More handpicked essays just for you.
Elements of the setting in "Hills Like White Elephants
Theme of hills like white elephants
Theme of hills like white elephants
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The setting of a story gives readers insight to the main characters. Setting is the time and place where an event occurs. It can help set the mood, influence how the characters behave, and reveal the circumstances of the main characters. In Hemingway 's “Hill 's like White Elephants”, the setting reveals the circumstances of the main characters; Jig and the American. In this short story the setting is the surroundings of the characters which include; the train station, vegetation, landscape, and weather. The story explores the struggles of a couple who are arguing whether or not to have an abortion. Their thought process and their beliefs are shown through the setting. Three main aspects of setting in this story are the train station which
The girls initial opinion on the hills are that they look like white elephants. In past time India the king would give his enemies white elephants as a gift. His enemies would have no choice but to care for it and they would require a lot of time and money. Therefore the hills represent something that no one wants, in this case, a baby. White hills indicate a life of servitude. This attests she is considering not having the baby. As the story proceeds, the girl modifies her previous assessment. The girl now believes “They 're lovely hills...don 't really look like white elephants” (2, line 26). She is now realizing she doesn 't want to get rid of the baby. It is very warm at the station and there are many flies. The heat represents the heated discussion the couple are having. Neither of them wants to listen to the other and the heat symbolizes this aspect. The flies express the irritability which is being experienced. The couple, and more so the girl, are becoming irritated with each other throughout their conversation. The American is pressuring the girl into following through with the abortion, but the girl doesn 't want to keep hearing this. The landscape surrounding the train station symbolizes the difficult decision making and how it is affecting the couples emotions. The setting of a short story plays a major role in imitating the main characters ' circumstances. There are many factors that construct setting, as shown in “Hills like White Elephants”. The train station, landscape, and surrounding area all contribute to establishing a strong vantage point of the characters ' situation, emotions, and circumstances. This story in particular is built upon its setting and the characters ' circumstances can be easily withdrawn from
Hemingway provides the reader with insight into this story, before it is even read, through the title. The girl in the story mentions the hills that can be seen from the train station and describes them as looking like white elephants. Jig is at a crossroads in her life, accompanied by her partner. She is pregnant and cannot decide whether to choose life for the baby, or to get an abortion. Throughout the story, she experiences persistent uncertainty over what she wants to do with her life. Whatever decision she makes will have a drastic impact in her later years as a woman. While seated at the bar inside the train station, the girl says, “The hills look like white elephants” (Hemingway). The hills that are spotted in the distance directly parallel the decision that Jig must make. Critic Kenneth Johnston was recorded stating, “A white elephant is a rare pale-gray variety of an Asian elephant held sacred by the Burmese and Siamese. The girl’s reverence for life is captured by this meaning of the phrase.” Johnston also says, “A white ...
In the story, the American and the girl are waiting at a train station and drink large glasses of beer at the beginning. The beer is put on felt pads. Felt represents the comforting barrier the alcohol provides them between the truth, the table. This may be because they are trying to forget something that they do not want to think about. The barren setting is because of the deadly and drastic situation the couple are in. The girl looks at the hills, saying they look like white elephants. This is referring to something that is big and important but is not being seen because it is white. The man says he has never seen one, showing that he denies that it exists. White also represents innocence, so the baby is innocent. The man does not see this baby as white, and innocent person, but only as an elephant, something that would require time and energy to maintain. The girl says that the man would not have seen this white elephant. This is implying that the girl thinks that the man does not really care about the baby or any type of innocence. The man did not see the innocence when he impregnated her, and does not now when he wants to kill the baby. The man says he might h...
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.
Ernest Hemingway has a superbly unique style of writing in Hills Like White Elephants. His short, to the point syntax and sentence style plays a great role in helping readers understand the theme of this short story. The critique M.A.K. Halliday observed, “The story is frequently generated by the repetition of words, clauses, and groups of related words or ethical sets” (Link, Alex). The first set of dialogue that can be pulled from this story is story is short and to the point. The American states, “We can have the whole world.” Jig replies with “No, we can’t” (Hemingway, Ernest). The sentence length is very short, yet there is a hidden meaning behind the small talk. Jig is referring to not having the baby. She can have everything, but her will to decide things. She can’t have a baby due to unloving pressure from the American. It is in sync with the tone of the story perfectly. The tone is forward, direct, and shallow. That is exactly what happens in this dialogue. There is no emotion, just pure sarcasm on a huge topic. Abortion to this couple is nothing more then a qui...
