Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

What is the purpose of the trip the two travelers are taking? (The narrator never tells us, but the careful reader can deduce this with relative certainty.)

Smith, Paul. A Reader’s Guide to the Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co. 1989. Print.

Hills Like White Elephants, published in 1927, embodies Hemingway’s style, and explores the issues of responsibility, communication, and unexpected life decisions, and does so in just four short pages. Hemingway drops us off in the middle of a conversation between a boyfriend and girlfriend, in which the couple discusses whether or not to abort their unborn child. The man, known as the American, pressures the girl, known only as Jig, into going through with the abortion, while Jig subtly suggests that she would rather keep the child and settle down. Neither of the characters states anything outright, and our limited perspective leaves it solely up to us to decipher the meaning of the story. Ernest Hemingway uses the symbolic setting and the themes of communication and unpredictability to drive home his belief that life is far from being happy, and rarely conforms to what we expect.

"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway is a short story that takes place at a train station in Madrid, where a couple is having a discussion over the consideration of a vague procedure that the man has proposed. The couple sits alone outside the station at the only shaded table on a hot day drinking beers as a disagreement between the two unfolds. The man wants her to have the procedure and subtly tries to convince her but as the story progresses, it becomes clear she strongly disagrees with him. The exchange between the two ends when the girl, known as Jig, refuses to listen to his persuasion any further, and asks him to stop talking, threatening to scream when he doesn't comply. He finally listens and he takes their

Hills Like White Elephants Luke Wakumoto In Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” a couple discusses whether or not the woman should have an abortion. In the story, the couple’s final decision was left ambiguous. Though there are many theories about the outcome, it can be inferred that the couple did not have the abortion because the man left his baggage near the delta, the couple ordered “Anis del Toro” in a bar, and Ernest Hemingway’s stories often parallel his life experiences. The man throughout the short story is shown moving his bags.

Though there are different ways to communicate with others, not all of them are helpful in certain situations. For instance, if two people do not agree on a topic their methods of communication could be poor. In the short story “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, The American and his girlfriend Jig are arguing over an issue. The issue may or may not be the abortion of their unborn child.

The woman is trying to tell the man that she does not want to end up regretting this decision that can ruin her life. She is trying to stop the man of talking nonsense and that she knows about the effects of such procedure. In the next dialog Hemingway is defining the pregnancy by using the “hills” and the “white elephants” to describe the relationship:

“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is a short story about an American man and a girl named “Jig” drinking at a bar waiting for a train that will take them to Madrid to come. While waiting, Jig points out that the hills look like white elephants. The conversation then turns to the man trying to convince Jig to have an abortion saying it’s a simple operation and afterwards they’ll be happy. However, Jig seems to be in debate with herself over whether she should do the operation or not. After arguing over the procedure, Jig gets fed up with the man and asks him to stop talking. At the end, he asks if she is she feeling better and she lies to him telling him she’s fine. In all, I think what Hemingway is trying to express is that the

The evolution of the female character identity in “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway As part of human nature, it is not uncommon for an individual to attempt to impose his own way of thinking or acting on those he believes he can control. In occasions, a sense of inferiority or fear can make us accept those circumstances, and, thus, act against our own will. Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” short story focuses on the strained relationship of its main characters: the American and Jig. Throughout his narrative, the author places special emphasis on two detrimental human characteristics: selfishness and individuality. The setting of the story takes place in an isolated train station located between cities of Barcelona and

It takes great strength and literary merit as a writer to discuss taboo topics brought about during their time period. This is exemplified by Ernest Hemingway in his short story, Hills Like White Elephants. While the actual “operation” in the story is never completely discussed, the reader is able to conclude that the couple presented is talking about, or rather around the subject of getting an abortion. The stylistic choice of not specifically naming the operation shows an immediate and growing disconnect between the two major characters in the story. Through the use of many relevant and appropriate literary devices, Ernest Hemingway depicts a struggle over life and death.

If I had to pick one story that had a strong setting to tell the theme, I would pick Ernest Hemingway “Hills Like White Elephants”. The story takes place in the Spain, and there are two main characters an American man and a girl names “Jig”. We learn that the story is based on this couple talking about if they should or should not have an abortion.

The Deeper Meaning: A Critical Analysis of Ernest Hemmingway “Hills like White Elephants” In the story “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Earnest Hemingway, there is a girl named Jig and a man who they call the American. They are both at a café across a train station in a valley called Ebro waiting for the train to Barcelona, while they are deciding to make a big decision. They are in a heated decision because they have found out that she is pregnant. Jig, the girl, wants to keep the baby but knows it is not what the American wants, so she is torn between the decisions of to please the American or to please herself.

In this literary analysis assignment, I choose to analyze the short story of the Hills of white elephants, by Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway was a 20th-century novelist Known for Short stories and Political journals.

The story “Hills like White Elephant,”is about a psychological conflict between the two protagonists. The method of symbolism appears in throughout the entire story to disclose the conflict of understanding between two characters. It is also about right and wrong decisions. An unnamed American man and a girl name, Jig, are waiting for the train that will take them to Madrid. While they waiting for the train they both decide to have a beer. Firstly, the train station is located between two sets of tracks. The surrounding description has symbolic value with represent conflict between two characters.“On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun” (Hemingway 256).As a description of surrounding the place

Several aspects of the text exhibit the characteristics of Hemingway’s unique writing style. First, the narrator of the story is not omniscient – there are no details about the characters’ thoughts and feelings. Rather, the narrator resembles an observer, who like a reporter following the protagonists, simply records what he or she sees. Second, the setting is not explicitly revealed. Instead, only a few words in the text indicate that it is World War I – “Padua”, “searchlights”, “armistice”, “the front”. Yet, some details of the setting actually assist in the telling of the plot – the weather is hot when the protagonists fall in love but rainy when the nurse cheats, and the Duomo implies a desire for marriage while the taxicab suggests a casual sex relationship. Third, the resolution of the story abruptly unfolds in only three brief sentences. Interestingly, the narrative does not contain any speech. Hemingway relies solely on description for the creation and development of the main characters. Still, this limited information proves sufficient for the reader to understand that the narrative is about a wartime love affair between a young American soldier and a nurse named Luz. This truly very short story almost serves as a synopsis for Hemingway’s novel “A Farewell to