Use Of The Iceberg Theory In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

Wyche disputes all the critics who suggested that the text was either about whether Jig should carry the pregnancy to a full term or have an abortion. Wyche feels that the text was a metaphor representing pain which comes as a result of an end of a relationship between two people. One of his main ideas was therefore to dispute some of the ideas that critics had put forward in the past and bring forward a new meaning to the short story. As Wyche noted most of the critics saw a metaphor of abortion but failed to see that the abortion could also be used as metaphor to mean something else which in this case means the pain of a breakup. By bringing other critic’s point of view into play, he successfully acknowledges what they wrote and their ideas but also presents him with a point to dispute the same. Even if he does not refuse the ideas produced by earlier critics, the author presents a different point of view from whatever was presented before.

Jig appears to be unsatisfied with her life. In the opening scene, she is imagining white elephants as she looks onto the Ebro hills. The white elephants refer to an unwanted gift. She wants the gift of a child but knows she can't have it because the man doesn't want it. This makes her unhappy and makes her look for an "imaginary life." She drinks a lot and never settles down in one place. As she looks at the hills, she sees that there is no shade and no trees on their side. Later in the story, she sees that the other side of the hills is very fertile with a river, a field of grains, and many trees. Jig imagines her life as it could be if she becomes a mother and changes her lifestyle. Her life would be as happy as that little scene. Jig is also unhappy because she can not express her true feelings. She tries to tell the

Although Jig and Sheri were both dealing with the same issue of not wanting to have an abortion, they both interacted with their partners differently. While the American spoke with Jig over some alcohol, he downplayed the seriousness of the procedure. Jig was easily influenced by what the American was telling her and she even said, “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me” (Hemingway 637). While Jig did not want to have the procedure done, the way she interacted with her partner shows she cares more about his approval than she cares about herself. Also, it shows that when Jig interacts with her boyfriend, she is not willing to communicate her true feelings. Unlike Jig, Sheri is sure of herself and was not seeking her boyfriend’s approval. While Sheri did not speak in the short story, Lane had a vision of her saying, “This is her own decision and obliges him to nothing” (Wallace 258). Lane’s vision of their interaction shows that Sheri is not afraid to

traditionally, a train goes one way. Once it comes, it goes. Symbolically the train represents Jig’s

The girl continues with “Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me” (Hemingway 108). Saying she will do the operation in hopes of saving their relationship. “The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station”(Hemingway 108). She begins to look around at the scenery and wonder if they could really be happy after the operation. The man states that he does not want anyone but her, and he does not want anyone else because he knows it is perfectly simple (Hemingway 108), meaning that he does not want the baby, he only wants her. The girl then makes the American promise her to stop talking and changes the subject by ordering another beer. The waiter tells the couple that the train will be

Tension appears although this conversation suggests that they have been fighting prior to their arrival at the train station. Jig implies that she believes the American is stuck in his own perception and is unable to see beyond it . Since Jig is still dependent on her mate at this point when making choices, if only about drinks, she remains calm and changes the subject.

There are several instances in the story that “the American” reiterates “Jig’s” options for her future. Although he expresses that he would support and love her no matter what the ultimate choice is, she feels conflicted and her pain, which builds throughout the story and as the conversation progresses, becomes more obvious. What is most interesting is, as his second thoughts about the unspoken abortion spike, her resistance to discuss the topic any further grows in tandem. Although the two heroes’ love for one another is evident, there is the aching uncertainty between them: Is there room for a child in their relationship built of travelling, drinking, and discovery?

The ending of the story is rather ambiguous as it is not completely obvious what decision the two end up making. The man could have talked the girl into undergoing the procedure, or not. At one point toward the end, Jig tells him to “please please please please please please please stop talking”, and when he doesn’t she threatens to scream. This probably means that she had made up her mind, but it could be in either direction. In the end, she smiles at him, and he asks her if she feels better; she says that she feels fine. That could mean that she had made peace with the decision to abort their child or that she was proud of herself for finally standing up to him and making her choice not to abort final. Either way, making this choice is harder on her as she would be the one to undergo the operation, and she very well knows that he most likely will not stay with her if she decides to keep the child. No matter what she chooses, however, their relationship will never be the same.

Jig might be having the abortion because she is drinking during her pregnancy. Jig does not even think twice about drinking, she is the one that even said, "let's drink beer" (614). Even though in this time period a pregnant woman drinking was acceptable, it was suggested that the woman drink very little alcohol. However, Jig does drink a lot of alcohol at the train station. She continues to drink through out the story and even tries Anis Del Toro, which is illegal alcohol drink in most countries due to the drink killing people when consumed in large quantities. She is already

Jig attempts to make a crucial change in her life by making the right decision,

Jig's main objective throughout the story is ensuring that her partner is happy. This is apparent when she tells him that she will go through with the abortion. "Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me." "And I'll do it and then everything will be fine." Through these comments it is evident that she truly believes if she has an abortion their relationship will be fine giving little thought to the emotional and physical trauma the procedure will cause. Jig's subservient attitude is indicative of her low self esteem throughout the story. She allows herself to be shaped by a man whose care for her is more than obviously not a reciprocation of hers for

The couple must choose a path to take and deal with the consequences of that choice. In this time period abortions were rarely heard of. Because of the lack of knowledge of abortions in this time period, the decision becomes much harder for the couple to make. Jig is afraid of what

As the conversation escalates, Jig herself hides her true thoughts and instead, says the opposite: “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me.” (477). It may seems like she agrees to do the operation; but in fact, she is trying to ascertain the American man’s love for her. These implications and hints in the conversation keep them away from understanding each other and contributed to the failure of their relationship. Summing up, relationships in both stories show that communication problems are what tear them apart. Importantly, it is selfishness in the characters that initiate these problems; as they mostly speak from their view and for themselves, which then avert them from understanding their partner, and finally, a broken relationship is inevitable.

Being at a railway junction (a parallel to the junction in their lives) they are in veritably the "middle of nowhere" in northeastern Spain. This physical isolation The time constraints imposed by their mode of travel only magnifies the exigency of their decision. They are only at this junction for forty minutes, and once the train arrives they have only two minutes to board. The detail that it is the "express from Barcelona"(142) is a contrivance employed by Hemingway to add a sense of urgency to their situation. The two tracks, each one representing an individual and their wishes, run parallel to each other, never crossing, and hence leave no room for compromise. It is either one track or the other.

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.