Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" relies on symbolism to carry the theme of either choosing to live selfishly and dealing with the results, or choosing a more difficult and selfless path and reveling in the rewards. The symbolic materials and the symbolic characters aid the reader's understanding of the subtle theme of this story. The hills symbolize two different decisions that the pregnant girl in our story is faced with. Both hills are completely opposite of each other, and each "hill" or decision has a consequence that is just as different as the appearance of the hills.

I was intrigued by all of the symbolism in “Hills Like White Elephants”. At first, I did not realize the symbolic meaning of these material objects, but did further research to find out. The beaded curtain doesn’t have the best meaning today, but along with the train track and the hills they all mean the same thing. Jig (a dance, and also a black person), the beaded curtain, the tracks, the hills, could all mean BOUNDARIES. Ernest Hemingway writes, “Well, let’s try and have a fine time. All right. I was trying. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn’t that bright? That was bright” (312). The girl and the woman were discussing if the girl wanted water in her alcoholic drink. She did not know what she wanted so she tried. She goes on to say how nasty the drink tasted, which is replied

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.

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.)

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.

“Hills Like White Elephants” displays the differences in how a man and a woman may view pregnancy and abortion. Jig, a woman, sees pregnancy as a beautiful aspect in life. Hemingway uses symbolism in the couple’s conversation to imply the woman’s pregnancy. The woman refers to the nearby hills on the train platform as elephants; “They look like white elephants”. She compares the hills to her own situation, pregnancy; “They’re lovely hills. They don’t really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees.”

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

The complexity of decision making is the process in making tough decisions regarding to real world situations. Communication is the connection and the main key between people, so without communication there is nothing. “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is about a conversation between an American and a girl, which is being held at a train station while waiting for a train to Madrid. The girl starts to compare the hills nearby to white elephants. Not in a direct way, the couple discuss an “operation” that the American wants the woman to have. In reality, this “operation” is an abortion. In “Hills Like White Elephants”, Ernest Hemingway utilizes symbolism and characterization to reveal the complexity of decision making and communication to illustrate that in a relationship one must communicate effectively to avoid separation or being forced to do something one doesn’t want to.

“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.

Ernest Hemingway, the author of “Hills like White Elephants” will leave his readers guessing due to his vague information put into his short story, ¨Hills like White Elephants¨. The understanding of figurative language, sensory details, and the use inferencing skills are needed to interpret what the author is trying to get across. If the short story is analyzed carefully the reader will understand that the couple in the story are deciding whether or not to have an abortion. Although “abortion” is never blatantly said it is shown through prolific figurative language. Symbolism, simile, and conflict are all prominent examples of figurative language throughout Hemingway's “Hills like White Elephant”.

In Ernest Hemingway's “Hills Like White Elephants”, the use of imagery and symbolism in the landscape of surrounding Ebro Valley, as well as the use of language and tone, shape our understanding of the conflict between the two main characters. The man referred to only by “The American”, is trying to convince Jig to get an abortion. Though the word (abortion) is never stated directly in the entirety of the story, it is conveyed by the use of symbolism and imagery in the surrounding landscape. Furthermore, we can conclude that the topic at hand will come to a final and abrupt solution that Jig will, in fact, get the abortion due to her tone and language at the end of the story.

In this story, the white elephant is the pregnancy that the girl dealing with. Thinking as a psychologist one may as if Hemingway experienced a similar problem like this in his own life? Hilary K. Justice says, “These open questions seem rather disparate at first glance, but Hilary K. Justice has taken a significant step toward unifying, them by following what she calls the "signpost `To Biography'" (30)--the story's dedicatory inscription--and pointing out that Hemingway used abortion as a metaphor for threats to his relationship with his second wife.”(Wyche) He never compares the hill to an elephant specifically by saying that “the hills look like white elephants,” however he says “hills like white elephants.”(Link) In the short story Hills like White Elephants, repetition, the train station, landscape and the white elephant are more than symbols it helps define the scenery and importance consequences that come with decision

Hills Like White Elephants The story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway was published in the year 1927. The author born in Illinois. Abortion in the year of 1927 was dangerous. All surgery of any sort in 1927 was done without the aid of modern blood transfusion and antibiotics.

The short story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemingway, is not the type of story that explicitly reveals its meaning. However, one must read between the lines in order to understand the purpose of this story, and certain literary elements are deliberately placed within to aid the reader. 3 elements in particular stand out in “Hills Like White Elephants” and their placement within are what make the story important and meaningful. Looking deep in the core of this story, the reader may see the usage of setting, conflict and symbolism to convey the issue of dealing with unexpected problems and confronting the future.

Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist who was credited with having a major impact on the fictional writings of the 20th century. His writings have influenced many people through his life experiences seen throughout many of his stories. In “Hills like White Elephants” Hemmingway uses multiple literary devices throughout the story. Three of these devices are imagery, symbolism, and a metaphor. Hemmingway uses imagery in his story when he calls his girlfriend a jig.