Clash of Male and Female Differences in Hemingway

1807 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: "hills like white elephants" summary and hidden meanings

In “The Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, the theme of abortion is illustrated by the clash of a male and female relationship and the symbolic meanings of the Middle East. While in Spain the American and the girl are torn between one decision: whether to have an abortion or to have a baby. “The Hills like White Elephants” takes place in a train station in Spain. “The station [is] between two lines of rails in the sun”(Hills Like White Elephants-Litarary Analysis ). The rails run through a river valley with hills on one side of the valley; dry and barren and those on the other side are described with imagery of living, growing thing; in choosing whether to abort or to have the child, the couple have to choice between two ways of life. The two rails go separate ways, foreshadowing what will become of the couple after the story is over. The bamboo bead curtain in the station is acting as a curtain that is limiting the couple’s options, and their conversations; symbolizing that the pregnancy is also acting as a curtain between the couple, and at the end becomes a wall between them. The couple then has two choices: have an abortion and stay together like the American wants, or to have the baby and go their separate ways, leaving the girl to settle down and have a family of her own. The abortion is associated with the dry infertility of the hills on the barren side of the valley and by extension with the aimless, self-indulgent life they have been leading, and having the child is associated with the lifelike features on the other side of the valley, the “fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro,” (DiYanni) that symbolizes the stream of life. The story is told mostly in dialogue and “authentically capture... ... middle of paper ... ...as decided to have the abortion and stay in her relationship, or to keep the baby and start a family of her own. Works Cited DiYanni, Robert. Literature. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., n.d. Hills Like White Elephants-Litarary Analysis . n.d. 2 October 2011 . —. The Setting of the Hills Like White Elephants. n.d. 2 October 2011 . O'Brien, Timothy D. Allusion Word-Play and the central conflict in Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants". West Flordia, Pensacola, Flordia: United States Naval Academy, 1992. Wyche, David. "LETTING THE AIR INTO A RELATIONSHIP: METAPHORICAL ABORTION IN 'HILL WHITE ELEPHANTS'." LETTING THE AIR INTO A RELATIONSHIP: METAPHORICAL ABORTION IN 'HILL WHITE ELEPHANTS' (2002).

Show More
Related

  • Symbolism in Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway

    1703 Words  | 4 Pages

    Link, Alex. Staking Everything on It: A stylistic Analysis f Linguistic Patterns in “Hills Like White Elephants.”. The Hemmingway Review. 23.2 (Spring 2004); 66-74. Rpt. In Twentieth-Century Literary Critisism. Vol. 203. Detroit; Gale, 66-74. Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. . 12 Jan. 2015

    Read More

  • Jig

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” the character Jig is submissive to her counterpart The American Man, who is encouraging her to have an abortion. While Jig is not sure what she wants, she does not wish to press the subject of the operation because The American Man is intent upon persuading her to go through with the procedure. Throughout this story Jig’s helplessness, indecisiveness, and her lack of education become apparent, although by the end of the story she becomes confident, decisive, and ultimately takes back control of her decisions and life.

    Read More

  • Love in The Yellow Wallpaper, Hlls Like White Elephants, and A Doll's House

    1708 Words  | 4 Pages

    The communication going on between the man and girl in the story, "Hills Like White Elephants,'; are not an honest one. The man seems to lead the conversation where as the girl is quiet. He brings up the subject of 'operation' which suggested abortion, but never mentions the word 'abortion' in the story to understate it. He tries to convince the girl to get the operation, but the girl seems bothered by this subject. However, he does not stop. Their relationship seems to be fine when the baby has not came in between them. We could see this where the guy says, "We'll be fine afterward. Just like we were before.'; The girl wants the relationship to become as before, but is in a huge dilemma whether to give birth to the baby or not. The man does not want the baby and has the choice of abortion in mind, not thinking of the other problems that would occur through operation such as the girl's health. Later on, the girl makes a melancholy remark that the hills look like white elephants. Probably the hills being a round shape reminded her of the baby. She walks toward the end of the station, and sees the beautiful nature. When she looks more toward the nature, one could see her small desire wanting the baby and thinks what may have been happened if she had the baby. The guy does not pay attention to that remark, because he is just concerned about making his point that he wants the operation done, not considering her side.

