Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants", is a story about a doomed relationship. Hemingway uses symbolism, dialogue, and also setting to tell this story. Behind the words said by the characters, and sights explained to the readers, are hidden meanings that when analyzed, bring the story to another level. Alcohol holds a certain amount of symbolism in the story. The two main characters, "Jig", and a man we only come to know as "The American" are sitting in a bar. The pair order drinks, and they also talk about them. Though the woman in the story is pregnant, she still drinks. From this, one could only conclude that she either does not care about the damage she is inflicting on her young, or that she doesn't realize. While carrying on a conversation about having an abortion, they do take time to discuss their drinks, and also to occasionally order some more. Taking consideration the topic at hand, it becomes somewhat clearer that maybe the woman has chosen not to care about her baby, and that is why she does drink. The alcohol is a device the characters are using to avoid the subject and maybe make it seem a little more lighter, and easier to talk about. The man also uses the word "operation", instead of coming out and saying abortion as a way to defer from the topic also. One could only presume that the two are looking to come to terms on a decision that neither are going to put much thought into. The end of the story leaves the reader hanging, proving my point that no real talking was ever done, and that a conclusion was never reached. The fact that the couple was in a bar also tells something of the nature of their communication. Abortion isn't something that two people should discuss over drinks... ... middle of paper ... ...aiming to deceive at some point or to actually go along with the abortion, she is still running in the same direction as the man. However, being parallel, the tracks never meet. One can conclude from this that the two do not have the same opinion on the matter, and that in fact, they have opposite beliefs. When I read this story the first time, I was completely lost in finding a meaning or even making sense of it. Upon reading a second and third time, I found the story to be a story within a story, and that in order to understand it; one has to understand the symbolism in it. Hemingway used a story to tell an entirely different story. It was rather fascinating to discover some of the hidden meanings, considering the story is absolutely full of them. It takes a great writer to send the reader on such a journey of discovery, and Hemingway did just that.
He uses the symbolism in a way that makes you have to think about what they stand for in terms of what the couple is going through. The short story, ‘Hills Like White Elephants’, is all about how selfish the man is. The couple are not compatible together and throughout the story you can start to see that. This is through symbolism and the dialogue that is in the story. The way the dialogue is placed, helps Hemingway’s idea for the story a lot by having the woman silent the whole time that they are “discussing” the operation. During that time period, it wasn’t normal to get an abortion, but during the short story, it is made to seem like it was a very normal thing. The beaded curtain, alcohol, and the two sides of the valley, are just some of the symbolism used in the short story to tell what the couple views as individuals. While analyzing the dialogue, readers can tell that even though the woman is silent she still wants to keep the child and the man does
Through his endless amounts of pestering he never finds a way to get his desire and true feelings across to the young lady and becomes increasingly bothersome because of his inability to convey his feelings. “‘We can have the whole world,’ the American declares. ‘No we [cannot],’ Jig retorts. ‘ We can go everywhere.’ No, we [cannot]. It [is not] ours any more.’ ‘[It is] ours.’ ‘No, it [is not].’” (3) The American is insistent on continuing the nomadic lifestyle that the couple lives by aborting this baby, and pesters Jig continually hoping to sway her with the thought of living their same lifestyle that they currently live. However he never directly tells her his desires and instead attempts to manipulate her as he feels his desire is in their best interest regardless of how he achieves his desire. However he does not realize that in his examples he is strengthening Jig’s resolve and conviction in her own wishes. Earlier on in the narrative the American is quick to turn and begin attempting to conform Jig, without any warning or inkling of a change in topic he quickly turns it into what he wants: “‘Should we have another drink?’ ‘All right.’ ‘The [beer is] nice and cool,’ the man says. ‘[It is] lovely,’ Jig agrees. ‘[It is] really a simple operation, Jig… I know you [would not] mind it.’ [Jig] did not say anything.” (2) Without transition or a telling sign, the American quickly turns an agreement about how lovely the cool beer is on a warm day, into pressuring Jig to conform to his desires. All because of his selfish need and lack of responsibility to settle down and lead a life where they can raise the child, and his desire to continue living a life of excess and materialism, yet he cannot convey these desires of him
The woman does not know if she wants to get an abortion because she is frightened by it. While the man insists on telling her to do so because he wants them to continue with their life and not have to think about a baby. Although he mentions she does not have to do it if she does not want to. The girl attempts to change the subject by talking about how the hills look like white elephants to try to get the man to think about something else other than her procedure.
There is a common theme in “Hill’s like White Elephants” and “The Birthmark” of a life altering decision. Both women are thinking about having an operation that will affect them for the rest of their lives. In “Hill’s like White Elephants”, Jig and the American are debating whether or not they should have an abortion. This decision is something that will affect both of them deeply throughout their lives together. By the way the two characters interact with each other the reader can deduce how important they feel the operation is. There seems to be a tension in their sentences with each other. Jig says things like “Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for” and “That's all we do, isn't it-look at things and try new drinks” (Hemingway 841)? These responses to the American show that Jig is in a distasteful state of mind which would most likely stem from her thoughts about the operation and what they will do in regard to it. Because these thoughts of the operation are affecting her socially, it shows just how important the operation is to her. How Jig interprets the scenery around them while they are discussing the operation also suggests the importance ...
