make one them a sympathetic character as seen with the

Read More

Abortion In Hills Like White Elephants, By Ernest Hemingway

786 Words | 4 Pages

The concept of the white elephant, in this story, represents the baby or for the girl the decision of what to do with the baby. The term “white

Read More

Sociological Imagination Is A Personal Family Issue

1000 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction There are many different types of cultures in society around the world, all with their own individual accepted ways of behaviour, some cultures might be familiar and others might seem strange to us. Cultures have their own set of norms to control acceptable behaviour. If we as fellow human beings all took the initiative to understand each other’s cultures, it might not seem that strange to us anymore and it is possible that we could help others in a way that is acceptable to the society in which we live in. The aim of this essay is to discuss, using a view based on the sociological imagination, whether a unique personal family issue can be related to an issue in society.

Read More

Hills Like White Elephants Character Analysis

1044 Words | 5 Pages

the girl asked. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.” She opens the crucial issue in an implicit way when she describes the “hills like white elephant”. Which suggests her imaginative way of thinking: she relates to the hills as the physical shape of her pregnancy, and the white elephants is “something she cannot just throw away but for which, in her present circumstances, she has no use; something that is awkwardly, burdensomely in the way” (Renner 30). The girl faces difficulties in expressing her feelings, but she does not surrender and keeps

Read More

More about Symbolism In Hills Like White Elephants

Related Topics

Open Document