Outline
Thesis: Hemingway’s utilization of symbolism to hint Jig’s choice is made evident in numerous ways.
I. While the couple sits tight for the train for Madrid, Jig perceives that the side of the knoll that they are on is dry and infertile. Later on she looks crosswise over to find that the other side had, “fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro.”
a. Two sides
i. Dry and Barren/Sterility ii. Fruitful/Fertility
1. Pregnant Woman Outline
II. The hills are further dissected dependent upon their color and the correlation to absinthe.
a. Absinthe
i. Licorice
b. Color of white elephants
III. The white elephants, which are continually rehashed, symbolize want and discard which helps Jig settle on the most significant choice of all.
a. Background on white elephants
IV. Want and discard are played out by the actions of the American and Jig, but manipulation will get in one’s way.
a. Man’s want for freedom, Jig’s compliance
Madysen Taylor
Bateman
English 1302
5 April 2014
Symbolism Leads to Choices
“Hills Like White Elephants” depicts a private discussion between the American and Jig over a touchy subject to where a vital choice must be made. Normally, Ernest Hemingway does not give sensitivity to his female characters, yet Jig is distinctive for this situation. Hemingway’s utilization of symbolism to hint Jig’s choice is made evident in numerous ways.
While the couple sits tight for the train for Madrid, Jig perceives that the side of the knoll that they are on is dry and infertile. Later on she looks crosswise over to find that the other side had, “fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro.” It is fascination that Jig was on the sterile side of the tracks for they hint her choice in the future. O’Brien b...
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Hashmi, Nilofer. "Hills Like White Elephants": The Jilting Of Jig." Hemingway Review 23.1 (2003): 72-83. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Holladay, Hal. "Hills Like White Elephants." Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-3 Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Lamb, Robert Paul. "Hemingway And The Creation Of Twentieth-Century Dialogue." Twentieth Century Literature 42.4 (1996): 453. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
O'Brien, Timothy D. "Allusion, Word-Play, And The Central Conflict In Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants." Hemingway Review 12.1 (1992): 19-25. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Weeks Jr., Lewis E. "Hemingway Hills: Symbolism In 'Hills Like White Elephants'." Studies In Short Fiction 17.1 (1980): 75. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
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.
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.
Hemingway presents takes the several literary styles to present this short story. Hemingway’s use of Foreshadowing, Pathos, Imagery and Personification allows the reader to enter the true context of the frustration and struggle that the couples face. Although written in the 1920’s it the presents a modern day conflict of communication that millions of couples face. At first glance the beautiful landscape of the Barcelonian hillside in which Jig refers to frequently throughout the text appears to have taken the form of White Elephants. The Americans’ response to Jigs’ observation was less than enthusiastic as he provides a brief comment and continues on with his cerveza. This was but the first of the many verbal jousts to come between Jig and the American. The metaphorical inferences in those verbal confrontations slowly uncover the couple’s dilemma and why they may be on the waiting for the train to Madrid.
In this novel the two contrasting places shows Janie as being loss and shows Janie as being found. This novel stands on that theme. Sometimes one would be loss but the problem comes in when they are never found. In Eatonville there was love of force but in the Everglades there was love of choice. Janie was able to find the bee pollinating the flower. “So this was marriage”. The contrasting places examine true love.
When the couple is faced with the decision to keep the baby, they avoid the elephant in the room. They do this by only talking about what beer they want and what the hills and surrounding terrain look like. For example, they have a conversation that states “The beer’s nice and cool, the man said. It’s lovely, the girl said” (Hemingway 312). Soon they finally talk about the elephant in the room, but all the man wants to talk about is having the abortion, but she is willing to be a parent. She knows he doesn’t want to be a parent, so when the man tries to talk to her about the abortion she wants to avoid it altogether stating, “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” (Hemingway 314). Similarly, in today’s society, it is looked down upon to have a baby outside of marriage because there are instability and tension from both parents. In result, no one wants to talk about the pregnancy because it often comes with a lot of regret and confusion. Hemingway uses the characters of Jig and the American to portray this tension of the abortion, which in return relates to modern day society giving a sense of
The Latin saying, mutatis mutandi, translates into "everything affects everything else," and this especially applies to the characterization used in Ernest Hemingway’s "Hills Like White Elephants." Through close examination, it is evident that the character of Jig is revealed not only through her own actions, but also through the contrasting descriptions of her surrounding environment and her subtle mannerisms. By strategically scattering these faint clues to Jig’s persona though out the story, Hemingway forces the reader to overcome common stereotypes and examine ambiguous dialogue before being able to discover the round, dynamic character that is Jig.
