Hills Like White Elephants Symbolism Analysis

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.

“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.”

Drinking is another item that is symbolized in the story. The drinks that the American

“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.

“Hills Like White Elephants” tells a story of a man and woman sitting at station waiting on a train to take them to Madrid. The story is told from the narrator’s point of view. There are two main characters. The man is referred to as the American and the woman is called Jig. The man is the antagonist and the protagonist is Jig. The story is more about Jig and her current situation. There is very little information given about the characters but the reader is told that Jig is going to Madrid to have an operation but only hints about the type of operation. The reader is led to believe Jig is going to have an abortion. In the short story “Hills like White Elephants”, the author Ernest Hemingway portrays “Jig”, the protagonist as a mixture

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.

In a well-written short story, different literary elements and terms are incorporated into the story by the author. Ernest Hemingway frequently uses various literary elements in his writing to entice the reader and enhance each piece that he writes. In Hills Like White Elephants, Hemingway uses symbols to teach the reader certain things that one may encounter during daily life. Symbolism may be defined as relating to, using, or proceeding by means of symbols (Princeton). The use of symbols in Hills Like White Elephants is utterly important to the plot line and to the fundamental meaning of the story. Through this use of symbolism, the reader can begin to reveal the hidden themes in this short story.

The use of symbolism in Hemingway’s, Hills like white elephants, provides the reader with situations a couple may face at least once in their life. There are many symbols within this short story, some more complex than others. Knowing the different symbols, can ultimately lead up to the discovery of the real meaning in the story. Hemingway never gives us an easy explanation in this story, forcing the reader to make wild assumptions. Since this story requires readers to read between the lines and think more complex, Hemingway gives us symbols so readers can understand the overall meaning of the story. Hemingway points out many of the symbols used by mainly repetition, which make them very important. Some symbolism shown in this story is: the white elephants, the train station, and scenery.

“The Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story that is about an American man and a girl called Jig. They are sitting at a table outside a train station, waiting for a train to Madrid. While they wait they order drinks and have a heated ongoing conversation over whether or not Jig will have an operation that would be of great significance to their relationship. “The Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway has two important symbols in the story, the hills and the drinks both of which help to give us a better understanding of what is going on between the American and his girl.

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.

Relationships can be difficult when two people have an opposing stance on a controversial topic such as abortion. Men, in their self-interest, perceive this option as an easy way out, in which they can have all the pleasure and none of the consequences. However, for a woman an abortion causes both physical and emotional pain which a man could never understand. Thus, making this one of the utmost difficult issues a girl may need to face in her life. In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants,” there are two Americans traveling in Spain. The setting of the scene is a bar located near the train station where the man and the girl discuss this life altering operation, as they await the arrival of the train to Madrid. Throughout the story the man is persuasive, as he attempts to convince the girl to have the operation, while at the same time, the girl expresses her reluctance and remains unconvinced that an abortion is the answer to their problems. Abortion remains as controversial today as it was when Ernest Hemingway wrote “Hills Like White Elephants”. Although Hemingway never used the word abortion in his story, he found ways to evoke emotions of sympathy for the girl and disdain for the man through his creative use of symbolism, setting, and characters in the short story.