...Literary Analysis: Hills Like White Elephants The story “Hills Like White Elephants” is an incredible short story written by Ernest Hemingway. When readers read this short story, it forces readers to visualize the situation, an attempt to comprehend the dialogue, and infer the concluding symbolization of “Hills Like White Elephants.” Ernest Hemingway style of writing seems to give readers minimal facts; Hemingway does not provide the characters inner thoughts. Also, it is unclear of who said what. Readers have to make assumptions, speculations, and theorize a probable interpretation of the story. The story “Hills Like White Elephants” is written in a first person point-of-view with limited amount of facts and details. However, the title of the story implies the signification of what the story means. Based off the characters dialogue, the characters are presumably young couples struggling with their relationship and moral decisions. The conversation between the two characters seems vague but also neutral in the beginning of the story. However, when readers gather all the responses and organize each character response, the conversation implies a struggle in their relationship. The author tells the readers the man and the woman is drinking “two big ones.” In the middle of the story, the two characters consume more and more alcohol. The supporting of this evidence is when the woman said, “I wanted to try this new drink. That’s all we do, isn’t it- look at things and try...
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...The Message behind “White Elephants” “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway represents a girl sacrificing the way she feels about white elephants, so she can have the guy “the American” can continue to love her as he did in the past. The girl “Jig” first introduces the white line of hills as white elephants. Throughout, the whole conversation the couple is drinking alcohol as they talk. The setting of the story and the couple’s conversation takes place at a train station in between Barcelona and Madrid overlooking the Ebro River. Consequently, the white elephant represents an idiom for something valuable of possession but it is not something one would desire. In this case, the white elephant denotes an abortion. The couple sat down and ordered drinks as the girl causally looked off in the sky, above the hills claiming that the hills looked like white elephants. “They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry” (Hemingway 229), it means that the white hills were prominent against the brown contrast and the shape of elephants in the hills popped out in the sky. “But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you’ll like it?” (Hemingway 231), by this comment, the girl hopes to save her relationship with him by following through with the abortion. She feels that, that is what the guy wants from her and by asking him if she follows through with the process, will everything will be back to normal. The girl questioning...
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...Setting the Scene for Conflict: A Structural Analysis of “Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “Hills Like White Elephants,” is a short story that takes place in Spain and is centralized upon the two main characters. Hemingway is able to focus this story on the current conflict in the lives of these characters through many means. The way the dialogue is presented contributes to the setting, ultimately contributing to the conflict, which is abortion. Hemingway has structured this work in such a way that the setting presents both sides of the abortion conflict, while also enhancing the sensory environment of the story. The binary opposition Hemingway presents throughout “Hills Like White Elephants” is immediately apparent in the first paragraph of the story. The names the characters have been assigned show their inequality, seeing as they are “The American and the girl” (335). By making this distinction, Hemingway is giving the American more personality, in the sense that we know where he is from. Being an American makes him seem as if he has more power or more importance than just a simple girl. Naming the female character the girl is questionable, because after being impregnated, she is considered to be a woman. Although this is a widely accepted idea, Hemingway identifies her as the girl anyway. We learn nothing about her until later on when she is given the name Jig. However, she only gains this identity after she establishes who her character is...
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...Analysis of Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” In Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants," the decision on whether or not to have an abortion puts strain on the characters’ relationship. The two characters, Jig and the American, have differing views on abortion. Hemingway uses the elements of symbolism and dialogue to portray such a serious conversation in which a major life decision is about to be made. Like the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone sees, but no one wants to acknowledge, not once is the subject of abortion mentioned, but it is implied. The reader must be willing to read what is not there. While most writers set the stage for their readers, Hemingway leaves the interpretation completely up to the reader. This story takes place in 1926 in Spain, a country where abortion was illegal until 2009 (“History of Abortion”.) The fact that the procedure was illegal is probably why the word abortion was never mentioned during their public conversation in the bar. Money is obviously not an issue for the American as referenced to the many hotel stickers on their suitcases and as we know, money can buy anything including medical services. Jig is interpreted as a young and naïve girl, who is struggling with the decision that is laid upon her. The American is interpreted as an harsh, manly man who is adamant during his dialogue about what he wants, even to the point of trying to downplay the procedure by stating that it was an “awfully...
