Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

Wyche disputes all the critics who suggested that the text was either about whether Jig should carry the pregnancy to a full term or have an abortion. Wyche feels that the text was a metaphor representing pain which comes as a result of an end of a relationship between two people. One of his main ideas was therefore to dispute some of the ideas that critics had put forward in the past and bring forward a new meaning to the short story. As Wyche noted most of the critics saw a metaphor of abortion but failed to see that the abortion could also be used as metaphor to mean something else which in this case means the pain of a breakup. By bringing other critic’s point of view into play, he successfully acknowledges what they wrote and their ideas but also presents him with a point to dispute the same. Even if he does not refuse the ideas produced by earlier critics, the author presents a different point of view from whatever was presented before.

In Hills Like White Elephants, the story opens up with a description of the scenery. There is a couple that is at a train station at a bar going somewhere far. Throughout the story, the couple is having a conversation about something that is never mentioned. However, by paying attention to the characters, the language, and the symbolism, one can see that the conversation is about an abortion and that the couple’s relationship is falling apart. Ernest Hemingway uses characters, sexism, and the setting and symbolism to give the readers a chance to know couple and see their broken relationship.

Complicated Love We will be “just like we were before,” said no happy couple ever! In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway it presents a tale of two lovers. Hemingway’s use of the barroom between the train tracks (used as his setting) alludes to a problematic relationship. The main characters; the American, and the girl are facing difficulties which becomes increasingly evident throughout the text when we learn the lover’s relationship is in shambles, due to their disagreement over an abortion. A dysfunctional relationship portrayed throughout the text is seen through their apparent lack of communication, along with being in different stages of their lives, and finally with their willingness to give up anything just to be happy or loved.

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.)

The final theme derived from this story is how men and women relate to each other. Most of Hemingway’s stories are masculine in nature, but “Hills Like White Elephants” shows the woman’s point of view as the more rational of the two (Short Stories for Students 158). The man is shown as being selfish and irresponsible by starting this relationship and then lacking the support Jig needs (Hamid 78). The American sees life as being very straightforward and rational, while Jig is considered to be romantic and living in an emotional world (Beacham 8). Clearly, these themes are still applicable in modern societies concerning this issue of abortion.

“Hills like White Elephants,” written by Ernest Hemingway is a short story about two characters and their’s turning and twisting arguments about an operation and also how the settings affect on both this characters perspective and attitude toward the abortion. The story begins at the train station somewhere in Spain where this couple waiting for a train to Madrid and discussing whether to keep baby or no. While in the stations, different events take place as highlighted by the author of the story where the girl explore surrounding of the train station and compare each thing with her situation such as the nearby rail tracks, trees, river, the hills, alcohol. On the other hand, the American responds by stating that he has never come across white elephants and refuse her perspective and shows his decision to not have a baby. The two characters continue ordering more drinks while having their discussion. In a nutshell, the story “Hills like White Elephants,” is a short story about a young girl name Jig and American man who waiting for a train and discussing about whether a girl have an abortion or no, based on abortion, there is a conflict of their relationship derived on the environmental setting of the short story.

At one point in the short story, The American sits quietly after jig begs him to stop talking about the abortion,

Symbolism plays a role within this story, and the majority of the symbolism is found in the setting. The first page of the story describes the setting in vivid detail: a train station nestled in a valley in Spain, flanked by rolling white hills on one side, and by flat, dead land on the other. These details are representative of the crossroads at which Jig and the American find themselves. The physical crossroads of the train station represent the two choices that the characters find themselves between: become parents and settle down, or abort the baby and keep wandering. The dichotomy between

In an article called “Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in Hills like White Elephants” written by Lewis E Weeks Jr. of Clarkson College of Technology I realized that the short story did not just have one meaning, I noticed how it is in fact deeper than just a couple going

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.

In “Hills like White Elephants”, a vacationing couple vaguely speaks their mind on harsh decisions that will affect their relationship. While abortion is still a controversial topic, prior to the Roe v. Wade in 1973, abortion was prohibited in 30 states making it a difficult process in 1927. Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” describes the human response of two American tourists in Europe on issues such as age and morality through the use of figurative language, syntax, and point of view.

In “Hills Like White Elephants,” author Ernest Hemingway gives a sample of the conflict between an adult male and an adult female. This conflict symbolizes the eternal conflict between men, women, and all human beings. By using a plethora of symbolism and imagery in “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway can convey how the two main characters struggle with the conflicts still found between all men and women. Examples of such conflict include the main characters of the short story dealing with the difference in their objectives, their own addictive personalities, and how the difference in objectives eventually destroys the man and the girl’s relationship towards the end of the story.

are waiting at a Spanish railway station for the express train that will take them to

Through the setting, Hemingway picked the perfect time, place, and circumstance to lead into the theme that life itself can give you difficult choices to make. The story takes place at a train station along the Ebro River in Spain in the late 1920’s. The characters are sitting and drinking at the train station waiting for the next train to come, and they are trying to decide on what they should do with their unborn child. Although it was never truly stated, it was inferred that they were considering having an abortion. The two characters struggled to agree with one another because they both wanted something different. The setting reflects this in the placement of the station: “the station was between two lines of rails in the sun” (Hemingway 123). In the article, “Moving to the Girl’s