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Iceberg Theory In Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

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In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, Jig has to decide if having an abortion is the right decision for herself. However, the dilemma of having an abortion is not told in the short story. The readers have to read between the lines to understand the situation Jig is in. This style of writing is called the theory of omission and was created by American writer Ernest Hemingway. The concept of the theory is to minimize the context of a short story to allow the text to be pieced together from what is not present. It allows the imagination of readers to find the supporting structure to complete the story and solve the hidden theme. However, Hemingway’s theory could be a problem because there are multiple interpretations of a short story which …show more content…

Silvia Ammary explains that “revealing only ‘the tip of the iceberg,’” grants writers omit information they know the readers can solve in their own interpretation (54). It is an illusion of writers showing a visible part of the iceberg above the water as their short story. The rest of the iceberg which is located underwater is the structure of the story--hidden in between the lines. Letting readers solve the deeper meaning of the short story through subtext creates a bond between the writer’s and the readers. The writers removing important details display how they trust their readers in their knowledge to complete the short stories without the writer's help. Therefore, the writers strengthen the story’s meaning by letting the readers to perfect the story by themselves. The writers use the theory for the readers to fill the intentional void in the short stories. Hemingway has said the style of the theory is “suggestive rather than direct” to allow the readers become the writers of the story (54). By analyzing short stories through subtext, the reader’s learn how get the most of the text from what is not explained or presented, but suggested to complete the structure of the

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