ipl-logo

Hills Like White Elephants Symbolism

758 Words4 Pages

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. She is unable to decide whether to choose life for the baby, or to get …show more content…

The relationship between the man and the girl exemplifies the theme of man and woman, as well as the theme of decision and indecision. Together, the decisions of either choosing life for the child or abortion present additional conflicts. The decision to be made and the conflicts to come are what Hemingway is revealing to the reader through the symbol of the train. As their discussion over the operation and life together comes to an end, the man says, “The train is coming in five minutes” (Hemingway). The man informs the girl that their trip back to reality is on the brim of arrival and their journey together is about to begin. By symbolizing the train, the author is able to provide the reader with a glance into the lives of an indecisive couple and the journey that may or may not be taken together. The station where Jig and the man are waiting to begin this journey is additionally a symbol. The station pertains to the theme of decision and indecision because it signifies a stopping point in their journey. The station is described by saying, “On this side there was no shade and the station was between two lives of rails in the sun” (Hemingway).This statement counterparts the couple’s indecision about the unborn child. The couple seems to have no

Show More
Related

  • Hills Like A White Elephant Literary Analysis Essay

    528 Words  | 3 Pages

    Literary Analysis #2 Hills Like White Elephants This short story by Ernest Hemmingway, is about a man and woman’s difference in opinion with one another. The couple is waiting on a train to arrive at the junction station to take them to Madrid, Spain so that the woman can have an operation. In this story, Hemmingway utilizes symbolism and clues to explain the plot of the story and the conflict the two characters are having.

    Read More

  • Symbols In Fahrenheit 451

    437 Words  | 2 Pages

    Noah Cabrera Mrs Marick English, Block F 2 May 2018 F451 essay Fahrenheit 451 Essay Fahrenheit 451 is a science-fiction novel written by Ray Bradbury, it tells of a dystopian society that doesn’t allow books. The society is associated with a government that doesn’t allow people to read books as they think they want people to think their useless.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Ambiguity In Hills Like White Elephant By Ernest Hemingway

    333 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ernest Hemingway uses repetition and ambiguity in his story, “Hills like White Elephants'' to exhibit the idea that in order to maintain a healthy long-term relationship, communication and consideration of one another’s values are needed. Throughout this story, a couple, Jig and the American, are having an intense and emotional conversation about whether Jig should have an abortion. She displays very sensitive feelings about the procedure, and the American takes advantage of this by trying to manipulate her, repeatedly stating it is her choice: “if [she doesn’t] want to [she doesn’t] have to. [He] wouldn’t have [her] do it if [she] didn’t want to” (477). By doing this he falsely implies he has no opinion, but later contradicts himself by

    Read More

  • Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

    1554 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hills Like White Elephants Relationship Analysis

    813 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nevertheless, Ernest Hemingway soon shows that this relationship contains a rift. This becomes apparent once they try conversing to one another. The girl attempts to spark a conversation by mentioning that the hills look like white elephants, but this topic soon turns hostile with the American’s replies. How this conversation is handled already shows that the couple “are trapped in a state of imbalance and disagreement” from the beginning (Link). The problem with the conversation is that the American’s personality of being simple and serious.

    Read More

  • Abortion In Hills Like White Elephants, By Ernest Hemingway

    786 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hills Like White Elephants Rhetorical Analysis

    739 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hemingway sets the story environment at a train station, with two very different sides of the tracks. This setting is interpreted as a metaphor for the choice at hand, an interpretation of life or death. One side reflecting a dry harsh area, with no trees, and devoid of life, on the other side of the

    Read More

  • Hills Like White Elephants Point Of View Analysis

    969 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway the central idea is people sometimes don't appreciate something special when it's in front them. This story can put in the category of Drama because at the end the reader is left with a open ending unlike other dramas that have a closing. The story is about a couple who is waiting for a train at a railroad junction in Spain they decide to have a beer then have a conversation of whether to go through the abortion of their child. Next, the bartender tells the couple that the train arrives in 5 minutes so the American moves their bags onto the other side of the train station and gets a drink at the bar while Jig sits by herself. The theme of the story is people sometimes don't appreciate what's in front of them and is shown through characterization, point of view and symbolism.

    Read More

  • Hills Like White Elephant Symbolism Analysis

    1012 Words  | 5 Pages

    Important parts of the story are not discovered instantly. In the story, Hills Like White Elephants, symbolism is used to describe an unstable relationship between a man and women. Symbolism is portrayed in Hills Like White Elephants through the couple’s consumption of alcohol, the setting and mood of the story, the white elephant, the elephant in the room and the number two. When reading Hills Like White Elephants, it is obvious that drinking alcohol is a large part of their relationship. Alcohol is not portrayed as a good thing.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Abortion In Hills Like White Elephants

    893 Words  | 4 Pages

    The conflict between the two characters is the issue of abortion and whether or not the girl will go through it. Hemingway does not tell us that the girl is pregnant but hints it throughout the story referring to “the operation” as having an abortion. From the start, you can take

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Soldiers Home By Ernest Hemingway

    676 Words  | 3 Pages

    Two of the major topics that Ernest Hemingway portrays in his writings are gender roles and the lost generation. The story that portrays both of these the most is “Hills Like White Elephants.” This story is symbolism for an abortion that only one of the characters wants. The other story that portrays the lost generation is “Soldiers Home.” Gender roles play a huge part on the lost generation in these stories.

    Read More

  • Hills Like White Elephants Character Analysis

    1044 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Dialogue In Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

    1629 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Masculinity And Womanhood In Hills Like White Elephants

    797 Words  | 4 Pages

    If we observe their relationship, it seems like it is not going too well either. With attention to Jig’s view and the man’s view we can say that they both have a different attitude towards the abortion and their relationship. Remarkably, the girl’s thoughts change through their conversation. Renner divides the stages of the decision-making process into four – what he calls – ‘movements’. (28)

    Read More

  • How Does Hemingway Use Of Materialism In Men Without Women

    2165 Words  | 9 Pages

    Hemingway elaborates the surroundings very effectively, including the scene inside the train as well as outside it. On the other hand, the train that the American lady and the couple are on, is symbolic in itself. The setting is the duration of the train ride to Paris. The beauty of the scenic views they pass are symbolic for the beauty in love, as seen by Hemingway’s explicit details of color and nature. Especially when they talk about love in Vevey.

    Read More

More about Hills Like White Elephants Symbolism

Open Document