Symbolism And Themes In Hills Like White Elephants By Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway, author of Hills like White Elephants, ties in the theme of a person’s use of manipulation in life changing decisions. What helps Hemingway convey this theme is by using an objective third person point of view, which helps give the readers an unbiased interpretation of the story. Hemingway also blends in symbolism into his writing with using elephants and the actions of drinking that hold together the overall theme of the story. By using these styles of symbolism and objective point of view, Hemingway is able to convey the theme of manipulation throughout the story.

The use of symbolism in Hemingway’s, Hills like white elephants, provides the reader with situations people in society may face every day. 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 themes in this 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.

“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, a literary icon of the early twentieth century, challenged the typical lengthy and detailed prose of authors before him by pioneering a stylistic revolution centered around heavy dialogue and minimalistic details. More specifically, “Hemingway used a journalistic style and unadorned prose to capture the everyday lives of men and women caught up in history’s most momentous events,” without wasting pages establishing the setting or background within a work like most authors of the nineteenth century (The Letters… 442). Often, the mood, setting, and emotion within Hemingway’s stories are established through symbolism and constant dialogue. Hemingway expertly implements his unconventional and unique authorial style to convey the disparity in gender communication and perspectives and its effects on relationships in his 1927 short story, Hills Like White Elephants.

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.

Swaying trees in the distance, blue skies and birds chirping, all of these are examples of setting. Setting can create the mood and tone of characters in a story. In the story Hills Like White Elephants, the story starts out with our two characters, Jig and the American, also referred to as the man, on a train overlooking mountains. “The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry” (Hemingway). In the case of this short story, the hills provided Jig something to take her mind off of the grueling conversation she was having with the Man. As said by a critic, “the story itself is comprised almost entirely of dialogue. Although there is a situation, there is no plot”

Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “Hills Like White Elephants” is set at a bar or restaurant just outside the train station in Northern Spain near the valley of Ebro. Two tourists, “the American” and the female accompanying him, are talking over drinks. They start by ordering two large beers. Upon the arrival of the beers to their table, the girl is gazing at the mountains in the distance coming to the realization that from her perspective, the hills surrounding Ebro are perceived as looking like white elephants. She informs the American that she has come to such a realization where he claims he didn’t think he had seen a white elephant before. The girl told him he probably hadn’t causing him to be bent claiming just because she said he hadn’t didn’t mean he really hadn’t. After, they noticed an advertisement for a drink called Anis del Toro and proceeded to order two. When they received them, they argued back and forth about whether they tasted of licorice. The girl claimed to only argue it because she was amused by the argument leading them to agree they don’t want to have silly arguments and just want to have an enjoyable time together. However, the American begins to peer pressure the girl into getting a “simple” operation done. While he doesn’t give much info about what the operation is he does inform the reader it will make everything better and she won’t be unhappy. The girl seems hesitant about the procedure because they can have everything now without having it done in fact do have everything now. However, the American claims they cannot have everything without it because to him she doesn’t seem happy. During their little debate about the procedure, the waiter comes out and informs them the train will arrive in five minutes. The announcement caused the American to finally leave the girl alone due to the fact he had to take their things to the other side of the station before the train arrived. When he came back from doing so, he made sure the girl was okay now to which she assures him there’s nothing wrong.

In Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills like White Elephants” the story is about a young couple that is waiting at a train station. There are many elements in the story, such as disconnection, innocence, and irresponsibility. The girl express grief that their life consists of nothing but "looking at things and try new drinks” (7-8). The lacks of mentioning of the girl’s relationship with the man suggest that their relationship is not essentially serious or significant. While the couple waits at a train station they order large glasses of beer. This may be because they are trying to forget something that they do not want to think about. As they drink beer the woman comments that the distant white

During the course of the story “Hills Like White Elephants” the author Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism to describe the main idea of the girl having the “operation.” Hemingway uses the landscape, the white elephant, and the term “elephant in the room” to represent different aspects of the pregnancy and abortion.

Earnest Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” describes a couple - man and woman - held up at a train station in Spain. They begin to waste time on drinking beer and liquor in order to forgo the possible circumstances that has been placed upon them. The American tries his best to persuade the woman to have an abortion, but she is ambiguous about the challenges she might be faced with. Earnest minimizes his words throughout the story in order to exemplify a greater thought, called the Iceberg Theory. Earnest uses hills, landscapes, a white elephant, and the railway junction throughout the story to express the Iceberg Theory.

In Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants”, he uses literary techniques such as direct language, characterization through dialogue, compression, and direct presentation. Through his use of these techniques, he skillfully creates an unattached tone in his narrator. Hemingway also, uses a limited third person point of view, which takes away the ability for the narrator to state how the character is feeling or thinking. In short, I agree with the statement that Hemingway makes it impossible for the reader to become emotionally attached because he erases emotions from the character’s altogether and creates an unattached narrator.

The Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway is about a couple who, at first seems to be having a good time, until the girl brings up the hills that looked like “white elephants” and when the American man mentioned an operation. As the story goes on, a reader can infer that the operation their talking about is abortion. This seems to be the basis of their conflict as the man claims it as “the only thing that’s made [them] unhappy” (Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants 280). The story illustrates both external and internal conflict.

In "Hills like White Elephants," the story by Ernest Hemingway was taken place at a railroad station with no shade nor trees. The story was told in someone else's point of view looking through a camera from the inside of the station. The short story uses symbolism comparing the big white hills to elephants, the bamboo bead curtain, and the train station and the luggage.

Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” is told through the dialogue of two major characters at a train station in Spain. The hotel stamps on their suitcases suggest that they have been moving from place to place living like nomads and their conversations suggest that they have a stressful relationship. The girl harrows at the fact that their style of living consists of looking “… at things…” and trying “… new drinks” (298). The absence of mentioning one word to the American man about their relationship shows that it is not particularly serious or meaningful.

“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.