In the story “Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemingway, there is a clear bias towards men. In the story the woman appears helpless without the American, she depends on him for everything. The woman will even go as far as to have an abortion to keep the American happy. The American thinks of the baby as a distraction, rather an annoyance, whereas the woman finds it to be beautiful. The American does not think it to be an amazing part of life because he is the one who is not having the child, his body is not being altered. There is a clear demonstration of how men might be perceived, as someone who is superior to woman, this however is not true.
Annotated bibliography
Consigny, Scott. "Hemingway's HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS." EBSCOhost.
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The couple keeps ordering more and more drinks to avoid the problems in their relationship. This can be used in my essay by talking about how the two don't agree on this big decision. The American makes the woman feel like the abortion is the only way to go, telling her everything will be normal again, attempting to comfort her.
Kobler, J.F. "Hemingway's HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS." EBSCOhost. Academic Search Complete, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
This talks about the bamboo curtain once more. The curtain again symbolizes their problems. The man keeps walking in and out of it. Not really noticing the curtain. The girl, who never actually walks through the curtain, immediately notices it. She even asks the American about it, and even goes as far as touching it. This can be used in my essay by explaining how even though the girl can see their problems, she still clings onto her boyfriend. She tries to please the Americans By any means necessary, even by getting an abortion
Rankin, Paul. "Hemingway's HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS." EBSCOhost. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Mar.
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It tells us that the woman is changing every which way to make the man do what she wants. She was able to make him say that he would be ok, if she decided to keep the baby. This can be used in my essay by informing the reader that the woman is not as dull as people thought. That she is actually on complete control of the American. She is just giving the American the illusion of control. Kozikowski, Stanley. "Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants." EBSCOhost. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Mar. 2016. She experiences it, in her ambivalence, as a "lovely" invigoration, at the very moment that she has looked upon the “lovely hills" , which are like white elephants fearfully unwanted but beautiful. The man does not experience the joy of birth, therefore he does not understand her dilemma. This can be used for my essay by telling the reader how
Urgo, Joseph R. "Hemingway's HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS." EBSCOhost. Academic Search Complete, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
This continues to talk about the anise drink, symbolizing the hollow womb is the abortion were to take place. The man want to get rid of the baby so he can see the whole world, if the baby were to be born, his dream would not be fulfilled. This can be incorporated into my essay by talking about how the man was really thinking about himself first. He want to see the world, with or without the
Gale. Weeks, Lewis E., Jr. "Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in 'Hills like White'" Elephants. Studies in Short Fiction. 17.1 (Winter 1980): 75-77.
Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway is a short story that deals with the idea of conformity and the conflict caused by internal desire and pressure from another party. The short story is very subtle, and often uses these subtleties in combination with incredible amounts of symbolism interlaced throughout the narrative to cause the reader to look and think deeper into the motives, values and convictions of the conflict between the two protagonists respective desires. When two parties are at an impasse of desire, the conviction of their opposing beliefs becomes increasingly unshakeable. This results in dissension due to the severe lack of understanding between the parties involved and furthermore, they refuse to be held responsible for the inability to communicate their feelings to one another.
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills like White Elephants." Responding to Literature. Ed. Judith Stanford. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. 841-44. Print.
It is easy to read and understand a story when the events are revealed in chronological order. There is no guessing or inferring involved in reading. There is a distinct satisfaction reading a story in which the events do not happen chronologically. The author lets the reader search and wonder and come to a conclusion on their own. In the short story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, Hemingway uses an obscure structure in which he expresses the theme of male dominance.
Rankin, Paul. Hemmingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.” Explicator. 63.4 (Summer 2005): 234-237. Rpt. In Short Story Critisism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 117. Detroit: Gale, 234-237. Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. . 12 Jan. 2015.
Hemingway's characters in the story represent the stereotypical male and female in the real world, to some extent. The American is the typical masculine, testosterone-crazed male who just ...
Ernest Hemingway’s story “Hills Like White Elephants” is written in third person. This narrator is objective and limited. It is objective, by not giving thoughts or opinions about the story. The narrator is limited by having no insight to thoughts of the other characters in the story and has
Hills Like White Elephants, written by Ernest Hemingway, is a story that takes place in Spain while a man and woman wait for a train. The story is set up as a dialogue between the two, in which the man is trying to convince the woman to do something she is hesitant in doing. Through out the story, Hemingway uses metaphors to express the characters’ opinions and feelings.
Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" touches on an issue as ageless as time: communication problems in a relationship. He tells his story through conversations between the two main characters, the American and the girl. Conflict is created through dialogue as these characters face what most readers believe to be the obstacle of an unexpected pregnancy. Their plight is further complicated by their inability to convey their differing opinions to each other. Symbolism and the title's meaning are other effective means of communicating conflict.
The art, literature, and poetry of the early 20th century called for a disruption of social values. Modernism became the vague term to describe the shift. The characteristics of the term Modernism, all seek to free the restricted human spirit. It had no trust in the moral conventions and codes of the past. One of the examples of modernism, that breaks the conventions and traditions of literature prior to Modernism, is Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants”. The short story uses plot, symbolism, setting, dialogue, and a new style of writing to allow human spirit to experiment with meaning and interpretation.
In the short story by Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants," a couple is delayed at a train station en route to Madrid and is observed in conflict over the girl's impending abortion. In his writing, Hemingway does not offer any commentary through a specific character's point of view, nor, in the storytelling, does he offer his explicit opinions on how to feel or think about the issues that emerge. The narrative seems to be purely objective, somewhat like a newspaper or journal article, and in true Hemingway form the story ends abruptly, without the couple's conflict clearly being resolved. The ambiguity of the ending has been a subject of much debate; however, the impact of what is not said in words can be gleaned through the symbolism of their surroundings. Upon examination of the setting, the couple's final choice becomes instantly apparent.
The search of pleasure has always been an inherent desire in human nature. The roaring twenties witnessed the uprising of a society that extolled such desire through the creation of a culture solely dedicated to consume. Ernest Hemingway analyses the behavioral patterns of such culture in his short story "Hills Like White Elephants", where the concept of Hedonism- fathomed as an egotistical action whose only purpose is to bestow pleasure- and its consequences on the individual is explored. Through the characters' dialogue in which they avoid a substantial conversation and implicitly state their disappointment in life, Hemingway explores the emptiness generated by pleasure-seeking actions. Additionally, he also explores such behavior through the male character's selfish reaction to the central issue of the story, embodied in his attempt to preserve his life's status quo through manipulation and deceit. Finally, through the description of the setting, seen as the juxtaposition of the two diverging scenery's and the metaphorical comparison between the landscape and the central object of the story, Hemingway further develops his analysis on hedonism and its consequences on the individual. Thus, Ernest Hemingway, in his short story "Hills Like White Elephants", explores how hedonistic and selfish actions generate a shallow and superficial life through the characters' dialogue, the man's reaction towards the central issue and the setting in which the plot develops.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Literature Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. DiYanni, Robert. 2nd ed. New York. Mc Grew Hill. 2008. 400-03. Print.
Ernest Hemingway is an incredible writer, known for what he leaves out of stories not for what he tells. His main emphasis in Hills Like White Elephants seems to be symbolism. Symbolism is the art or practice of using symbols, especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations (merriam-webster.com). He uses this technique to emphasize the importance of ideas, once again suggesting that he leaves out the important details of the story by symbolizing their meaning.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 113-117. Print.