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...Wasley English 445 20 November 2015 Importance of Theme: Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway After analyzing Hemingway’s Hills like White Elephants, the reader can find that it is not your average story with a beginning, middle, and end. Hemingway does a phenomenal job of forcing the reader to think critically—giving just enough information for the reader to make assumptions and draw their own conclusions. The story itself is centered on a man and a woman having an emotional conversation filled with frustration and misunderstanding. Hemingway’s use of theme is important to this entire conversation between the two characters, and will give the reader more understanding of who the characters are and the situation they are faced with. The three major themes of this work that will be analyzed is alcohol as a comping mechanism, loss, and selfishness. This analysis of theme will also help to reinforce the characters thoughts, feelings, and emotions. American author, Ernest Hemingway, was born in the small town of Oak Park, Illinois in 1899 and died in Idaho, 1961. Hemingway began his career as a writer at the age of 17 for a newspaper office in Kansas City. When the United States entered the First World War, Hemingway joined as a volunteer to the ambulance unit in the Italian army. While serving, Hemingway was wounded, spending time in several hospitals until returning to the United States. When Hemingway returned, he became a reporter for the Canadian and American...
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...Man VS. Woman: A Literary Analysis Of Conflicts In Two Stories Gena Jones ENG125: Introduction To Literature Instructor: Denya Ciuffo August 31, 2015 Man VS. Woman: A Literary Analysis Of Conflicts In Two Stories In the short stories “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston and “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, there is a very similar conflict of Individual vs. Individual between the men and the women that represents the constant struggle for power in the human relationship. While “Sweat” allows us to see the resolution of conflicts by the end of the story, “Hills Like White Elephants” presents us with these conflicts and does not really give us clear resolution in the end. Imagery and epiphany are techniques used in both stories to give the reader more detail as to the nature of the conflict. Plot as a literary technique is present in “Sweat,” but absent in “Hills Like White Elephants” and this has an impact on the understanding and resolution of conflict in both stories as well. Through careful analysis, I will demonstrate how plot, imagery, and epiphany as literary techniques give depth and meaning to the conflict of Individual vs. Individual in both “Sweat” and “Hills Like White Elephants. In the short story “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, we see a conflict between a lazy man and his hard-working wife. “Sweat” is about a woman named Delia Jones who picks up and launders other people’s clothes to make a living, while her husband lives off of the money she makes...
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...Critical Analysis of Hills like White Elephants At first glance, Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway, may allude to many interpretations, however, the short story has a clear purpose. Set in the Ebro River valley in Spain, the story looms around the issue brought forth by Jig and the American, who is nameless throughout the whole story. The issue here being the ‘simple operation’ that Jig is about to undergo which happens to be an abortion. Set in the early 1920s, the idea of abortion is as irrational and controversial as today’s ongoing debate over gay marriage. Although the term abortion is never used in the story, the imagery Hemingway uses along with the language and behavior of the characters gives way for one explanation – Jig is getting an abortion. Of the many symbols Hemingway uses, the theme of abortion is evident in the white elephant hills that have the “coloring of … skin through the trees” (Hemingway, 1). The white hills, as described in the setting, parallels a pregnant woman lying on her back with the hills being relative to the womb. In addition, the white color of the hills would represent the purity of the unborn child the woman bears. Furthermore, the fields of grain and trees along the river would represent the fertility that the woman embodies throughout the story. Her body being the fertile land on which the white hills were. The trees along the hills being the distorting factor of her mindset on going through with the abortion as the American...
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...these two writings, she discussed issues that many other women writers would have avoided. Another writer who was famous for his portrayal of gritty topics was Ernest Hemingway. One of his most memorable writding is titled “Hills like White Elephants”. These writers were able to write about challenging realistic new ideas such as freedom after the death of a love one, abortion, and adultery. Although some of these stories are deemed gritty, Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” deals with realistic issues couples often face. These writings also have ironic undertones such as, when Mrs. Mallards dies from seeing from dead husband and the girl who thinks about abortion, but notices greener fields on the other side of the track. Furthermore realism is when an author intends to tell real life events to his/her audience. Realism can appear in many different aspects of society. When it comes to writing, realism focuses on the average individual, and can be heard as a voice for the ordinary human being. There is a focus on realistic people and events. For example in “Hills like White Elephants” , the author intended to portray the information in a way that will surprise the readers. The individuals are then able to relate and understand realistic writing, because they see the writer’s point of view. Realism also likes to focus on topics that might not be considered a part of the norm. An example of this is when Calixta has sexual relations outside her...