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.
To begin, consider the main character's point of view. Single and in his prime, he makes the most of his lifestyle by traveling and seeing new sights. The story is set on one such excursion, at a train station in Spain. Of the complications that might arise from starting a family, one is certain to him: traveling, sight-seeing, and his current lifestyle would be things of the past. These are some of his motivating thoughts as he pleads his case for terminating the pregnancy. He chooses his words advantageously, almost deceitfully, when trying to convince the girl that an abortion is easy surgery: "It's not really an operation at all" (275). Those familiar with the abortion procedure can affirm that it is an operation, and rarely a simple one. This remark reveals how desperate he is to make the decision for the girl.
Throughout the whole story, both of the two denied that anything was wrong. The girl saw everything they could have. She did not want to think about it, however. The man simply does not want to deal with the baby. They chose to not look at the unavoidable challenge in front of them. They did not see the life and innocence of the baby. They chose to ignore the two choices, life or death. They chose to see neither the dry hills nor the lively hills on each side of the Ebro. They did not see the hills like white elephants.
The material objects that Hemingway uses to convey the theme are beer, the good and bad hillsides, and a railroad station between two tracks. The beer represents the couple’s, “the American” and “the girl’s”, usual routine activity they do together. This bothers the girl because “that’s all [they] do … look at things and try new drinks.” This shows that the girl is tired of doing the same thing and wants to do something different, like having a baby and a family, instead of fooling around all the time. She wants to stop being a girl and become a woman. Hemingway then presents the reader with two contrasting hills. One hill on one side of the station is dull, desolate, and barren; “it had no shade and no trees”, very desert like. However, the other hill on the other side of the station is beautiful, plentiful in nature, and had “fields of grain and tress along the banks of the Ebro River.” Also on each side of the station where each hill is, there is a train track. These objects are symbolic devices prepare the reader in realizing that the characters are in a place of decision. The railroad station is a place of decision where one must decide to go one way or the other. The t...
...ogy by saying to her that she doesn't have to go through the operation if she doesn't want to, but convinces her to do so. Their lack of dialogue makes it easy for him to get his way all the time. He never approaches the real issue, like the emotional part of the abortion. Instead, he talks about how simple the operation really is. "I know you wouldn't mind it, Jig. It's really not anything. It's just to let the air in," he says. The man is not in love with her and only loves to please himself.
“Jig” who was the female character in this story was dealing with it because she had to make the choice whether to do what she wanted which was to keep the baby, or do what her significant other wanted, in which he was titled, “The American”, and he wanted to have her get an abortion. If Jig wanted the baby, the man would have to settle down and raise a family, and he doesn’t want to do that because that means he’s giving up his lifestyle (Machetemag) “There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights” (The book, at the end). Jig wants the baby, she believes that this is the best option but when she talks, she uses words like ‘we’ instead of I, “Should we have another drink?”, this reveals her mental and probably financial dependence on the man. Therefore, it’ll be hard for her to possibly have this baby alone since she’s not even
Through the characters' dialogue, Hemingway explores the emptiness generated by pleasure-seeking actions. Throughout the beginning of the story, Hemingway describes the trivial topics that the two characters discuss. The debate about the life-changing issue of the woman's ...
Another issue that is discussed in this story is abortion and two opposing views. When the conversation turns from the hills to the operation one is able to comprehend the mentality of the woman. "Then what will we do afterwards?" (465) shows the woman is concerned about what will occur after the operation. "And if I do it you will be happy and things will be like they were and you will love me" (465). Here, the woman implies she wants the reassurance that he will still be there after the operation, because an abortion places an emotional strain on the on the woman.
When a woman gets pregnant, she and her partner make a serious decision whether they should give birth to the unborn child or abort it. However, sometimes every couple can have a different outlook about giving birth or aborting because every male and female has his or her ways of thinking. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” the author, Ernest Hemingway tells a story of an American man and his girlfriend, Jig, who have a disagreement in the train station on the subject of whether to keep the unborn child or to abort. However, the author uses binary opposition of life and death to portray the polemic argument a couple encounters regarding abortion. As a symbol for the binary opposition of life and death, he represents the couple’s expressions, feelings, and the description of nature.
... seemingly simplistic. Hemingway discovered a way to demonstrate the complexity of the human spirit and identity through simplistic diction, word choice, and sentence structure. The story is only a small part of the deeper inner complex of the narrative. The short story allows a fluidity of thoughts between the individual and the characters without ever actually describing their thoughts. With no ending the story is completely left to interpretation providing no satisfactory ending or message.
...ings from a metaphorical perspective. They are advised that the train will arrive in five minutes; meaning while they are at the height of their clash their decision must be made almost immediately. After a moment the American picks up "the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks"(146) from their initial position on the side with the stark, ominous hills, thus signifying his affirmation of her wishes. He takes, what is to him the emblem of their past life together, his "baggage", and brings them to her side of the tracks, the side of life. They've both chosen the same direction in life. Though the text itself does not implicitly reveal their final decision, Hemingway's use of symbolism within the setting make their choice crystal clear: she decides not to have an abortion, and he, though not without staunch reservations, acquiesces.