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Symbolism In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

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In the short story “Where are you going, Where have you been?” Joyce Carol introduced her audience to the story of Connie, a teenager whose only priority was to look good for boys and be the center of attention. By using symbolism, Oates used Friend as Connie’s punishment from her actions. On ‘Hills like white elephant” Ernest Hemingway’s uses symbolism on a heel, alcohol and roads to represent their life and choices. Both of this stories use symbolism to represent their life and the choices they did or going to make in their life. I think both of the authors use symbolism in way that readers can view and understand the story in different ways. Both of the stories use people or objects to help them get there point across u can see how this …show more content…

“Everything tastes like licorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for, like absinthe” (Hemingway). The readers can see how their relationship is full of problems and deciding to have the baby or not is just one of the many problems they seem to have. The readers can see how alcohol has become the perfect symbol of this story when the she mentioned “That’s all we do isn’t it – look at things and try new drinks” (Hemingway). Their relationship and way of living has become a routine to them to avoid problems the go and try new drinks the readers can see this because although they never said anything about abortion the Hemingway gives you clues that the conversation is about deciding to have the baby or not. One of the most important symbol in this story is the hill or the white elephant. When she said they look like white elephants. The readers can see how the white elephants represent her pregnancy and life .This symbolizes their lives or their relationship and the choices they must now made. The white elephant is something that is both rare and sacred, as it is also essentially useless. It is a symbol of their lives spent traveling, something so cherished, but ultimately has only surface

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Symbolism uses symbols to represent ideas or qualities, such as loss, grief, or pain. This idea is of utmost importance because, in the novel Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, two symbols show the suffering of Billie Jo and Daddy. Hence, the author uses symbolism to explain the loss in Billie Jo’s and Daddy’s lives, using the gaping hole that daddy digs and the missing cranberry sauce. Primarily, Billie Jo’s symbol for suffering loss was the cranberry sauce, as it represents her loss of her mother.

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You can see from these two works how the symbolism in literature can be used in different contexts, yet still be used in to help represent the same

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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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1015 Words | 5 Pages

Symbolism is used differently in both works, nevertheless symbolism is an important part in the two texts. Shirley Jackson uses dialogue throughout the story to provide the background information to inform the readers what's going on. Without this craft move the problem of the story would be hard to recognize. Suzanne Collins uses dramatic irony to provide the readers background information. Lastly, Jackson uses inner thinking to get the readers predicting.

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1291 Words | 6 Pages

The man acts like he would be fine with having the baby but it is obvious he doesn’t want it at all saying “I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to. But I know it’s perfectly simple” (Hemingway 925). She likes the idea of having a baby throughout the story and the man realizes she wants to have it. At the end of the story he walks through the bar and has a drink by himself and “look[s] at the people” to get used to being in a bar by himself again (Hemingway 926). He is planning to break up with her because she wants to have the baby and he wants to live his life the way he has been.

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1705 Words | 7 Pages

On first sight there is nothing special to notice, it is just a normal conversation between two grown ups. But whatever the reader does not notice during the first reading session is that in every word Hemingway uses, there lies a deeper meaning behind it. With less than enough words Hemingway gives us a bright look on how two young people discuss abortion. There are a lot of indications which point into the direction of the subject ‘abortion’. But what every reader has in mind is: ‘Will the girl commit abortion?’.

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1250 Words | 5 Pages

The girl explains to him how she sees the hills and how, “‘They look like white elephants,’” (Hemingway 315). The hills and the imagery of a white elephant are both symbols that represent the girl’s pregnancy. In some Indian cultures, a white elephant represents peace and posterity. The white elephant reflects how the girl believes that her pregnancy is a gift and will bring great fortune and wellbeing to her.

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Additionally, “The white elephants” represents an unwanted gift but the person who has that gift is difficult to dispose of. Moreover, “Hills like white elephants” symbolizes an unborn child and throughout her sayings, she seems hesitate between choosing to have an

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977 Words | 4 Pages

He writes: “They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry” (786). This is reflective of her relationship with the man being shiny and new in the beginning, turning brown, dull, and dry now. White Elephants are sacred in the Buddhist culture, they are extremely expensive to maintain and have financially destroyed many owners. The symbol of the White Elephant is used to correlate with having the baby. Hemingway writes: “The girl looked across at the hills” (786).

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1068 Words | 5 Pages

This truly shows how deep his influence is and how she struggles to keep up with his tactics of control. Then, later in the text on the same page she, “Sat down at the table and looked across the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her and at the table” (Hemingway 3). This segment of the text further pushes the evidence shown earlier that even though she has her small bits of freedom, it is still trumped by the man's ability to control her or to get her to “Come on back in the shade” (Hemingway 3). This quote summarizes the inevitability that the girl will follow his instructions and do what he says even for things as small as having to sit with him. Based on the textual evidence, there is no way that the girl will not get the abortion because of her reluctance to live by her own merit and do what she wants in her own life.

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834 Words | 4 Pages

Symbolism is one of the most important properties a story can have. It's often used to develop a character or a theme throughout the story that is being told. Symbolism in literature is best described by as the use of symbols and objects to signify ideas and qualities by giving them a symbolic meanings that are very different from their literal sense. The short stories "Where are you going, Where have you been?" and "The Yellow Wallpaper" have very obvious examples of symbolism.

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969 Words | 4 Pages

However, her pregnancy is not something that is stated directly. Instead, Hemingway used a series of symbols that will help the readers get into the understanding that it is in fact, a pregnancy, and the ‘simple operation’ that the man wanted her to get is an abortion. As readers, we also observe that the man and Jig go through an exchange of peace and quarrel (L’Heureux, 2011), however, we also noticed that Jig has a desire to please and impress the man

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700 Words | 3 Pages

In the coming of age story “Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates uses symbolism, conflict, and the third person to foreshadow fifteen-year-old Connie’s unfortunate, yet untimely fate. While one may think that the conflict stems from Connie’s promiscuity, it is clear to see her promiscuity is only a result to a much bigger conflict, her mother’s constant nagging and disapproval, alongside the lack of attention from her father. the author paints a vivid picture of what happens when a fifteen-year-old girl such as Connie goes elsewhere to find to find the love, attention, and approval that she lacks at home. All which is vital for her growth and wellbeing as a person.

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1312 Words | 6 Pages

The main symbol is the concept white elephants. This symbolizes something that is unwanted. In this tale, the undesired commodity is the unborn child. The obvious imagery in the story are the surrounding hills. The description of the hills helps the reader picture how they resemble white elephants.

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997 Words | 4 Pages

In this story, the author doesn’t give much information and clues about the abortion. He wants the reader to read inbetween the plot. He uses symbolism to allow readers to find the meaning. The story talks about how the American wanted the girl to have an abortion but the girl was unsure. The author is trying to let the readers know that the male don’t want the baby and is only concern about himself.

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