Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

963 Words2 Pages

“Hills Like White Elephants” is a one-of-a-kind short story. Hemingway clearly felt the need to be straightforward and direct stylistically, a trait that is said to have carried over from his work in journalism . In this story, he decided to use the third person objective point of view, making the plot both thought-provoking and confusing. One might ask, was it really necessary for Hemingway to use such a detached and vague narration? Is the third person objective point of view crucial to the story? The third person objective point of view was absolutely necessary for the story: without it, the story would cave in on itself.
As the title implicates, the setting of the story carries great significance for various reasons. The couple is about to board the train, meaning that in spite of the conversation being presented, the decision about the abortion had already been made. The narrator also states that the couple is in Spain, a highly Catholic country at the time. A connection could be drawn between the stark Catholicism of the country and the couple’s inability and/or unwillingness to speak about the abortion candidly. However, it is very unlikely that the narration would have provided such a descriptive view of the setting had it not been in the third person objective. If the story had been told from the point of view of one of the characters, there would be so much to explain as far as their conversation went that the setting would get lost and remain unmentioned.
Since the story was written in the third person objective, it is easier for the reader to remain objective while analyzing the story. If we one were to hear the story from on of the character’s point of view, the retelling of the story would be clouded with various em...

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...hey would be bound to have emotional attachments that would make it difficult for them to recount the story in a completely true and objective manner.
Hemingway packed plenty of theme, symbolism, and overall meaning into this short story. However, the story would not have been nearly as meaningful had it been written from another point of view.

Works Cited

Balakrishnan, Professor Ganesan. "The London School of Journalism." London
School of Journalism. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2014. .

Kelly, Joseph. "Hills Like White Elephants." The seagull reader. 2nd ed. New York:
W.W. Norton, 2009. 203-208. Print.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Hills Like White Elephants Narrator:." Shmoop.com.
Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 5 Feb. 2014. .

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