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...Rational Sentiment: A Formalist Essay on Hills Like White Elephants Rightful choices come whenever the realization of something wrong occuring comes. The various, contradicting dialogues of the characters evident in Hemingway’s literary piece exemplify their baffled minds and frequent loss of reason in seeking for transformation despite the circumstances. The short story focuses on a couple set in Spain who are faced with the argument as to whether she would have the operation or not since according to him, it would be as easy as “let[ting] the air in.” At one part of the text, the man would say, "I think it's the best thing to do. But I don't want you to do it if you don't really want to," where it is clear that he is still giving the woman some options although the American has made his choice final. From the beginning of the story, the American’s decision was made clear to the readers that he wanted no baby, no family, no responsibilities, and only pleasure. Just like what he said, “That's the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy.” It is also seen many times in the text that he would always try to divert the conversation whenever the woman becomes too serious with the issue of abortion so he asks her to drink more beer with him; this line being frequently repeated: "Should we have another drink?" Jig, the woman in the text, had actually took into consideration the idea of giving away her child, as seen in the lines "Oh, yes. But I don't...
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...James Bissell Mary Breland, Instructor English 102 February 3, 2011 Critical Review of “Hills Like White Elephants” In the story, “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, we are introduced to two main characters, Jig and the American. From the story, it appears that the couple has been living a carefree lifestyle, traveling around Europe, having a good time together. However, the couple has been faced with a dilemma that has caused much debate over the years. The couple is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy and they are going to Madrid to have the pregnancy terminated. At the time, a burst of air was the preferred method of abortion. It was a dangerous procedure since widespread antibiotics were not yet used. It was done by questionable doctors in secret. Jig is having second thoughts the longer she has to sit at the train station waiting for the trip. Jig appears nervous and insecure in the story. She is nervous about the growing baby inside her. She is nervous about the procedure she is going to have done, if it is going to harm her to the point she will not be able to have children again. Tensions grow as the discussion turns from drinks to the pregnancy, even though Hemingway doesn’t specifically say that is the cause. It appears in the lines, “Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things that you’ve waited so long for”(Hemingway 525) that the woman wants more than what she is being given by the man, as though she feels the man...
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...unexpectedly conceived. In Ernest Hemingway’s ambiguously ending short story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, a man, referred to as “the American”, and a girl, Jig, sip on drinks at a train station as they talk of whether or not to have an abortion. David Foster Wallace’s short story, “Good People”, portrays a story line similar to Hemingway’s and follows the tumultuous thoughts of nineteen-year-old Lane Dean Jr. as he sits on a bench in quiet with his, equally submersed in thought, pregnant girlfriend Sheri. Writer Nilofer Hashmi asserts in her analytical essay, “’Hills Like White Elephants’: The Jilting of Jig,” that in Ernest Hemingway’s story the girl will go through with the abortion, but the American leaving her. Evidence exists, however, to prove that Jig will in fact have the abortion and the American will stay. Similarly, but entirely contrasting to Hashmi’s assertion, “Good People” insinuates that Lane will ultimately stay with Sheri should she fulfill his predictions and tell him she will raise the baby. Aspects such as whether or not love exists between the couples, the difference between Foster Wallace’s and Hemingway’s depiction and portrayal of the males and females, and symbolism disprove Hashmi’s analysis in favor of the previously proposed scenarios. Whether or not the relationship contains any sort of love separates Hemingway and Foster Wallace’s short stories. Love does not exist between the American and the girl in “Hills Like White Elephants”. Hashmi correctly...
