Hills Like White Elephants

The two characters, the short story “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is centred around can be perceived to be close to one another, in some form. This can be inferred from the passage “‘It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,’ the man said. ‘It’s not really an operation at all.’” where the two talk of the operation used to induce a miscarriage, a topic that tends to only be breached between trusted individuals; although this excerpt does not determine the nature of their relationship. However, in tandem with “‘And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?’”, it is more likely that

The plot focuses on crossing boundaries. The two characters, The American and a woman nicknamed “Jig”, are constantly wavering middle grounds. It’s a story about communication and conversation. Though they are having a conversation the couple is not communicating. The story implements ambiguity and subtlety to discuss, though never clearly stated, an abortion. The couple arrives at a train station in Madrid. It is assumed only passing through, they decide to have a drink while they wait for the next train. The woman mentions the hills resembling white elephants and notices the infertile barren land in comparison to the green hills in the valley on the other side of the tracks. There is little conversation till the American man hints on an operation. There is

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

I am reading the fantasy book Wolves of the Beyond Frost Wolf by Kathryn Lasky the 4th book in the series of 6. This book is 256 pages long and the age range is 8-12 but I think that anyone should be able to read this fun and enjoyable, interesting book to read. According from a review from amazon “ This is a soulful searching read consumed with the spiritual journeys of animals and the ethereal connection between slayer and slain. The three main characters of the book are Faolan, Edme, and Dunbar.

The relationship between the American and the Girl in “Hills like White Elephants” appears to be strained over the matters of an operation. Their relationship appears rocky the moment they start conversing, having no means of hearing what the other one has to say. Their reaction toward one another reveals just how their different views on the matter affects their relationship. As they engage in conversation their opposing views, related or unrelated to the matter, are hard not to take notice. As well as the subtle descriptions the girl uses about the idea of a baby. This helps makes the reader is aware of which kind of operation it is that they later refer to. Hoping he will understand her, she tries to bring up the baby in an indirect manner in hopes not to ruin a fine time. The man on the other hand does the opposite by bluntly expressing his opinions. His strategy proves be persuasive when she

The couple arrive to a train station and sit down and ordered a couple of drinks. Then a conversation begins. “Its pretty hot the man says, Let's drink Beer”, (HLWE,1).The man and Jig start to talk about their drinks. The conversation goes back and forth a while until Jig says something unusual. She says, “ They look like white elephants,”(HLWE,1) The man replied and continued on talking about his drink. The conversation goes back and forth again until Jig gets upset and the man says “It's really an awfully simple operation”,(HLWE,2) The couple now argues back and forth with about this operation. Both not saying how they truly feel but are implying how they felt without being straightforward. The man wants this operation to occur. The female wants to make the man happy but doesn't want to get this operation. We can only assume there is a unplanned pregnancy between the young couple and the man wants to get an abortion. In the end of the story Jig says yes and agrees to it. She ends the conversation saying, “I feel fine, there's nothing wrong with

“Perfectly simple” is restated a couple of times in the conversation which tells us that out of the two only one wants the child and the other doesn’t want the child (Hemingway). The American man thoughts are not more important than Jig’s. Even if the American man is supporting her to get an abortion it’s still Jigs decision. His opinion does matter to her because she wants his thoughts about what’s best for them and their unborn child. Jig is torn between remaining reckless and carefree and making a family with the man she loves. “‘Because I don’t care about me’” states that she is willing to do almost anything for the American man but is blocked by her mother instinct to protect her child (Hemingway). Jig is indecisive in what she wants because she questions herself and the American man what if questions. “‘I realize…can’t we maybe stop talking’” this tells us Jig finally realizes that by asking a lot of rhetorical questions to the American man she has the answer she needs even if it’s not the answer that she wants (Hemingway).

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).

Women and men have rarely ever been able to wholeheartedly agree upon something, especially something as significant as an unwanted pregnancy. “Hills Like White Elephants” centers around an unwanted pregnancy and how a young couple is talking about it and handing it. While the mention of pregnancy or abortion is never actually said, it can be inferred through their conversations and simple clues Hemingway includes such as, “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig” (Hemingway) (Link). The man in this relationship, the American, continues to reassure the woman, Jig, that the “operation” is simple and tons of people have it done. He also continues to repeat “how simple” it is. Jig

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

Earnest Hemingway provides a different way to reveal his characters without going into great detail about the characters in “Hills Like White Elephants”. Hemingway does not describe the characters appearances or their body language. Hemingway though decided to reveal the characters by their dialogue. By giving more details within the dialogue it reveals the character of the man and the girl in the story. It is revealed in the dialogue the dynamics of the relationship of the man and the girl. It is shown that they care for each other, even though they have some struggles. You can tell they care about each other, because in the story it is said “I’d do anything for you” and “I don’t want anybody but you”. While also revealing the strife between

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.

When a reader reads a short story they need to pay attention because even the smallest of details are important. This proves to be true due to analysis of the surroundings of the characters and how they react to them. In Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants," the main conflict is a man who is trying to convince his female companion to have an abortion but the girl is resistant to the whole idea. Between the description of the couple's surroundings, their dialogue, and how they react to the setting, Hemingway manages to clearly depict the complexity of the situation and the two different points of view of the couple who are the main focus of the story.

In “Hills Like White Elephants”, Hemingway describes characters little. This short story basically consists of a dialogue between a man and a woman. In the short story, Hemingway barely provides the information of characters so that this short story can be generalized in one sentence: a man and a woman are waiting for the train to Madrid on the roadside. Because of the hot weather, they keep drinking beer, while discussing an operation. Actually, in this novel, characters are always talking about this vital operation. This operation exists as

“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.