Symbolism in "Hills Like White Elephants"

Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" relies on symbolism to carry the theme of either choosing to live selfishly and dealing with the results, or choosing a more difficult and selfless path and reveling in the rewards. The symbolic materials and the symbolic characters aid the reader's understanding of the subtle theme of this story. The hills symbolize two different decisions that the pregnant girl in our story is faced with. Both hills are completely opposite of each other, and each "hill" or decision has a consequence that is just as different as the appearance of the hills.

"Hills like White Elephants" is not the normal story where you have a beginning, middle and end. Hemingway gave just enough information so that readers could draw their own conclusions. The entire story encompasses a conversation between two lovers and leaves the reader with more questions than answers. Ernest Hemingway was a brilliant writer. People that study Hemingway's works try to gain insight and draw natural conclusions about Hemingway and his life. Hemingway led a difficult life full of martial affairs and misfortune. Some of these experiences have set the foundation for Hemingway's greatest works. This essay will analyze the influence

As humans, we tend to rely on others to guide us in choosing “right” decisions. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway tells a story of an American man with a girl, named Jig, having a conversation about whether or not Jig should undergo this “operation,” which we could assume is abortion. Jig looks to the man to tell her what she should do and what would happen afterwards, basically looking for a “right” decision. The girl is torn between listening to the man, who pushes her to have an abortion, or separating from the man, to instead, keep the baby. Hemingway uses setting and symbolism to interpret the girl’s struggle with abortion.

“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.”

Authors may use this item to tell the story with different items and by using symbolism many

In Hills Like White Elephants, Ernest Hemingway uses controlled concise diction to develop a tension-filled tone, which characterizes the woman as a pushover to the man, revealing how society gives in to lust, blinding them from the love they desire.

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.

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.

What is the use of symbolism in writing? Is it merely to confuse the reader or is its true intent to make the reader think about the meaning of the story? A symbol is a person, object, or event that suggests more than its literal meaning (Meyer 220). In Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants," Hemingway uses a plethora of symbols to convey the idea that the young girl, Jig is ambivalent to having an abortion and that her older American boyfriend does not want to have the baby. Although the word abortion is never used in the story, the reader understands the concept through Hemingway's symbolism.

“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.

In “Hills Like White Elephants” Hemingway exceeds the boundaries of literature. He provides no clear resolution or climax. The reader becomes unaware of the narrator, only knowing what is said or described within the bare minimum of context. The short story seemingly only makes sense after multiple reads and in conversation with other readers. Each time leads to further interpretation. Its illusion is a simplistic dialogue that Hemingway exhibits. But, the subject upon closer observation is far more complex than just physical appearances. The individual is capable of inner turmoil under the scrutiny of simple actions.

The short story “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism to uncover the hidden issue that the couple is facing- abortion. They can either choose to live a selfish life with no change, or chose a life that is selfless with the change that the girl craves. The symbols such as the hills, drinking, the station, and characters actions that are used throughout the story are used to help the reader understand the theme of abortion. The hills symbolize a pregnant belly, the train tracks symbolize that they have come to a cross road in their life, and the drinking symbolizes the different views The American and the girl have on abortion.

No matter how random the symbols always link together to help illustrate a certain idea. In “ Hills Like White Elephants” symbolism is used to illustrate conflict, more specifically the decision on whether or not the couple wants to get an abortion. The women in the story often refers to how the hills “look like white elephants”, and when she mentions it it can come across as random. Although one must take a closer look and notice

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.