Hills Like White Elephants, By Ernest Hemingway

In the short story, “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway from the start makes us draw out our own conclusions and does not give us a great deal of information. For example, we are only told about two characters, an American man and a girl who are waiting for their train to arrive. Other than this, we are not told what relationship the characters share together or where their final destination is. The protagonist who is referred to as “the girl” is in the middle of a tragic situation which can take a turn for the best or the worst and her partner, the “American man” is not helping but making the situation more heated.

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.

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.

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.

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

The alcohol, the train and the scenery are all symbols of the difficulties the couple is currently facing. Ernest Hemingway does an excellent job at using symbols to help tell the story. He chose symbols that helped enhance the plot as well as the conflict which is the pregnancy. “Hills Like White Elephants” has many symbolic meanings that help explain how a couple struggles with communicating, the journey ahead and the options they have when making an important

Hills like White Elephants, is a short story that was written by Ernest Hemingway in 1927. The stories main technique in giving information to the reader is using dialogue. There is a conversation between an American man and a girl who is with him. The two are at the crossroads waiting for a train at a railroad station between Barcelona and Madrid. They never specifically address what they are talking about, but they are debating about whether the woman should get a procedure or not and what will happen to their relationship and lives if she does or does not have the procedure.

The Elephant in The Room Lack of communication can often be detrimental to a relationship, especially when a major life change is introduced. In Hemingway’s short story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, he portrays the issue through the two characters, the man and the girl’s, dialog and how he formats his writing. “Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story that takes place in Spain where a man and a girl wait at a train station. During their wait, the man and the girl partake of drinks, beer, and discuss an operation, presumably an abortion, that the man wants the girl to have.

“Hills like White Elephants” makes use of the natural world, particularly that which is thought of as nature itself, to depict the relationship between a “girl” who is called Jig, and the unnamed American man, as well as the decision that has to be made (that is never specifically stated) of abortion. Though the image of train tracks that is used is not necessarily an aspect of the natural world in itself, the descriptions of the land on either side reveal the use of nature to depict

“Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway. Set in Spain in the year 1927, and narrated in the third person limited, this is the story of the internal conflict of an unmarried expectant couple in route to have an abortion. Hemingway cleverly uses several literary elements to describe underlying conflicts between the couple as they discuss the procedure. The central idea is an identity crisis regarding self-identity, and how conflict, setting, diction, and symbolism are used to tell the story. The central idea is an identity crisis, Jig experiences an identity crisis as she realizes her feelings about the pregnancy are in direct contradiction to the feelings expressed by the man concerning her pregnancy.

Neglecting to acknowledge something one finds unwanted in a relationship, can cause previous issues to remain unsolved, thus linger underneath the surface like an iceberg in the ocean, as it is shown in “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway. With the lack of descriptions in general, the description of the train station and the hills that are seen from there catches the attention of the reader. This creates the question; what importance can there be found in the metaphor white elephants and the setting? The first conversation between the American and the woman is when the woman gives an off-hand remark on some hills nearby.

Black or White Hills: The Resolution of Hills Like White Elephants Hemingway is known as a master of the Iceberg Theory, which his short story Hills like White Elephants is a prime example of. The short story feels a lot like a fragment of a longer story – beginning and end are left up to the reader’s imagination and the story is mainly based around a single topic: the fate of their unborn child. It is a story about a couple in Spain waiting for a train. They have a couple of drinks and attempt to decide whether to go through with an abortion or not.

Ernest Hemingway 's short story 'Hills Like White Elephants ' is a story about a couple who are having some trouble in their relationship. The main characters in the story are an American man and a girl. The whole story is mostly a dialogue between the couple. They are trying to have a fine time, but there tension between them and some kind of operation needs to be done. The operation can easily be done and if it 's going to happen it will be done on the girl.

However, the American man rejects the idea of family and selfishly attempts to convince her an abortion is a better solution. Weeks Jr. 77, analysis of the white elephant symbolism supports this theory. Hemingway sets “Hills Like White Elephants” at a train station; this motif symbolizes the state of the relationship between the American man and the girl is at a crossroads. Travelers, including the main characters, must, therefore, decide where to go and, in this case, whether to go with each other and continue their relationship or venture in opposite

“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway. The American and Jig wait on the afternoon train to Madrid, Spain. Due to a pregnancy that took them by surprise the two are at a difficult time in their relationship. It is clear that regardless of whether Jig surrenders to the American 's requests, their relationship is bound to be a disappointment and fail in the end. This is made clear using imagery in the title, setting and discussion between the two characters.