Hills Like White Elephants Analysis

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Ernest Hemingway was arguably one of the best modern writers within the twentieth century. In his short story, Hills like White Elephants, imagery is used to portray symbolism. For example, he describes one side of the train station as having “fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro,” (lines 70-71), which represents the American and Jig’s life if they turn around and go back to Barcelona without going through with the abortion. Jig will still be fertile and she will bring life into the world, just like the land along the banks of the Ebro. The other side of the train station is described as desert land that is shadowed by clouds and mountains. This is symbolic of the American and Jig’s life if they go through with the operation, …show more content…

One way Perkins illustrates this theme in The Yellow Wallpaper is through the belittling tone her husband speaks to her in. One example of this is when the narrator tries to express her opinion on her illness to John and he replies to her, “Bless her little heart, she shall be as sick as she pleases!” (134-135), meaning her thoughts are being influenced by her illness and she needs to get more rest. In Hills Like White Elephants, Hemingway uses dialogue to illustrate the role of dominance in the protagonist, the American, and submission in his partner, Jig. While discussing the abortion, he tells Jig that it is “the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy”, assuming Jig feels the same way, although she never verbally expresses her thoughts to him, just as John does to his wife in The Yellow Wallpaper. Another similarity in the female characters is that they both feel like a burden to their partners. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator states that she got into the marriage, trying to help John, but ended up burdening him with her illness (44), while Jig feels like she needs to do whatever she can to make the American happy …show more content…

In Hills Like White Elephants, he presented the male character as much more understanding than Gilman’s character, John. Although the American pushes his ideas on Jig and his selfishness is apparent, he still ends up taking their bags to the other side of the train station, leading the reader to conclude that they kept the baby (106). This represents the American as a dynamic character, because he changed his mind for Jig. However, in The Yellow Wallpaper, John was a very static character, in the way that he did not change his mind on how to cure his wife’s mental illness. Another difference apparent in the two short stories is the use of point of view. Gilman used first person limited in her short story in order to express the thoughts of the main character, John’s wife, while leaving the audience to wonder what John’s thought process is. One might wonder if John is manipulating and controlling, forcing her to stay in the room with the yellow wallpaper against her own will, or if he is really trying to heal her with the rest treatment. Alternatively, Hemingway wrote his short story in third person limited. It is not apparent what either of the characters are truly thinking, although the reader can tell through Hemingway’s use of dialogue. The dialogue used in Hills Like White

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