Essay On Hills Like White Elephants

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.

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.

The narrator is very brief. In “Hills Like White Elephants”, a man and young girl are traveling together in Madrid, Spain. I can infer from their conversation through their words and through the embedded vocabulary that they are probably headed to an abortion center. The reason I think this is because they spend the entire short story contemplating the idea of an abortion. The decision they are making seems urgent and rushed. The girl looks out the window at the “hills like white elephants” as the man continues to be persistent, as if wanting an answer as soon as possible. This urgency allows me to infer that the only reason why the decision is so urgent is because they are actively heading to an abortion center in that moment.

Every time the man or the woman try to change the subject and avoid talking about the abortion, they end up saying something that refers to or alludes to the baby or the abortion. The woman suggests that the hills look like white elephants (324), which the man fails to acknowledge. The lack of clear communication between the two causes tension and arguments at every turn. When the woman agrees sarcastically that the man has never seen white elephants, he says, "Just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything" (324). The woman is clearly annoyed at the insensitivity of the man's negative feelings toward her pregnancy. For her, the baby is a priceless treasure, but for him it is a worthless fetus.

Authors may use this item to tell the story with different items and by using symbolism many

“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.

Compare and/or Contrast the problematic marriages and/or romantic relationship in “Hills Like White Elephants” and “The Swimmer.” The story “Hills Like White Elephants” written by Ernest Hemingway and the story “The Swimmer” written by John Cheever had lots of similarities and differences, Which made them unique and similar at the same time. There is one thing that is clear which is that all the protagonist in these stories have troubled relationships.

To explain, the white elephants refer to the “elephant” in the room regarding the operation, an abortion, the man is trying to coax the woman into having. Whenever the man tries to discuss the operation with the woman, she changes the subject by saying “the mountains look like white elephants” (Hemingway 351). Because the woman continually refers to the white elephants in order to change the conversation, the audience is able to establish that the couple is uncomfortable talking with each other about the operation. Additionally, because the woman keeps changing the conversation to avoid the topic of the abortion, the white elephants symbolize how the pregnancy and abortion are an unwanted burden to the couple. For example, as the man attempts to talk with the woman about their drinks, the woman replies “they’re lovely hills . . . They don’t really look like white elephants” (351). Due to the woman’s discomfort talking about the procedure with the man, the audience is able to understand the uneasiness the couple feels about the procedure and how they handle problems as a couple. Through Hemingway’s use of the unwanted “elephant”, the audience is able to establish the underlying dilemma of the

The short story "Hills Like White Elephants" morphs into a desperate story of a woman socially dependent on an American man if the story were to unfold in the eyes of Jig herself. It's insinuated that she's bearing the child of the American man who pleads for her to have the "awfully simple operation" that "lots of people have done" (331). If the story were in first person for Jig, she would show the reader her anxiety about undergoing an abortion and the possible ramifications of the procedure. It's inferred that both of these characters never received ample sex education, and that during this time period contraceptives were seen in a negative light.

“Hills like White Elephants” and “Sea of Change” are both stories about taboo. “Hills like White Elephants,” is a short story about a couple who is close to splitting up due to a complicated subject in their relationship. The implication being abortion. In the “Sea of Change,” a couple is also having a complicated patch. The complicated patch being that the woman would like to break up with her partner to go with another woman.

Ernest Hemingway uses many literary devices in his short story Hills Like White Elephants to enhance its meaning and impact. A literary device is a technique a writer uses to enhance and produce a special effect in their writing. Literary devices are very important because they help the reader understand a story, and it's characters. The literary devices used to make Hills Like White Elephants a richer and more impactful story are setting, symbolism, and irony. One important literary device used in Hills Like White Elephants is setting.

Form Analysis in “Hills like White Elephants” “What did you say?” “I said we could have everything.” “We can have everything.” “No, we can’t” “We can have the whole world.” “No, we cant.”

Symbolism is found in title of this short story giving a major clue to what the story is really about. The white elephant is a representation of the woman being pregnant. The baby is not wanted and it is troublesome because this couple is simply not ready for a baby, “That’s the only thing

The pair is sitting outside at a table facing the dry hills. The girl looks out at the bleak, arid landscape and comments to her paramour that "[the hills] look like white elephants"(143). He brushes off this remark as a flight of fancy; after all, the hills bear no physical resemblance to white elephants. The girl is looking at these hills as being emblematic of their current lifestyle, and is trying to find some good in it, perhaps to convince herself to heed her partners wishes and go through with the abortion. She is trying to find magic in something very grim, but this self-pacifying tactic fails. His callous response to her attempt at finding beauty only furthers the emotional and ideological

The story “Hills like White Elephants” begins by the introduction of the story’s setting wherein they are in a train station outside the building. The main characters are the American who is a man, and a woman named Jig who is assumed to be his girlfriend is at the table in the shade that are waiting for a train to Madrid.