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...help you document ideas about conflicts in literature, which will contribute to the information required for the Week Three Draft and the Week Five Literary Analysis. Recognizing conflict is essential to understanding the various commentaries literature can provide. In Journal One, you identified conflict as it might appear in our everyday world and from other sources. Now, consider the following definition of conflict and how it relates to literature from the textbook or the story/poetry links provided under the requirements for the Literary Analysis: Conflict is opposing actions, ideas, and decisions that hold a plot together...the struggle that shapes the plot in a story. Chapters 1-7 of our text contain a number of stories and poems, each of which rely on at least one conflict. Choose two of this week’s assigned literary works and write about the conflicts presented in each of them. In 250 to 500 words Individual versus Society --- “Still she had come down the road toward the big white church alone. Just herself, an old forgetful woman, nearly blind with age” (para 3.1,2) --- appears to be the main conflict in Alice Walker’s narrative ironically, yet metaphorically named "The Welcome Table”. The theme coming across is that of racism, correct me if I am wrong, with the imagery/ symbolism of “the big white church” versus the lone black Elder. This is the story of an elderly African-American woman, who on a winter night wonders into a Caucasian church service, is...
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...Luke Martino Writing 102 12/9/15 Writing 102 Portfolio Throughout this semester of Writing 102, I have been assigned to write four essays that have stressed the course competencies of subject matter knowledge, writing process knowledge, rhetorical knowledge, genre knowledge, discourse community knowledge, and meta-cognition. Through the process of drafting, editing, and revising three out of the four papers, I think I have been effectively able to absorb three of those course competencies; subject matter knowledge, rhetorical knowledge, and writing process knowledge. The first paper I was assigned to write for Writing 102 was a literacy narrative. For this paper, I was told to write about a past experience that helped influence my current writing and reading qualities. The core competencies that were involved in this essay were writing process knowledge and subject matter knowledge. I used writing process knowledge when I was told to generate ideas for my essay. I began by thinking of five possible ideas and from there I created a brainstorming web out of the two topics I thought would be the most interesting. Shortly after starting, I realized I could only build an effective brainstorming web from one idea. I decided to use the first time I forgot my lines in a play as my main idea for the essay. After I completed the brainstorming web and finished taking notes on what I remembered from the incident I started to follow the writing process that consisted of prewriting...
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...Moneca Donald Professor Ms. Laura La Flair RH 102: Rhetoric, Logic, Grammar, and Writing II April 14, 2014 Literary Analysis An Analysis of “Hills Like White Elephants” In Heminway’s short story Hills Like White Elephants the women is put in a difficult situation. The story talks about a women having abortion. She does not want to have the abortion but her boyfriend tries to persuade her that is it’s the right thing to do for both of their happiness in the relationship. This analysis of this paper will explain what is the couple’s relationship like in the beginning of the story, how has the relationship changed lately, and who dominates the relationship. The relationship of the couple in the beginning of the story is distant. They are making small talk with other to avoid the real issue they are dealing with. The women’s mind is somewhere else. For example, “The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry. She says, “The look like white elephants”.pg. 79. This phrase gives the impression that her mind is not on him. During the first part of the story the couple talk about little of nothing. They make small talk about nothing. As the conversation goes on with couple, it becomes evident that the women is implying how she feels in the little words that she give off. For example, the conversation goes “Four reals.” We want two Anis del Tor.” “With water?” “Do you want it with water?” “It don’t know”...
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...Trillium Sara Hinton June 21st, 2015 In the “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemmingway we have a struggling conflict between a couple. At first I didn’t realize what the couple was talking about. After reading it twice it dawned on me. Interesting how this example of them and symbolism comes out in this story. The specific conflict in the story is a couple that is talking about getting an abortion. There are various references that currently they are not very happy and that getting the abortion will somehow make them happy. He is very clueless to her emotions regarding this life changing event and the feelings she is experiencing. He also says that he doesn’t want her to do it if she doesn’t want to. "You've got to realize," he said, "that I don't want you to do it if you don't want to. I'm perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you." I think the conflict is very significant as Jig is looking for a connection regarding the baby and clearly there is little hope for one as the insensitive American is frustrating her. I find from the text there are very similar elements of symbolism, metaphor, allusion and allegory apply sort of mixed and sprinkled into most of the stories I have read. I really enjoyed the symbolism and how the Hills stood for life giving and yet highlights her aloneness and emotional disconnect to the American. Ernest Hemingway writing style leaves hints throughout the scene and yet never directly states...
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