‘Hills Like White Elephants’ is a short story authored by Ernest Hemingway about an American and a girl named Jig. In the story, the two are sitting in a train station waiting for the train to Madrid. While they wait, they have an intense ongoing debate on whether or not to abort Jig. At the end of the story, the train is about to arrive and the man carries luggage on the tracks as they prepare to leave. The end of the story does not clearly define the outcome of its decision. She said I feel good at the end of the story - happiness is a central theme of the story, but we wonder if she went through with the operation. The paper discusses the manner in which symbolism has been employed in the story to communicate about an abortion, the couple is considering to go through.
The Power of Setting Though Ernest Hemmingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” and Sandra Cisneros’ “Woman Hollering Creek” have more differences than similarities, they do share one defining trait: an important setting. Setting can be more than just a physical location, it can also be a social or psychological state. Both stories rely heavily on their physical settings, which help shape their social and psychological settings, and would not have the same effect if they took place in a different location. The setting of Hemmingway’s story provides clues to the plot, whether or not Jig, one of the main characters, will be getting an abortion. Cisneros uses setting to emphasize the isolation of her main character Cleofilas.
Setting is a place or a certain location where an event is about to take place. It is used to create a vivid image for the reader and to better understand the characters and the certain situations the characters face in a story. Furthermore, the setting also gives further insight about a character’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions to what is happening around them. By learning about the setting in a story, the reader will be able to understand how the setting relates back to the character and to the story itself. In Amy Tan’s short story “A Pair of Tickets” setting is used to emphasize the discovery of self-identity as well as heritage and culture for the protagonist Jing-mei.
“The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station, looking at fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro” (Hemingway). The location of the setting plays a big role in how the characters will act and how they will express their feelings.
We learn that the woman in this story is called Jig is worried about an operation, and she is making the effort to talk her way into it or out of it. Her male friend, on the other hand, is out to give her support. The story presents the theme of loss of love. In spite of the transparent assertions of the man assertions, it is clear that he needs Jig to abort so that they can continue living their life as before. The approach that Hemingway uses the theme of love and hate is the loss of love. The “Hills like white elephants” may be referring to the baby who is the risk of death though abortion. The couple also seems to be looking at the hills as the lady defines them as being clean and beautiful. Also, white elephants can mean an expensive and great gift. So about this story the white elephant is the baby who is a joy and wonderful gift as well as a burden. The woman views the baby as an expensive gift because she will have to lose her boyfriend in the exchange of the gift. The baby also means a huge price to pay and also to care for the baby alone requires hard work. Through the story does not provide the topic of sexuality in the case of the other two poems I have discussed above, the effects of desire rein this story. The jig is convinced that she can have the world as she looks out to the mountains. The man represents a fear and restriction that are within
In American Literature the power of setting plays a big part and helps introduce the story. The time, the place, and the social situation of a story is a review of the power of setting in American Literature. The power of setting can also give insight on how the characters relate and behave in the stories. An author may use historical time periods to shape the setting of the story giving it a nice foundation, which really gives the readers a better understanding of the story.
“Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is about a couple, the American and Jig, who contemplate whether or not to have an abortion. The premise of the story seems simple enough, but the outcome is highly debated. Critics argue that the baby was kept by the couple ( Renner ) and others claim the baby was aborted.( Fletcher ) Others have even simplified the story, claiming that the issue was not resolved because the couple was drunk by the end of the story. ( Sipiora ) Although the conclusion is in questions many have agreed with the idea that the couples relationship would be changed and would end prematurely. ( Wyche ) Dialogue is the main technique in conveying this argument but we can only understand the complexity of Hemingway’s work by looking at the story as a whole. By looking at the many symbols, intrinsically and
Ernest Hemingway is an incredible writer, known for what he leaves out of stories not for what he tells. His main emphasis in Hills Like White Elephants seems to be symbolism. Symbolism is the art or practice of using symbols, especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations (merriam-webster.com). He uses this technique to emphasize the importance of ideas, once again suggesting that he leaves out the important details of the story by symbolizing their meaning.
Burroway, Janet. Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft. 6th ed. New York: Longman, 2003. As Rpt. in Rankin, Paul "Hemingway's `Hills Like White Elephants'." Explicator, 63 (4) (Summer 2005): 234-37.
The setting in hills like white elephants is very important because it refers to the natural landscape for references. The couple is outside a
Hills Like White Elephants, written by Ernest Hemingway, is a story that takes place in Spain while a man and woman wait for a train. The story is set up as a dialogue between the two, in which the man is trying to convince the woman to do something she is hesitant in doing. Through out the story, Hemingway uses metaphors to express the characters’ opinions and feelings.