Hills Like White Elephants Short Story

At the beginning of Kate Chopin’s short story, “The Story of an Hour” the young, yet physically frail protagonist, Mrs. Mallard, is tactfully informed of her husband’s recent demise. Immediately after receiving the grim news, she makes it perfectly clear how she feels about the circumstances. Mrs. Mallard “…wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms” and subsequently isolated herself inside of the privacy of her bedroom. Reflecting on the events alone, she displays a welling of despair; however Mrs. Mallard notices that, unlike her husband, the world outside of her bedroom window appears vivid and alive. When cogitating about her external observations, and dissolving her finite trepidation, Mrs. Mallard comes an epiphany:

At the beginning of this story Chopin makes the read feel sorrowful. The phrase “storm of grief” is a powerful metaphor that makes a feeling of somberness come over you. Later in the story, the mood shifts from sadness to suspense. “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully.” That phrase makes the reader both wonder about and fear what is coming. Suddenly, the reader feels a rush of joy for Mrs. Mallard, the main character. She realizes that, “she would live for herself,” and the reader shares her joy. The emotional rollercoaster continues all the way to the end of the story, showing that Kate Chopin is a master of

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.

Time and place are very significant in the story. The author describes where the train is boarded and where it is headed to, but he never tells the reader where the man and woman are at the moment. Hemingway notes that the train "stopped at this junction for two minutes and went on to Madrid" (324). Baker argues that "this limited time symbolizes the time she has to have the abortion" (Baker, 145). Baker further

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.

Ernest Hemingway was a groundbreaking author during the 20th century and he left behind many famous pieces of work. He used his own life experiences to contribute ideas and inspiration for his stories whether they involve his military career or his family life (“Ernest Hemingway). Hemingway also uses language in such ways that can convey feelings and ideas throughout his pieces. His use of language and dialogue in some of his short stories really paint a picture for the reader on the situations presented (Link). In the short story, “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway uses Jig’s ambivalence towards the whole situation with herself and the American to convey the idea that Jig holds all the power in the decision although the American, who is powerless, believes he has a say in the matter.

“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 story settings of Chopin and Poe help to show how repression alters the mind. In Chopin’s, “The Story of an Hour,” setting is used to show how Mrs. Mallard’s repressed state of mind begins to flower and grow after she learns of her husband’s death. It is not upon first reading, but second reading, that most start to interpret the settings around Mrs. Mallard while she sits in her bedroom. Chopin writes, “She could see [……] tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life.” It is, as she sits at the window, that she becomes aware that she is free of her husband. Spring is the season of new growth and awakening of animal life. Chopin also writes about how patches of blue sky appear out of the “clouds that had met and piled one above the other.” These two descriptions help the reader see what is, perhaps, going on in her mind. The setting in which Chopin put Ms. Mallard in helps speak

This imagery of the train station is brought about by more than the actual setting, but rather is corroborated by the presence of bags “against the wall of the station. There were labels on the them from all the hotels where they had spent nights” (Hemingway 592). Hemingway’s choice to mention Jig’s bags is used to further extend the effect of transition, as the bags are covered in stickers, portraying a map of the various places that the couple have been together, both physically visited as well as the many emotional attachments that have grown between the two along their journey. An employee emerges, and offers to move Jig’s bags to the end of the train tracks for her as the train nears. Hemingway’s choice to have Jig’s belongings move towards an end of the tracks creates the effect of another man entering Jig’s life in order to bring her, and her belongings, closer to the decision of what track to choose.

The art, literature, and poetry of the early 20th century called for a disruption of social values. Modernism became the vague term to describe the shift. The characteristics of the term Modernism, all seek to free the restricted human spirit. It had no trust in the moral conventions and codes of the past. One of the examples of modernism, that breaks the conventions and traditions of literature prior to Modernism, is Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants”. The short story uses plot, symbolism, setting, dialogue, and a new style of writing to allow human spirit to experiment with meaning and interpretation.

In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, the plot of the story takes place at a train station in the middle of Madrid, the couple is sitting, waiting for the express to Barcelona having more than just a few beers. The point of view Hemingway uses is third person objective as if we are sitting there listening in on their conversation. The conversation the couple is having is about getting an abortion. The American seems like he wants the abortion but we don’t know what the girl wants, we only know her name and that she isn’t American. I believe that the girl will have the abortion and the couple will stay together because the American loves her and if she has the abortion he will stay with her and will feel less stressed

Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants” begins with an American man and a girl waiting at a Spanish train station in Barcelona for the express to take them to Madrid. They drink a variety of beers and discuss the “simple operation” the girl should have. The couple argues throughout the story about whether or not the woman should go through with her operation.

Ernest Hemmingway, one of the most influential American authors, brought us a mysterious yet confusing short story “Hills Like White Elephants.” Starts off with an American man and a girl, Jig, at a train station going from Barcelona to Madrid. The landscape surrounding the station is called the valley of the Ebro. There they are in a bar having a few drinks while waiting for the train to arrive. The man then starts off a different conversation with Jig that had to deal with some sort of an “awfully simple operation” (stanza 40).

The passages from “The Story of an Hour” and “Hills Like White Elephants” have significant importance to the stories. It symbolizes many aspects of life and situations. There are lot of significant similarities and differences in these two passages and situations.

Being at a railway junction (a parallel to the junction in their lives) they are in veritably the "middle of nowhere" in northeastern Spain. This physical isolation The time constraints imposed by their mode of travel only magnifies the exigency of their decision. They are only at this junction for forty minutes, and once the train arrives they have only two minutes to board. The detail that it is the "express from Barcelona"(142) is a contrivance employed by Hemingway to add a sense of urgency to their situation. The two tracks, each one representing an individual and their wishes, run parallel to each other, never crossing, and hence leave no room for compromise. It is either one track or the other.