Meaning And Symbolism In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

1040 Words3 Pages

A War Waging Within
In the writing of a short story, especially regarding Ernest Hemingway’s writings, every word has meaning and purpose, creating a world inside a world deep beneath what the eye can see. Taking the story, Hills Like White Elephants, symbolism is used to thread this deep meaning from beginning to end, painting a grand image of the war within human nature in the midst of life altering decisions. Although it is a short story, the vastness of unseen truths is imminent. Through this window, the reader observes and is given the freedom to discern by his rationality the message of each symbol and the poetic tone the writer is aiming to speak to his audience with. To begin, the reader is confronted with an undistinguishable simile of hills that compare to white elephants. Taking the idea of a hill literally, it could very well refer to girl’s pregnancy and the obvious physical effects it gives to the midsection. The idea of an elephant, particularly being white, arises many …show more content…

The imagery he gives is vivid and colorful. The writer states: "The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side, there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun” (1). This image animates the war within each character’s human nature and frankly the deceit that runs throughout. The dry landscape is a representation of life being stolen, and the piercing sun which is never biased or selective, bringing everything into to clear sight. She innately knows that unquenchable pain will accompany the killing of the innocent life which no money or dreamy vacation will substitute. Whereas the American believes that change is inviting a lifeless existence such as the dry plains. He says he loves her, but as the reader interprets, he isn’t willing to jeopardize his social status for this unwanted accessory some call a precious

Open Document