Hills Like White Elephants, published in 1927, embodies Hemingway’s style, and explores the issues of responsibility, communication, and unexpected life decisions, and does so in just four short pages. Hemingway drops us off in the middle of a conversation between a boyfriend and girlfriend, in which the couple discusses whether or not to abort their unborn child. The man, known as the American, pressures the girl, known only as Jig, into going through with the abortion, while Jig subtly suggests
In “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, which takes place in 1927, a character who goes by the American makes abortions seem like a harmless procedure: “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig… It’s not really an operation at all” (140). This, however, is not the case and Jig knows that there is more to it than it just a simple surgery. Whether it was a manipulation driven tactic or pure ignorance, the American couldn’t have been further from the truth. During the twenties, an overwhelming
It takes great strength and literary merit as a writer to discuss taboo topics brought about during their time period. This is exemplified by Ernest Hemingway in his short story, Hills Like White Elephants. While the actual “operation” in the story is never completely discussed, the reader is able to conclude that the couple presented is talking about, or rather around the subject of getting an abortion. The stylistic choice of not specifically naming the operation shows an immediate and growing
Though Hills like White Elephants is a very short story, it offers a lot to be taken away from it. I feel like every person that reads it can get a different message from the story. That is one of the things that makes Hills like White Elephants such a great story. I can relate to this story very easily because I have been in situations that are somewhat similar to the one the American and Jig is in. I feel like there are multiple things addressed in this story other than the obvious ideas. Many
directly to give readers a vivid image. Under this sketch, readers can know characters’ emotion and get the theme through their imagination and analysis. First, Hemingway uses concise words to describe characters and scenery to show a vivid image. Readers can image by themselves through description to analyze characters’ emotions. In “Hills Like White Elephants”, Hemingway describes characters little. This short story basically consists of a dialogue between a man and a woman. In the short story, Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway’s stories are known for their ever interpreting meanings behind them, and “Hills Like White Elephants” does not trail from the rest due to the never mentioned word ‘abortion’. “Hills Like White Elephants,” written by Ernest Hemingway, takes place around World War 1 in Spain, at a train station ("Hills Like White Elephants." 4). An American man and a girl have been discussing the girl’s unspecific operation. It is apparent that the girl feels uneasy about this operation while the
The amazing "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway’s (1899-1961), who was a famous American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, basically shows us a couple standing in a train station, near the Ebro River, waiting for a train from Barcelona to Madrid. While waiting for the train, the couple takes the opportunity to order some drinks and enjoy the scenery (it is the moment when the girl says that the hills of the valley look like white elephants). However, as soon as they begin
just like Hemingway’s three stories. Each word is connected and intertwined with one another like a snake on a low hanging branch. The setting of each Hemingway story has special reason behind to contribute to depth of the conversation and give more context to the story. In “Hills Like White Elephants” the setting is a train station in a valley. You can understand how the setting affects the situation because the girlfriend comments and deeply observes the landscape highlighting the white hills and
Literary Response to “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway is one of the authors from the Lost Generation, which is described to be a group of people who came of age during WWI. That being said his short story, “Hills Like White Elephants,” is a piece about a young woman and an American man talking about how they cannot possibly achieve everything they wish to in life, regardless of how they try. Since Hemingway was part of the Lost Generation, the American man he writes
In the short story "Hills Like White Elephant" by Ernest Hemingway readers are introduced to a couple who's relationship is in trouble. A baby in their case seems to be the real reason why they're having difficulties in their relationship. The issues and concerns are becoming hard for them to understanding. The man dose not want to have this baby so he says "that's the only thing that bothers us It's the only thing that made us unhappy’’(Hemingway 115).The man really feels as if this was a big