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Time In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

1898 Words8 Pages

On Hemingway’s Time

We can never free ourselves from the bondages of time, but the decisions we make along the way, can change our lives and the lives of others, forever. In Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants”, an American man and a young woman must face the challenge of having to make a life altering decision, in a limited amount of time. Hemingway uses a very short timeline to tell his story, he makes time relevant in the story’s setting, and also in his written dialogue. This short story demonstrates that although time can sometimes be forgotten, it can surely become of the essence. This story revolves around two main characters, Jig who is a young woman, and an American, who is a nameless man. Together they wonder …show more content…

He not only challenges this couple with life changing decisions, but he also makes these decisions more substantial and pressing, by referencing time in the very first paragraph of his short story. He states “It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes.” (Hemingway 276). Time now becomes a clear reality, revealing itself like a clock, which now begins to click its way on down. Hemingway continues to imply the issue of time, by using what seems to be a hurried and fast paced dialogue throughout his short story. Again time, seems to be of a relevant matter in this story, Hemingway places many important decisions upon Jig and the American, giving them such a short window of time to make their decision

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