Theme Of Communication In Hills Like White Elephants

In Hills Like White Elephants, the story opens up with a description of the scenery. There is a couple that is at a train station at a bar going somewhere far. Throughout the story, the couple is having a conversation about something that is never mentioned. However, by paying attention to the characters, the language, and the symbolism, one can see that the conversation is about an abortion and that the couple’s relationship is falling apart. Ernest Hemingway uses characters, sexism, and the setting and symbolism to give the readers a chance to know couple and see their broken relationship.

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.

What is the purpose of the trip the two travelers are taking? (The narrator never tells us, but the careful reader can deduce this with relative certainty.)

Every time the man or the woman try to change the subject and avoid talking about the abortion, they end up saying something that refers to or alludes to the baby or the abortion. The woman suggests that the hills look like white elephants (324), which the man fails to acknowledge. The lack of clear communication between the two causes tension and arguments at every turn. When the woman agrees sarcastically that the man has never seen white elephants, he says, "Just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything" (324). The woman is clearly annoyed at the insensitivity of the man's negative feelings toward her pregnancy. For her, the baby is a priceless treasure, but for him it is a worthless fetus.

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

The final theme derived from this story is how men and women relate to each other. Most of Hemingway’s stories are masculine in nature, but “Hills Like White Elephants” shows the woman’s point of view as the more rational of the two (Short Stories for Students 158). The man is shown as being selfish and irresponsible by starting this relationship and then lacking the support Jig needs (Hamid 78). The American sees life as being very straightforward and rational, while Jig is considered to be romantic and living in an emotional world (Beacham 8). Clearly, these themes are still applicable in modern societies concerning this issue of abortion.

The story begins with a man known as the “American” and his girlfriend sitting at a table outside of a train station. The station is surrounded by hills, trees, and fields in Spain. The couple is waiting for the next train to Madrid. Throughout the story there is an inner conflict with the girl as well as an external conflict between the girl and the American. They speak of an operation that must be done for them to be happy together. This couple is at a critical point in their lives when they must decide whether or not to have an abortion. The train they are waiting for is an express train, which means once she gets on it there is no turning back. The girl views having the child as a blessing and

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.

Earnest Hemingway provides a different way to reveal his characters without going into great detail about the characters in “Hills Like White Elephants”. Hemingway does not describe the characters appearances or their body language. Hemingway though decided to reveal the characters by their dialogue. By giving more details within the dialogue it reveals the character of the man and the girl in the story. It is revealed in the dialogue the dynamics of the relationship of the man and the girl. It is shown that they care for each other, even though they have some struggles. You can tell they care about each other, because in the story it is said “I’d do anything for you” and “I don’t want anybody but you”. While also revealing the strife between

Subconsciously authors tend to write their personal life experiences in their writer. Just as a psychologist would analyze a patient by asking them questions. With brief research of the author and the use of their story, one may analyze them just like a psychologist would. Hills like white Elephants by Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism to demonstrate important life decisions and the consequences behind them. He mentions the phrase “white elephants,” a white elephant is interpreted as a gift that is given to someone, but not just any gift it's a gift that is not wanted and hard to dispose of. For instance, if given an expensive car such as a Lamborghini, and the responsibilities falls on you to pay the insurance and upkeep on it. Knowing how expensive the insurance will be you know you would not be able to afford it it is then when the car becomes the white elephant forcing you to sell the car.

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 that she would rather keep the child and settle down. Neither of the characters states anything outright, and our limited perspective leaves it solely up to us to decipher the meaning of the story. Ernest Hemingway uses the symbolic setting and the themes of communication and unpredictability to drive home his belief that life is far from being happy, and rarely conforms to what we expect.

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 number of women either died or suffered severe medical complications during an abortion due to its taboo nature. With abortion being illegal in that time, Hemingway tastefully leaves it to the readers to figure out what type of

The main character in the short story "Hills Like White Elephants," written by Ernest Hemingway, is an older man known as the American. The American and the girl are having some beers called Anis del Toro, which the girl compares to "liquorice"outside the station as they wait for the train to Madrid. The two have an tense argument, and soon the man begins trying to convince Jig to have an abortion, which the man reassures her is "awfully simple....not really an operation at all....all perfectly natural." "But i don't want you to to it if you don't really want to," he says repeatedly. She agrees to have the abortion, but says, "Then i'll do it. Because I don't care about me." The American in the short story, "Hills Like White Elephants by Hemingway, seems to be caring, but is in reality more of a insensitive, uncaring man who tries to persuade Jig into an abortion.

In the story “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway uses his in-depth ability of foreshadowing to provide the reader with little information on the stories background or future events to come. At first glance, the discussion that takes place in story seems like a minor argument between a couple at a train station in Spain. However, upon deeper analysis, this piece takes a stab at one of the touchiest subject’s world-wide - abortion. The female protagonist in this story, Jig, is pregnant and her partner, an American man, wants no part of the typical settled-down lifestyle. For some time the two have traveled around Europe with no true home and no set future. To him, this is the only way to live. The woman, however, sees a future at some point in time with a husband and children. Getting pregnant, to her, is a sign that the transition point in her life has come and she is ready to embrace it. The man, however, is unable to embrace this passage and uses his power to manipulate the woman in the direction of acquiring an abortion. The ways in which he abuses his power and coerces Jig to obey his will are devious and wobbly.

Communication is an ongoing process in which individuals exchange messages whose meanings are influenced by the history of the relationship and the experiences of the participants. (Adler, p.384) Communication depends on relationships between the people who are communicating, and on common basics between them. Problems in communications between people may arise due to differences in cultures, perceptions, values, and expectations from life.