Hills Like White Elephants Nature Analysis

Close interpretation of the story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway leads the reader to an issue that has plagued society for decades. Understanding of the human condition is unveiled in the story line, the main setting, and through the character representation. The main characters in the story are an American man and a female named Jig. The conflict about abortions is an issue that still faces society today. Architectural and atmospheric symbolisms are used to set the mood and outline the human condition. The love bond between the man and Jig is strong; however, the more powerful bond between Jig and her unborn child is sacred.

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.

In the story, “Hills Like White Elephants” written by Ernest Hemingway tells a dialogue story of a woman named Jig and the American man who is waiting at the train station for their ride to Madrid. Jig and the American man are having a casual conversation about the scenery that the nearby hills look like white elephants. Then, there conversation turns serious as they talk about their relationship and their future unborn child. In Ernest Hemingway’s story the character’s conversation is important because it represents the lifestyle of a carefree life of an adult, the decisions of their actions, and their unplan future.

A more significant literary element that the author uses is symbolism, which plays a big role in Hemingway’s story. As mentioned previously, one of them are the sides of the hills which represent life and death. Another form of symbolism found in the story is written in the title, “Hills like white elephants.” The man and girl’s conversation basically starts when the girl mentions that the hills look like white elephants. This could represent the idea of abortion. It’s referenced as an elephant like in the common saying “ the elephant in the room” which makes the topic of abortion a big, obvious topic that the couple has to talk about, but tries to avoid by drinking beer (5). As the girl observes the hills more, she realizes that they don’t really look like white elephants, so not everything is what you perceive it to be at first glance. Thereafter, she sees the two sides of the hills and realizes that having the baby wouldn’t be so bad, as she admires the fertile fields of grains and trees on one side. Naturally, the man who wants her to have the abortion says “It really an awfully simple operation,” but the girl realizes that it is not that simple (6). In addition, the man says that they could have everything if she has the abortion, however the girl argues that they cannot, because she can never take back the baby that she will lose if she undergoes the operation. To specify, she

“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.”

“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.

The visual diagram that I have created to show the structure of the story displays an individual pulling a piece out of a completed puzzle, only to find a new idea that resides below the surface. This design passed my mind due to the method in which the story is told. “Hills like White Elephants” is not a story in the classical structure with an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement ; however, instead we are only given the bare essentials on the surface of what is going on. In fact, the words on the pages characterized by hidden details have left readers like me to examine and piece together what is not told directly within the text in order to discover the context of the story. Consequently, as shown in my drawing,

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.

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

Frequently, Hemingway uses setting as a significant role within his story to symbolize what the characters do not speak. Throughout the story, the two main characters sit at a bar nestled within a remote train station. All the while, Jig takes note of her surroundings: “On this side there was no shade and no trees…” (Hemingway 274). She also mentions, “…the country was brown and dry” (274). Hemingway’s description shows how bare and desolate the land is on that particular side of the train station. By way of contrast, the opposing side of the station paints a different picture, “On the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of Ebro” (276). The clash between the two landscapes is profound. On one hand there is arid, lifeless land. Conversely, the opposing side yields, beautiful fertile land. Hemingway wanted to emphasize how Jig’s life would develop one way or another depending on the route she took. Notably, the dry land seems to represent the frailty of the situation and how unpromising the future looks should she go through with the abortion. Alternatively, the lush land she gazes at from the train station gives her a glimpse of what could be and perhaps represents her true feelings toward the pregnancy. Throughout the story, Jig has hesitation about the surgery and does not seem to want to follow through with it. Jig mentions, “’We can have everything’” (276) as she stares off into the mountains. The quote signifies that she wants to be as fruitful as the land and do away

Enerest Hemingway’s short story titled Hills Like White Elephants, is a story that may seem as simple and plain as if not much is going on. 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 with clearly stating it by using literary elements. Some of the elements Hemingway uses are ones such as symbols to show different meanings for concision, irony to talk about something complicated in a clear way, and he uses an objective 3rd person point-of-view to make the reader feel as if he or she is observing the event themselves. This story is a great way to show how one can tell a story in a simple and economical way to reveal something very complex.

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.

Ernest Hemingway was an American author and journalist. One of his most famous and controversial pieces “Hills Like White Elephants” is frequently discussed among authors and readers. In this short story there is a girl and a American man sitting at a train station. The girls name is Jig, we come to find out that she is pregnant and that the two are disusing whether to keep the baby or not. They question each other to see if the options would ruin their relationship. Hemingway portrays things to serve as double meanings. Two of the main subtopics and questions formed from this paper is whether or not Jig has the baby. And whether of not the tense relationship between the two lasts. Among the many authors who have their own opinion on what these things mean is, timothy Obrien, who wrote, “Allusion, Word Play, and the Central Conflict in Hemingway’s ‘Hills Like White Elephants”. In his paper he focuses on certain phrases to conclude his belief that Jig does get and abortion and that the relationship between Jig and the American does not last. A professor at Illinois state university by the name of Stanley Renner, author of “Moving to the Girls Side of “Hills Like White Elephants””, does not think the relationship lasts. Although the relationship does not last he believes that the baby does. David Wyche, author of “Letting the Air Into a Relationship: Metaphorical Abortion in “Hills Like White Elephants””, he is not

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.

In an analysis of the story “Hills like white elephants” by Ernest Hemmingway, one is forced to take a deep look at the hidden meanings embedded in the story. Considering the point of view, the significance of the location and its relevance to the story, the structure of the text, the symbolic meaning of the two landscapes and the title of the story, the entrails of the story are exposed.