In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, symbolism is incorporated throughout the story. Ernest Hemingway was a nobel prize winner, journalist, and short story writer. Ernest Hemingway 's impressive style, till this day continues to influence other writers. The story begins with a couple at a train station, the American and the girl. The American seems to be knowledgeable and in control of the relationship and himself. The girl is to portrayed as being less assertive, persuasive, dependent and most of all confused. There is tension amongst the couple in regards to an operation that is suggested for the girl. The topic of the operation seems to create a problem between the couple, therefor they dance around the issue
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 comprises almost entirely of dialogue. Although there is a situation, there is no plot” (Henningfield). This characteristic makes the story harder to identify. As the couple reached the station, they sat down on a bench and continued to talk.
" The Hemingway Review. 15.1 (Fall 1995): p. 27. Literature Resource Center -.
Jig can be perceived as sarcastic, which does not express how she is feeling inside about the idea of abortion. "Yes", said the girl. "Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for, like absinthe"(188). The conversation with her companion conveys Jig as being uninterested with her life. Jig wants to start a new life. "That's all we do, isn't it--look at things and try new drinks?"(189). Jigs traits reveal everything she is feeling, especially her desires. "The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on"(191). Jig wants to be grounded in life and her characteristics and emotions express her mood.
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 ...
The story "Hills Like White Elephants" is a conversation between a young woman `Jig' and an American man waiting for a train at a station in Spain. The author never names the topic of their discussion but as their dialogue progresses; it becomes evident that Jig is pregnant. The man wants Jig to abort the unborn child but she is unconvinced and wants to become a mother. Hemingway has brilliantly written the story's dialogue which "captures the feel of a private conversation while at the same time communicating the necessary narrative background" (O'Brien 19). At the end of the story, it is unclear as to what decision has been made; however, Hemingway gives the reader several clues regarding what Jig feels, and what she wants to do. Jig's private thoughts are illuminated by Hemingway's description of the setting, the character, and the conflict. Stanley Renner suggests that, as a result of the couple's discussion, "Jig has become able to make a more clear-sighted estimation, and perhaps a better choice, of men" Wyche(59). The couple's inability to communicate effectively their true thoughts and emotions makes their dialogue very appealing. The story examines the gender differences and miscommunications as they influence the decision whether to abort the unborn child or not (Smiley). In his book on Hemingway, published in 1999, Carl P. Eby points out that "[f]or the past two decades, Hemingway criticism has been dominated by a reconsideration of the role of gender in his work" (Bauer 125).
...n and fertile part of the country was a symbol of the productive part of the woman and the barren part is the symbol of the man who did not want the baby. And the other readers stated that these two different parts of the land were a reflection of the inner part of the woman. The reason for the man not to want a baby was considered as an obstacle for him to travel. It was observed that the woman readers were supporting the woman in the story and the man readers were supporting the man’s part of the argument...
As the couple waits between two destinations, Barcelona and Madrid, they are trapped in limbo "between two lines of rail in the sun"(142). The station, placed between the two lines of rails, suggest the two directions the couple may go - toward Madrid and the abortion or away from Madrid and to a family scenario. The landscape describes the conflict, both barren and fruitful. Alongside of one rail line long, white hills stretch across the horizon, the country before them "brown and dry" (143). In stark contrast to the desolate landscape of the hills, the other flank is lush and green, with "fields of grain and trees [running] along the banks of the Ebro" (145). This scenic dichotomy comes to embody the girl's sentiments regarding the abortion: the hills are barren, representing her life if she submits to her partners expressed desires and goes through with the abortion; while th...
In the third sentence of the extract, the narrator states that the father “nonchalantly stands . . . like a horse at rest”, connecting him with the image on a strong and powerful horse. The father is viewed by the narrator as being in control and mighty. The diction used by the narrator develops an atmosphere than is tense, like walking a tightrope. The use of “if” and contrasting sentences displays the anxiety present in the scene. Should the father accept the offer, the mood will become “exuberant”, but if the father tears the ticket, refusing, the atmosphere will become “quiet” and in the future, cause “anger”. As of the moment of the scene however, the atmosphere is taut and nerve-wracking. Synecdoche is also used to distinguish to the reader which parent the narrator is focused on, such as when the father is being addressed. The narrator takes note of watching “Dad’s hands as he walks the line”. This prompts the reader to focus their attention to the father’s hands and how they are linked to his line of work, the trading mainly. This gives off the essence of a working class as usually one would watch someone’s back as