1. Who is the main character? Does this person’s character change during the course of the story? Do you feel sympathetic toward the main character? What sort of person is she or he? Does this character have a foil?
The main character of the story “Hills like White Elephants” is the American’s girlfriend, Jig. She is very indecisive and changes her mind constantly throughout the story. I feel sympathetic towards her because she has to make a big decision and she does not have support from her family or her boyfriend. The character does not have a foil.
2. What pattern or structure is there to the development of the plot? Can you describe the way the events are organized? Is the structure significant to the meaning?
The development of the plot starts with an exposition phase,
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They are at the railway station, which means they are travels and are on their way to somewhere else. This information is important to understand the rest of the story; however, the author could use another time. the place is something that he could not because he would change and make the story with a different meaning.
7. Describe the atmosphere of the story, if it is important. How does the author create this atmosphere?
The description of the location and the outside were one of the most important aspect of this story. When the girl Jig who were looking outside tells the America that those hills “The look like white elephants.” She wants to make the American thinks about their problems.
8. Who narrates the story? Is the narrator reliable? What effect does the point of view have on your understanding of the story? What would be gained or lost, if the story were told from a different point of view (for example, by another character)
This story tells in third person which of course makes the story easy to understand. I think this point of view always recreate the moment, which make it very
Hemingway provides the reader with insight into this story, before it is even read, through the title. The girl in the story mentions the hills that can be seen from the train station and describes them as looking like white elephants. Jig is at a crossroads in her life, accompanied by her partner. She is pregnant and cannot decide whether to choose life for the baby, or to get an abortion. Throughout the story, she experiences persistent uncertainty over what she wants to do with her life. Whatever decision she makes will have a drastic impact in her later years as a woman. While seated at the bar inside the train station, the girl says, “The hills look like white elephants” (Hemingway). The hills that are spotted in the distance directly parallel the decision that Jig must make. Critic Kenneth Johnston was recorded stating, “A white elephant is a rare pale-gray variety of an Asian elephant held sacred by the Burmese and Siamese. The girl’s reverence for life is captured by this meaning of the phrase.” Johnston also says, “A white ...
1.Who is the narrator of the story? How is he or she connected to the story ( main character, observer, minor character)?
In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” Jig changes her position completely when she claims her dominance over her situation, and possibly ends the relationship with The American Man. She changes from powerless, weak, and ambiguous to taking complete control and deciding to make her own decisions about the circumstances in which she is in.
Question #6: Discuss two or more of the characters’ motives-Henry, Eleanor, Richard, Geoffrey, John, Phillip and Alais. What does each other want for themselves and from each other?
B) How would you analyze each story in terms of static vs. dynamic characters? How does each character 's status affect you as a reader? (Are you hoping for one character to change/not change? Are you disappointed by a change or lack of change?) Again, be sure to include specific details and references--this should be a given for any questions I pose in the future.
Ernest Hemingway has a superbly unique style of writing in Hills Like White Elephants. His short, to the point syntax and sentence style plays a great role in helping readers understand the theme of this short story. The critique M.A.K. Halliday observed, “The story is frequently generated by the repetition of words, clauses, and groups of related words or ethical sets” (Link, Alex). The first set of dialogue that can be pulled from this story is story is short and to the point. The American states, “We can have the whole world.” Jig replies with “No, we can’t” (Hemingway, Ernest). The sentence length is very short, yet there is a hidden meaning behind the small talk. Jig is referring to not having the baby. She can have everything, but her will to decide things. She can’t have a baby due to unloving pressure from the American. It is in sync with the tone of the story perfectly. The tone is forward, direct, and shallow. That is exactly what happens in this dialogue. There is no emotion, just pure sarcasm on a huge topic. Abortion to this couple is nothing more then a qui...
‘Hills Like White Elephants’ is a short story authored by Ernest Hemingway about an American and a girl named Jig. In the story, the two are sitting in a train station waiting for the train to Madrid. While they wait, they have an intense ongoing debate on whether or not to abort Jig. At the end of the story, the train is about to arrive and the man carries luggage on the tracks as they prepare to leave. The end of the story does not clearly define the outcome of its decision. She said I feel good at the end of the story - happiness is a central theme of the story, but we wonder if she went through with the operation. The paper discusses the manner in which symbolism has been employed in the story to communicate about an abortion, the couple is considering to go through.
9. Choose at least one theme that recurs throughout the story and two specific examples of this
2) What is the main conflict in the book? Is it external or internal? How is this conflict resolved throughout the course of the book?
3. How would you describe the author’s style? Examine the way the author writes, considering word choice, point of view, structure, special techniques (i.e., symbolism).
The characters of The Hills Like White Elephants are an unnamed American man and a girl called Jig. The two are apparent lovers. They are at a train station, waiting to board a train to Madrid. In the meantime they are talking about an operation the man wants the woman to have. This operation is an abortion. The pair drinks beer, while talking about the situation. The man wants the girl
There is a common theme in “Hill’s like White Elephants” and “The Birthmark” of a life altering decision. Both women are thinking about having an operation that will affect them for the rest of their lives. In “Hill’s like White Elephants”, Jig and the American are debating whether or not they should have an abortion. This decision is something that will affect both of them deeply throughout their lives together. By the way the two characters interact with each other the reader can deduce how important they feel the operation is. There seems to be a tension in their sentences with each other. Jig says things like “Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for” and “That's all we do, isn't it-look at things and try new drinks” (Hemingway 841)? These responses to the American show that Jig is in a distasteful state of mind which would most likely stem from her thoughts about the operation and what they will do in regard to it. Because these thoughts of the operation are affecting her socially, it shows just how important the operation is to her. How Jig interprets the scenery around them while they are discussing the operation also suggests the importance ...
1. How does the opening scene contrast with what happens at the end of the story?
Determine all of the story's conflicts. Determine the major conflict and state this in terms of protagonist versus antagonist.