Hills Like White Elephants Analysis Ernest Hemingway is quite possibly one of the most accomplished writers to ever put thought to paper. This talent was not only demonstrated by the volumes of books that he had written, but also by the small works of literature that he contributed to the world. Hills like white elephants is a testament to the effectiveness of simplicity in specific styles of literature. The entire atmosphere of the story is the stuffy claustrophobic situation of a man and a woman pacifying each other with small talk while deeper issues cook between the two of them. Anyone who has ever had to deal with unpleasantries in their relationships can identify with this sort of atmosphere. In his story, Earnest Hemingway kept his character …show more content…
Though human endeavors are never as clear as one would prefer them to be, the issue can appear more evident to some that to others. Letting logic set the basis for any assumptions, there is one very safe accusation that can be made about what the issue is. There is much speculation that the female is pregnant and that the two have decided to abort the child. This speculation is only natural due to the obvious nature of that sort of conversation between a man and a woman. When people are forced to make what they believe to be logical decisions, it is only natural that they feel some portion of regret and question their choices. Resentment for the other person is usually next thing occur; subconsciously blaming the other person for the choice. This is where the silence is derived in the story. There exists a resentment between these two people for the hard decision they have had to make. The female’s references to specific colors can represent certain aspects of child birth or the aborting of children. Stanley Kozikowsky wrote a review on Hills Like White Elephants where he touched on this specific symbolism by stating “Hills are like white elephants for jig because they carry ambivalent evocations of the child within her—like a white elephant, an unwanted gift, a seemingly remote but immense problem. They ominously suggest the pallid skin tone of a still born infant, but they also evoke that which is “bright”, beautiful with a promise of life, and intrinsically of value, as was the highly esteemed Siamese white
In conclusion, Hemmingway may not have given us many clues as to the thoughts and feelings of Jig, but through interpretation, we are able to get some idea as to the person she used to be. Interpretation also gives us an inkling as to her final decision. On the surface, Jig’s final decision is to keep the baby. However, on the inside, her decision is to rediscover herself. She gradually breathes life back into her old self. Jig’s rebirth of the vitality she once had is one of the themes in "Hills Like White Elephants." Though she lost her herself in him, she finds her strength returning in this child. The strength and determination she once had is now alive and kicking.
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.
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 begins with a vivid description of a train station surrounded by hills and fields. This scene tells us a lot about the couple's situation. The view of the hills seen off in a distance symbolizes the growing belly of the girl. The hills also symbolize the obstacles that are in the way of the two character's relationship. In the story, Jig looked at the hills and said, “They look like white elephants.” The man replied, “I've never seen one.” Then she replied, “No, you wouldn't have” (...
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 ...
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.
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.
---, "Hills Like White Elephants." The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1953. 273-278.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Fiction 101: An Anthology of Short Fiction. James H. Pickering. Twelfth Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2010. 638-641
Words, drinks, and many other objects were used as symbols in this story. Jig has the undesirable choice to make, to abort the baby that she is carrying or to let it live, and in the end, we still do not know what she is going to do. The man tries to support Jig, but falls short due to his own feelings. He does not want the baby and will say or do almost anything to make Jig feel the same way. Then Jig will believe that if she will abort the baby " everything will be fine" (616), however, not “everything” will be fine.
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.
Stukas, Jake. "Literary analysis: Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway." Helium.com. Web. 21 Nov. 2009. .
While reading the story thoroughly, I came to my conclusion: the girl will eventually go through with the abortion. However, she will not stay with the man. In the article from the Hemingway Review: ‘Hills Like White Elephants: The Jilting of Jig’, a similar point of view is presented by critic Howard Hannum. He believes that the girl will have the abortion, but after the operation, she will leave the man. He states that, ‘it is a
She sees a “passing cloud shadowing the white hills with darkness is a subtle portent of doom to Jig’s pregnancy” (Abdoo 238). There are two contrasting landscapes that the girl sees, one that is fruitless and has a wind to it and the other that has trees and is lively. This represents her options by keeping the baby so she can have a fulfilling life or have the abortion and be left sterile and barren.
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.