Hills Like White Elephant Irony

“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.

Enerest Hemingway’s short story, Hills Like White Elephants, may seem at first to be simple and plain, or as if not much is going on throughout the narrative. However, the story is actually very intricate; the author was able to say a lot without using many words. The story is about a conversation between a man and girl who are waiting for a train in Spain. The couple are both distressed about how they should make a decision of whether to keep their baby, or terminate the pregnancy. Hemingway is able to say indirectly that the conversation is about abortion without clearly stating it by using literary elements. Some of the elements Hemingway uses are symbols to illustrate different meanings for concision, irony to talk about something complicated

As humans, we tend to rely on others to guide us in choosing “right” decisions. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway tells a story of an American man with a girl, named Jig, having a conversation about whether or not Jig should undergo this “operation,” which we could assume is abortion. Jig looks to the man to tell her what she should do and what would happen afterwards, basically looking for a “right” decision. The girl is torn between listening to the man, who pushes her to have an abortion, or separating from the man, to instead, keep the baby. Hemingway uses setting and symbolism to interpret the girl’s struggle with abortion.

Ernest Hemingway was a groundbreaking author during the 20th century and he left behind many famous pieces of work. He used his own life experiences to contribute ideas and inspiration for his stories whether they involve his military career or his family life (“Ernest Hemingway). Hemingway also uses language in such ways that can convey feelings and ideas throughout his pieces. His use of language and dialogue in some of his short stories really paint a picture for the reader on the situations presented (Link). In the short story, “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway uses Jig’s ambivalence towards the whole situation with herself and the American to convey the idea that Jig holds all the power in the decision although the American, who is powerless, believes he has a say in the matter.

Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” was written before the 1950s and takes place at a train station in Spain. The definition of a white elephant is a possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of. In the story the main character Jig is pregnant by the other main character the American. The American tries to persuade Jig to have an abortion, but Jig’s feelings are very conflicted. Hemingway uses theme, setting, persuasive writing, and verbal irony in the story, which all contribute to shaping different moods.

“Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story published in 1927 and written by Ernest Hemingway taken place in a Spanish train station near the Ebro River symbolizing the couple at crossroads. The train station lies on two different roads just like The American and Jig, one side of the train is fertile while the other is dry and sterile. The American and Jig are in a journey to make a decision that can change their lifestyle, abortion. However, instead of having a serious conversation about a life changing commitment, The American utilizes alcohol as a distraction to change the conversation. As a result, Jig faces a difficult situation and decides to take a different road, literally and emotionally, than that of the American. Jig encounters herself in a moment where her lover does not agree with her keeping their unborn child and tries persuading her to abort. The reader can see that Jig is going along with the abortion because

The short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, is about a man trying to convince his girlfriend to have an abortion. The couple sits in a train station waiting for their trip to Barcelona, and are staring outside at the scenery—the line of hills “like white elephants”, as the girl, Jig, remarks. They sit and drink and they try to keep conversation light and to enjoy themselves. As the story progresses, however, cause for their underlying tenseness boils to the surface.

“Hills Like White Elephants” tells a story of a man and woman sitting at station waiting on a train to take them to Madrid. The story is told from the narrator’s point of view. There are two main characters. The man is referred to as the American and the woman is called Jig. The man is the antagonist and the protagonist is Jig. The story is more about Jig and her current situation. There is very little information given about the characters but the reader is told that Jig is going to Madrid to have an operation but only hints about the type of operation. The reader is led to believe Jig is going to have an abortion. In the short story “Hills like White Elephants”, the author Ernest Hemingway portrays “Jig”, the protagonist as a mixture

Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story about a man and woman who are faced with a difficult choice to make. The story has no internal monologue or deep explanations to express the characters thoughts, feelings and motives. Hemingway instead, uses symbols throughout his story to express the deeper meaning behind the American man and the girl’s conflicting decision.

The text “Letting the air into a relationship: Metaphorical Abortion in ‘Hills Like White Elephants” by Wyche David aims at analyzing and synthesizing the short story by Hemingway “Hills like White”. The analysis would provide new knowledge to readers of the short story or provide the readers with a new point of view of analyzing it. The subject of the text is to present his ideas on the short story and well as critique other critics who had previously critiqued it. The story illustrates broken relationships of Hemingway and the pain it caused him, which led him to write the short story. The whole text is therefore an analysis and synthesis of the short story written by Hemingway.

Every day people make decisions that affect their future lives. What makes a right decision? What may be right to some may be wrong to others. Right and wrong decisions are objective and vary among each individual. “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway, portrays the idea of decision making between two characters in a valley in Spain as they wait for a train to arrive. Jig, the protagonist, attempts to make a crucial change in her life by making the right decision, although her flaws, including indecisiveness, prevent her from taking action in her decision. Jig and the American have had a romantic relationship for quite a while and now their future together is in jeopardy. The two of them are having a conversation on whether or not Jig should get an abortion. The man is trying to convince the woman to do something she is hesitant to do. Hemingway uses metaphors and symbolism to express their feelings and decision-making.

Relationships can be difficult when two people have an opposing stance on a controversial topic such as abortion. Men, in their self-interest, perceive this option as an easy way out, in which they can have all the pleasure and none of the consequences. However, for a woman an abortion causes both physical and emotional pain which a man could never understand. Thus, making this one of the utmost difficult issues a girl may need to face in her life. In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants,” there are two Americans traveling in Spain. The setting of the scene is a bar located near the train station where the man and the girl discuss this life altering operation, as they await the arrival of the train to Madrid. Throughout the story the man is persuasive, as he attempts to convince the girl to have the operation, while at the same time, the girl expresses her reluctance and remains unconvinced that an abortion is the answer to their problems. Abortion remains as controversial today as it was when Ernest Hemingway wrote “Hills Like White Elephants”. Although Hemingway never used the word abortion in his story, he found ways to evoke emotions of sympathy for the girl and disdain for the man through his creative use of symbolism, setting, and characters in the short story.

“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, written by Ernest Hemingway, is an extremely creative short story. Hemingway uses many figurative elements within the story to paint a picture in our mind of what is occurring. He challenges the reader to solve the riddle about the “white elephant”. Hemingway uses diction,dialogue, and symbolism to allow the reader to experience the hidden figurative language within the short story

Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants is a short story written in 1927. The story consists of mostly dialogue between two characters and detailed descriptions of their setting. Taking place in the hills of Spain between Barcelona and Madrid, the two characters the American, or the man, and the girl who is sometimes referred to as Jig seem to question their level of happiness with one another and they have an apparent difficulty communicating with one another. There appears to be a rift between the two characters that only they know about. I question their tolerance for one another and their ability to stay together as they seem to be a committed couple. As in true Hemmingway style we only only know of the character by what they