Hills Like White Elephants Essays

“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.

If taken literally, Hemingway’s story is one in which very little happens. The story takes place at a shaded table of a bar outside of a train station in Spain where a couple argue about a vague event over drinks. From the very start of the short story, the text creates an overbearing uneasiness felt as the unnamed male and the girl, Jig, hold what seems to be—on the surface—an innocent conversation. By using a limiting third person point of view that consists mostly of dialogue, Hemingway creates an obstacle in the way of understanding as there is no clear insight to what is going on inside of either party’s head. The conflict that the pair seem to be discussing is never named and it becomes the metaphorical elephant in the room much like the white elephants that Jig sees in the mountains.

Ernest Hemingway’s story “Hills like White Elephants” and T. Coraghessan Boyle’s story “The Love of My Life” both tell their story differently but both has something in common; abortion. “Hills like White Elephants” is about how the American wants an abortion, however the girl is unsure whether she should abort the baby or not. “The Love of My Life” is about a young couple who claims they were so in love but fell apart when they made a mistake. “Hills like White Elephants” and “The Love of My Life” both talks about abortion but both had an different approach throughout the story.

“They look like white elephants” (Hemingway 75) is one of the first lines in Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants”. The story is about a man and a woman sitting waiting for a train, and they are discussing if the woman should get an abortion or not. They had differing opinions on this topic. The reason for the discussion was never said during the story, so the reader had to rely on symbols to determine what was happening. This story is important because he symbol of the white elephant, and the theme of fighting between what someone wants and what they love, as well as the feeling never being able to go back drove the story.

“Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story written by the American author Ernest Hemingway. The story was first published in 1927 in the experimental literary journal transition and later on during the same year in the second collection of short stories written by Hemingway called Men Without Women. Ernest Hemingway is regarded as one of the most important writers of the 20th century and most of his works are considered as classics of American literature.

“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.

Symbolism plays a fundamental role in Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”. The different symbols used throughout the story are capable of subtly conveying intricate concepts to the readers of this recognized literary work. It then becomes essential for them to detect all these symbols, and discern the deep meanings which they hold in order to truly grasp the story’s message which the author intended to transmit. Without this insight, many first-time readers may view the story as a simple and casual dialog between two people, a man and a woman, waiting for a train from Barcelona to Madrid. Thus, they become unaware of the intense conflict the two main characters are actually facing, haunted by the difficult decision of terminating a 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?

In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemmingway, a girl and an American man in a romantic relationship are at a crossroads, both as the setting, and in their romantic relationship. The American man and girl have been nomadic together as a romantic couple, but at the current moment the two are stagnate arguing. When the two start downing alcohol, it becomes clearer that the girl is pregnant and the man is inclined in favor of her to get an abortion, though neither ever directly speaks the issue. The two remain to argue around the obvious issue at hand, the girl remarks on the barren but beautiful white hills around them and the alcohol they are drinking, the man is persistent to reach agreement

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. In the story it 's not being said what the operation is. The second time I read it I understand that they are talking about an abortion. The man wants the girl to do the abortion while the girl is not sure. In Hemingway’s story Hills like White Elephants the conflict and tension between the man and the woman are revealed through their dialogue with one another and through their actions. Also revealed through dialogue and gestures is the subject of their conflict which is their unborn child and the decision the woman is faced with.

The story takes in place in the 1920’s. During that era, women were living under the influence of men. They were not so free to make decisions for themselves without being judged upon by society. Seeing a pregnant woman who was unwed was viewed upon negatively.In both The Story of an Hour and Hills Like White Elephants, the authors Kate Chopin and Ernest Hemingway describe women and the desire to express themselves and be free and how men influence their decision making.

There are several reasons why I decided to write about Hills Like White Elephants. The primary factor that led to me choosing this story is that it was my favorite overall story that we have read. Hills Like White Elephants is extremely relatable to a personal event that has happened in my life. Before I discuss how it relates to my life, I would like to share some details regarding the story. Hills Like White Elephants is being told by a narrator who is not a character in the story. The setting is in a valley in Barcelona, Spain. A man and his girlfriend are awaiting a train to Madrid, Spain. These two individuals are the primary characters in the story. Throughout the short story, the man attempts to talk to the girl about a predicament in

Men are from Mars; women are from Venus; this statement best describes Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills are Like White Elephants.” Although not directly implied, the short story gives insight as to how a man and a woman, who are going through a crisis together, have a very different outlook on how to communicate, remedy the situation and discuss what they want and need from one another. “While giving the words, metaphors, writers execute ‘concept plan learning’ to shape significant words games called the iceberg theory. The iceberg theory shares another name called the theory of omission”, in which noticeable meanings of words are missing and hidden (Wu and Hong 210). The goal of this paper is to examine Hemingway’s theory of omission writing style to demonstrate how using symbolisms, motifs, and metaphors, the

Giving birth to a child is a girl’s happiest moment. However, sometimes things don’t go as they are expected to go. Sometimes for some reasons girl’s have to go through abortion. In the story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, the man seems to want the girl to have an abortion as he says, “They just let air in…”(205) The man tries to convince the girl physically and mentally to have the abortion by telling her, “I know you wouldn’t mind it…They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural”(205). He keeps telling her that it’s “natural” and it’s a “simple operation”. However the girl is unhappy to have the abortion as she keeps looking around while he is talking. She tells the man, “Then I’ll do it. Because I Don’t care about me”(206) Even though she is agreeing to have the abortion, but by

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.

I have chosen to comparatively analyse these two stories by using the story grammar. By doing so I am able to show how each components (characters, objects, structure, language, events, and location) in these stories contributes in representing the theme: “coming of age”.

Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” is a controversial piece of literature, both in content and the way it is written. The piece contains lots of dialogue and symbolism; it is in no way blunt or obvious, not even the ending. It is only through careful observation that it becomes clear that the main characters, an American man and his female companion named Jig, are arguing about an abortion. The story has been interpreted many times, and a multitude of explanations for the ending have been proposed. The only aspect that seems to be agreed upon is “the existing relationship between the American and the girl will deteriorate, or terminate” (Hashmi). A variety of critics interpret the story in a way that portrays Jig as a weak character, willing to give into the American’s wishes in hopes of continuing their relationship. However, this interpretation does not take into

When reading any work of fiction, whether it be a short story or a poem, there is an expectation for something to happen or for some deeper meaning or understanding of a problem to become clear by the end of the work. However, in Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”, there is not a clear picture of anything that actually takes place within the text nor any deeper meaning to be understood from it upon the first reading. Without a clear story line, it becomes necessary to examine how Hemingway creates points of emphasis and importance through his patterns in dialogue. By analyzing the general form in which Hemingway wrote “Hills Like White Elephants” and focusing on the use of communication and dialogue present in the short story,