Analysis Of The Story 'Hills Like White Elephants'

The “Hills Like White Elephants” is about a frustrating talk between the two couple in which the American man is trying to convince

Two partners; Jig and the American Man; traveled from Madrid, Spain to Barcelona in Ernest Hemingway’s short story, ‘Hills Like White Elephants’, taken place in the 1940s. While waiting for the train at a bar in the middle of a valley, the partners thought about their life together and their life to come. A big issue stands in the room as Jig is pregnant, and the American Man is desperately trying to convince her that an abortion is the right thing to do.

In the story, “Hills Like White Elephants” written by Ernest Hemingway tells a dialogue story of a woman named Jig and the American man who is waiting at the train station for their ride to Madrid. Jig and the American man are having a casual conversation about the scenery that the nearby hills look like white elephants. Then, there conversation turns serious as they talk about their relationship and their future unborn child. In Ernest Hemingway’s story the character’s conversation is important because it represents the lifestyle of a carefree life of an adult, the decisions of their actions, and their unplan future.

In Hemingway’s “Hills like white elephants” there are very subtle details that are noticed only when you dissect the reading and look past the text that is written on the page. We are introduced to both the “American” and the “Girl” early on in the story. As the story progresses on you begin to notice how different each person is and how that lack of knowledge can be almost child- like in nature. The age of either person is never mentioned, although when reading the story you get a strong sense that the “American” is significantly older than his female counterpart. Her inexperience is first noticed when she begins to ask about alcoholic beverages and how they compare to the taste of licorice (Hemingway 591).

“Hills like White Elephants” is a cryptic short story that takes place in a remote train station in Spain. The characters consist of a man and a girl, the man also being referred to as the American. In the beginning the girl remarks on the beautiful scenery across the river of wheat fields and hills. “They look like white elephants,” she said, and around those the country is “brown and dry.” The man is disinterested with this remark and he is more interested for the girl to make a decision. It is never clearly stated what he wants her to make a decision on, but upon further analyzation it can be deduced that the decision is an abortion. The man is acutely persistent for her to make a decision before the train arrives or if not then, soon. The hills looking like white elephants come to symbolize a burden or an obstacle, this can be used to reference the girl’s unborn baby and the pair’s relationship as well.

“Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemingway, is a short story published in 1927 that takes place in a train station in Spain with a man and a woman discussing an operation. Most of the story is simply dialogue between the two characters, the American and Jig. This couple is at a critical point in their lives when they must decide whether or not to have an abortion. Certain themes arise from this story such as choices and consequences, doubt and ambiguity, and how men and women relate. Hemingway also uses many examples of symbolism in “Hills Like White Elephants”, including descriptions of the surrounding scenery, the hills themselves, and the station where the action takes place.

"Hills Like White Elephants" is set at a train station. The setting plays the role of the couple's relationship. The American and Jig are at a crossroads in their life together and have some big decisions to make. Do they stay together and move forward, or do they part ways? As well as, do they have an abortion so they can continue with their carefree lifestyle, or do they settle down and raise their unborn child.

The vagueness in the story “Hills Like White Elephants” is relevant because the author wants the reader to focus on the conversation between Jig and the American. The conversation is about an operation that Jig is planning to have and the characters’ relationship with one another. The most common words repeatedly used is “simple”, “perfectly”, “happy”, “I know”, and “realize”. When the characters use the words “I know”, they are meaning that they understand one another. The word “realize” means that one of the characters is trying to get the other to understand their point of view. “Simple” and “perfectly” are words that mean everything will be okay or it would not be a problem. Jig and the American use the word “happy” to hope for a better

The story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is a story that describes a short conversation shared by two lovers at a train station. The conversation is difficult to understand at first, but

“Hills Like White Elephants” takes place at a train station, overlooking the Ebro River, somewhere between Barcelona, Spain and Madrid, Spain. When reading this story one sometimes gets the feeling of Jig not being able to identify herself or not feeling worthy, she depends on The American Man to help mold her identity in a way. Jig seems rather boring and has a humdrum kind of persona. Jig and her partner obviously have some communication difficulties and it almost seems as if Jig tries to project this onto the setting because she sees no other way to express the dilemma.

Ernest Miller Hemingway is known for his unique style and theories of writing, especially the iceberg theory. In the Death of the Afternoon, Hemingway says that “The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.” (92) Simple words, vivid images, rich emotions and deep thoughts are the four basic elements of the iceberg theory. Talk about how these stories illustrate four elements of theory. In both short stories, Hemingway describes scenery and characters with simple words directly to give readers a vivid image. Under this sketch, readers can know characters’ emotion and get the theme through their imagination and analysis.

The girl looks off into the hills. She mentions ‘They look like white elephants” (11). Which at first seems to be a random remark as they drink their beers. Once the topic of the operation rises she she then retracts her statement saying they no longer look like white elephants, however she is still very optimistic about the avoiding the operation and thinks life could continue on as normal and they would remain happy. Across from the hills is a valley. Once seeing the valley, the girl is destined to end the conversation in frustration and is willing to buckle to the American.

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“The Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story that is about an American man and a girl called Jig. They are sitting at a table outside a train station, waiting for a train to Madrid. While they wait they order drinks and have a heated ongoing conversation over whether or not Jig will have an operation that would be of great significance to their relationship. “The Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway has two important symbols in the story, the hills and the drinks both of which help to give us a better understanding of what is going on between the American and his girl.

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