    Read More

  • Jig’s Rebirth in Hemmingway's Hills Like White Elephants

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    Charters, Ann, ed. "Hills Like White Elephants." The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to s Short Fiction, IV, 615-618. Boston: Bedford Books, 1995.

    Read More

  • Immorality in The love of My Life by T.C. Boyle and The Hills as White Elephants by Ernest Hemingwat

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Hills as White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway, tells a story about a couple who are expecting a baby, but want to have an abortion. The setting of the story takes places at a bar situated across of a train station in Madrid, Spain. The couple sits by the bar, and order some drinks. They began discussing about whether or not having the abortion. While they wait for the train the man convince the girl. Within the two works there are many similarities but also differences between the central idea, conflict and the language devices.

    Read More

  • Pregnancy In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

    258 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” it is important that we know the couple is struggling with the decision of an unwanted pregnancy; although, we are not directly given this information within the story without analyzing it first. In the first part of the story The Americans girlfriend is willing to discuss possibly having an abortion. An example of her though process would be “They look like white elephants” which is what the Americans girlfriend said to him about the clouds. I believe that she was trying to point out to him that the pregnancy would be a costly lifetime event that they both didn’t want at that point in time. This couple struggles to talk about the pregnancy throughout the entire story. Instead of talking about

    Read More

  • Comparing Where Are you going, Where Have You Been and Hills Like White Elephants

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gale. Weeks, Lewis E., Jr. "Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in 'Hills like White'" Elephants. Studies in Short Fiction. 17.1 (Winter 1980): 75-77.

    Read More

  • The Symbolism in “The Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story that is about an American man and a girl called Jig. They are sitting at a table outside a train station, waiting for a train to Madrid. While they wait they order drinks and have a heated ongoing conversation over whether or not Jig will have an operation that would be of great significance to their relationship. “The Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway has two important symbols in the story, the hills and the drinks both of which help to give us a better understanding of what is going on between the American and his girl.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    This short story is filled with symbolism, some of which the reader may never find. The title itself can be analyzed a lot deeper. The “hills” refers to the shape of the female body during pregnancy and the “white elephants” symbolize a property requiring much care and expense and yielding little profit (merriam-webster.com). The story is about a man and a woman taking a train to get an abortion. The train is supposed to show change and movement, something this couple appears to need because their life is very routine.

    Read More

  • Elements of Comparison between Hill’s Like White Elephants and The Birthmark

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills like White Elephants." Responding to Literature. Ed. Judith Stanford. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. 841-44. Print.

    Read More

  • Life and Death

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    When a woman gets pregnant, she and her partner make a serious decision whether they should give birth to the unborn child or abort it. However, sometimes every couple can have a different outlook about giving birth or aborting because every male and female has his or her ways of thinking. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” the author, Ernest Hemingway tells a story of an American man and his girlfriend, Jig, who have a disagreement in the train station on the subject of whether to keep the unborn child or to abort. However, the author uses binary opposition of life and death to portray the polemic argument a couple encounters regarding abortion. As a symbol for the binary opposition of life and death, he represents the couple’s expressions, feelings, and the description of nature.

    Read More

  • Communicating Conflict in Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    ---, "Hills Like White Elephants." The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1953. 273-278.

    Read More

  • White Elephants Symbolism

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hemingway uses multiple symbols in his stories. In “Hills like White Elephants,” there are a plethora of images and objects that project an emotion or a feeling that isn’t explained in words, but rather are left for the reader to filter through and figure out for them. By looking at the setting, the train, and the title itself, we as readers can find a little more meaning beyond the dialogue and into the intentions and emotions of the American and his girl.

    Read More

  • Hedonism in Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants." Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Ed. Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. 268-272.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles: Then and Now

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 113-117. Print.

    Read More

More about Clash of Male and Female Differences in Hemingway

Open Document