The Hidden Hills In the past century, women have started to stand up for themselves and do what they want regarding their body. Men previously have made all the important decisions, controlled women, and really only saw them as objects or entertainment. Slowly but surely, however, women gained their power and voiced their opinions for what they wanted. This can be seen in Jig’s character in Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.” Even though it is not said directly, it is still easy for the audience to understand that what Jig and her boyfriend are talking about is a woman’s matter. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway does not reveal the underlying meaning, but rather uses symbolism in his story through Jig’s attitude towards her boyfriend, the station in which the couple is at, and the absinthe drink she tries. Jig has an attitude about her that makes seem childish. She repeats her words as if she were a young child would when they want something they cannot have. She makes it seem like she always has to get her way. Upon first glance it would not be easy to figure out why she acts like this, but it is actually quite simple to understand why her behavior and tone are like this. Jig does …show more content…
(Hemingway 475). When Jig initially tells her thoughts on what the hills remind her of, she is indirectly telling her boyfriend what she is thinking. She, of course, would relate to the hills more than her boyfriend would because they remind her of a pregnant stomach. They boyfriend shows his self-centeredness by his reply. He does not think of the hills in the same way in which Jig does, all he sees are hills that look dry and bland, indirectly showing what he wants. Jig’s reply of, “No, you wouldn’t have” conveys her feelings of being alone to deal with the problem by
Ernest Hemingway presents his readers with a story unlike most in his short story “Hills Like White Elephants.” Authors often give their readers a story with a beginning, middle and an end, Hemingway however, leaves his readers wondering where the characters came from and where they are going. The setting of the train station and its surrounding landscape gives deeper meaning to the conflict surrounding the couple. The couple constantly drinks alcohol throughout their conversation, giving an insight into their lifestyle together. The most significant symbol of their dilemma is in the title, white elephants.
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.
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.
Lane Jr. who's struggling with his faith will support and stand by Sheri and her decision concerning the pregnancy. Ernest Hemingway's" Hills Like White Elephants” allows his readers to come to the conclusion as to whether the couple in question will terminate or keep the unborn child. As Jig, and the American are
As with all theories, this feminist approach to Louise Halfe’s “Body Politics” does not come without its flaws. While it can be argued that this poem criticizes the performativity of feminine gender roles in a patriarchal society, this cannot be proven definitively without knowing the author’s original intentions. Furthermore, the poem does not give its readers enough information to conclude that the society the women live in is in fact a patriarchal society. This becomes evident, as there is no reference to any masculine figure – so any assumptions about the masculine-dominant culture are purely speculative. It is possible that Halfe wrote this poem in an attempt to challenge the gender binary, however one stands to question how successfully she is in doing so.
During the course of the story “Hills Like White Elephants” the author Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism to describe the the main idea of the girl having the “operation.” Hemingway uses the landscape, the white elephant, and the term “elephant in the room” to represent different aspects of the pregnancy and abortion. The landscape in the story represents choosing the abortion or choosing to keep the baby. The setting of the story is at a train station.
One main theme in Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is the idea of disconnection. In this story, we eavesdrop on a conversation held between both characters. In their dialogue, conflict is created as the characters face what most readers believe to be the obstacle of unexpected pregnancy. This is assumed through symbolism and the titles meaning. The term “white elephant” was used for an unwanted gift.
There is a distinguished balance in the relationship of women and men and it is visible in coexisting and procreating beyond themselves. In making decisions that are influenced by mistakes sometimes, one person gets the short end of the stick. In Hills Like White Elephants, the feminine role is displayed by a woman named Jig, whose feelings and thoughts get pushed aside to cater to the main male character’s wants and needs. In this case the “operation,” that cannot even be called by it’s true name or else the objective to persuade would not be met and ruin their lives. Masculine and feminine attributes have been visible in literature from the beginning of language, with the response of love and forcing one’s self to put aside: “me” for “you.”
In Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” the reader is forced to dive into the story to find their own interpretation of the story. Hemingway seems to tell multiple stories by giving most of the dialogue and details he adds extra meaning. The story begins with a man and woman talking in a train station about an operation the woman is going to be getting, and with context clues, we come to understand this operation to be an abortion. One possible interpretation of a theme in this story could be the burial of feelings in order to make people happy. The reasons for this are because the girl tries to lighten the mood at first by starting a conversation, then tries to please the man by claiming she is doing the operation for him,
In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, a conversation takes place involving two people who discuss an crucial decision to make that is unknown to the audience. Jig, the young girl in the discussion seems to be the one who is ultimately going to be the most affective by this decision. While, the American man, whose name is not mentioned, frequently encourages the woman that whatever choice she makes he will stand by her. The ambiguous choice to make is assumed by many scholars to be about an abortion (Cummings) which is referred to in the text by the American as “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig” (Hemingway 887). The conversation between these two lovers is clearly dominated by the young girl, Jig, who uses various techniques of psychological manipulation to influence the man and figure out if he is truly loyal to her.
The dialogue between the two characters is often indirect and elusive, reflecting their struggle to communicate their true feelings and intentions to each other. According to scholar Xiaomin Wang, who wrote extensively on the topics of miscommunication within this story, “However, from the very first moments, one can tell that neither listens to the other and poor listening and communication is going on which worsens the existing crisis in their life. Jig notes that the hills behind the train station "...look like white elephants'' and when her boyfriend states he has never seen a white elephant, she responds rudely. " Jig's comment about the hills looking like white elephants is a subtle attempt to initiate a conversation about her pregnancy, but the man fails to recognize this and instead responds in a dismissive manner. This lack of attentiveness on his part highlights the significant communication gap between the couple, and it is clear that they are not truly engaging with each other or making an effort to understand each other's perspectives.
In his story “Hills Like White Elephants”, Ernest Hemingway points out the couple's inability to make the decision: whether to abort the unborn child or not. The reader finds that the story deals with couple's miscommunication through the conversation and the emotions that they express. One can observe that no descriptions are given to the characters, thus, Hemingway creates universal dilemma to focus on the crucial issue. In this way, Hemingway leads the reader to identify with his female character that undergoes a struggle.
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.
“Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway: The Morality Within The Operation Ernest Hemingway created the iceberg theory, by which he expects the reader to know a great deal of information from the little he expresses. This style is evident in his short story, “Hills Like White Elephants,” because the information the reader must obtain is hidden underneath the surface. This writing style confuses the reader for the most part, but when the short story is given a chance, the reader connects to Hemingway’s use of a variety of essential elements to engage and understand the story. This connection formed is strengthened by the important combination of allusion and symbolism expressed within this great short story. Most of the short story focuses on the dialogue between a young couple of an American man and the girl, Jig, who remains nameless for most of the short story.
“Hills Like White Elephants” may be a short story about two people just talking in a bar of a station, but behind every word Hemingway uses lies a deeper meaning. It is necessary to point out that omitting further information is something that is typical to Hemingway’s writing style. The reader has to contemplate what the author wants to portray in his story in the first place. Although the author probably had one meaning in mind, the metaphors can be interpreted in many ways. While reading the story, what came up to my mind was whether the author’s personal life had to do something with it or not.