The main devices Ernests used were symbolism and metaphors. From the very first line of the story which is in fact the title of the story ‘‘Hills Like White Elephants’’ the author compares the hills that look like white elephants to the operation. As defined in dictionaries, a White Elephant is a possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of. These traits represent the exact characteristics of a baby. At the start of the story, the man said: ‘‘I said the mountains looked like white elephants.
Symbols are often placed in the surrounding scenery of a story to give it more than just a visual effect but also an indirect reference to a deeper meaning that can be interpreted. As seen in the title, symbolism is used throughout the short story, “Hills like White Elephants”. Ernest Hemingway’s use of symbolism along with the description of the setting helps to give a visual representation of the conflict between the American and the girl as their conversation continues on the subject of abortion. In the near beginning of the story, Jig, the girl, states that the far off hills “look like white elephants” (Charters 475). In Asian culture, the white elephant is seen as a burden as it is costly to care for and an unwanted burden despite it being considered a holy animal.
Hemingway’s narration of this story through a unique point-of-view and a dynamic female character named Jig serve as evidence that it is the female who wins this battle. Hemingway narrates this story uniquely through the third-person point of view and without focusing on either character. He offers almost no insight into the characters’ minds, and by doing so, Hemingway allows his readers to draw their own conclusions. This adds a genuine touch to the story. In reality, one can never know what someone else is thinking and has to rely on body language, tone inflection, and intuition.
In Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," tension is created in the story through the juxtaposition of the conversation and the schedule of the oncoming train.Hemingway uses many examples of theme and setting to display the conversation through two characters. The setting and the environment around them is symbolic for Jig to make a decision. The American and Jig mainly discuss the thought to either have an abortion or to not have an abortion. One form of symbolism is when Jig says, "They look like white elephants" (1). White emphasizes that something is pure.
The fact that Hemingway places it at a midway point hints at the fact that this is only the beginning of the relationship troubles. The girl in the story says the hills look like white elephants in the beginning of the story, but as the fight between the couple gets more and more heated her view of the hills change. She seems to be torn between the two landscapes that the author painted. This vacillates behavior toward the setting most likely symbolizes her choice to have the operation or to
The ambiguous operation that is disused in the dialogue of the story is an abortion. The author uses “Hills like White Elephants” to portray the issues of an ending relationship and the suppression of women in his era. Furthermore, in the story the conflict between the couple starts immediately and displays their major communication
In Middle Passage we see how the African slaves on the boat suffered terrible condition and weren’t given a choice. They did not care for them, only viewed them as property or as an item. In Shooting An Elephant George Orwell uses the relationship between the officer and the elephant to symbolize something greater. The elephant which symbolizes the British and the officer who is representing the British opposition to how they treat the Burmese people. Each of these pieces of literature help show how a higher power oppresses a
The concept of nada creates a darker mood for the stories by serving as the “antagonist” of the story for the older doctor and waiter to “fight” against. Although the waiter has the cafe to ward off the feelings of nothingness while the doctor has his medical skills to fight for the patient’s survival, both characters are forced to acknowledge their defeat in the end, creating the depressing tone that is characteristic of a Hemingway story. The settings of Hemingway’s A Clean, Well-Lighted Place and The White Room are a major symbol in both stories. In The White Room, the surgery room is described in a way that emphasizes the man’s impending death, using the
Christian Carasa English Composition 28 April 2016 Research Paper In the short story, “The Hills Like White Elephants,” an assortment of symbolic and scenic settings are integrated into the story by Hemingway. Hemingway uses symbols to teach the reader situations people could come across throughout life. The use of symbols in “Hills Like White Elephants” is very important to the plot line and to the fundamental meaning of the story. Through this use of symbolism, the reader can begin to reveal the concealed themes in this short story. Jig has found herself at a cross road that will directly affect her life and also her relationship but would mean terminating her baby.
The operation, black licorice, and barren White Elephants left off in the distance? What if this was all life was about, all there was to ever know left a bad taste behind. In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” tension in relationships is revealed through the strong symbols like the “operations”, “station tracks”, and the ever so upbeat “jig”. White elephants are “possessions that are useless or troublesome, especially difficult to dispose of”, this symbol is referred to again and again in the short story through the heartbreaking dialogue. In Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants,” an insidiously subdued tone is created through the lack of description among the characters, Hemingway's structure of theory of omission, and an array of literary elements.