Symbolism in Young Goodman Brown and Hills Like White Elephants

When an author writes a short story, they often use symbolism to convey what they mean in as little words as possible; or to spread a message that is easier for others to grasp. “Young Goodman Brown,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway, are two such short stories that make great use of symbolism throughout the work. “Young Goodman Brown,” a story that is nearly all symbolism, has to be interpreted properly; so that the reader might understand and learn from what he is reading. “Hills Like White Elephants,” a story that uses less symbolism than the previous story, is a story that uses symbolism to talk about something that was forbidden at the time that this story takes place. Both stories use different styles of symbolism, and hidden meanings, to convey what the author is trying to get across to his readers.

The symbolism in “Hills Like White Elephants” is very exclusive, but effective. Throughout the story, the hills are said to appear like white elephants, though only in color. The white elephant was a very rare and precious gift, but it was also very costly and could not be used as a beast of burden or killed (Weeks 77). So then we know that something is either seen as precious or as a very costly annoyance. This story starts out with a man and a girl having a conversation while waiting at a train station. The couple is enjoying drinks at a bar and the girl is talking about how the hills look like white elephants, although only in their color. The man seems to ignore her, since he has other things on his mind. The man then tells her it is “An awfully simple operation… It’s just to let the air in (Mays 790).” We now know what the white elephant is a symbol for, a child. The man wants...

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... get an abortion. Although these two stories use symbolism differently, they are still masterfully created by their authors; and they use symbolism in a way that helps us to grasp what they are trying to convey.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown. Charlottesville, Va: University of Virginia Library, 1996. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

Mays, Kelly J. "Hills like White Elephants." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y.: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2013. 788-792. Print.

Walsh Jr., Thomas F. "The Bedeviling Of Young Goodman Brown." Modern Language Quarterly 19.4 (1958): 331. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

Weeks Jr., Lewis E. "Hemingway Hills: Symbolism In 'Hills Like White Elephants'." Studies In Short Fiction 17.1 (1980): 75. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.