Hills Like White Elephants Rhetorical Analysis

The man violates both the Maxim of Quality and Maxim of Quantity: he says what is not true, and he repeats the same sense three times. By saying he respects the girl’s choice as well as the operation is really simple, he is expressing the idea that he cares about her, but since the operation is so simple and safe that nothing needs to worry about, he wants her to do it. He is trying to win the girl’s trust so that she will agree to have an abortion. But his words are feeble, only making the girl angry at him.

Every railroad crossing should be taken serious even if it looks old and non- active. You never should drive onto railroad tracks until you are sure that a train is coming. Never get stuck on train tracks. If your vehicle was to ever stall on train tracks you should immediately exit the vehicle and clear the tracks. Just play it safe and never try to race a train across a railroad crossing.

At first, she does start crying, but after having some time to herself, she begins to whisper “Free!” (Chopin 426). Louise understands that she has this new-found freedom from the oppression of Brently, and that is why she seems both happy and upset. Even though he loved her, he still oppressed her. This leads to the conclusion that even though Brently was kind with his “tender hands” (Chopin 426) he still had the ability to oppress his wife even if he did not mean to.

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

Never drive around gates, they are there for a reason. Never race a train, that's just dumb. At night, be especially alert at railroad crossings. Be aware that train headlights might malfunction and not be on so you might not see a train coming until it is too late. Light rails are being used in Salt Lake City and are expanding.

Sheri and Lane are a religious couple, and they are distressed about their decision to have an abortion. Lane repeatedly assures to her that he will be in the operation room with her, but she does not believe it. “One thing Lane Dean did was reassure her again that he’ll go with her and be there with her. It was one of the few safe or decent things he could really say”(39). This narration shows the hollowness of his remark.

Most rails don’t have a fixed schedule so you should be cautious around railroads at all times. It also states that if your vehicle stalls you should get out immediately and call local authorities. If you it is safe to do so, you can attempt to remove your car from the tracks while having a lookout for approaching trains. You should never park your car closer than fifty feet away from a railroad crossing. At night you should slow down or stop before crossing a railroad even if there is no light visible.

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.

It seems as though the American wants to just toss her aside, because she is troublesome, and means so little to him. This same white elephant symbolism holds true in the case of the baby, as it is clearly unexpected, and moreso perhaps, unwanted by both parties to some degree. Even the mother herself doesn’t want the baby to some extent, because it would probably mean losing the man. This becomes clear, given her willingness to get an abortion it when she thinks about her life with the man going back to normal if she does. “And if I do it you’ll be happy, and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?”

“You’ve never felt anything. Not on the inside, you know that... Not for others, and neither do I. We can’t help it. Nothing - gets - in.”