Hills Like White Elephants

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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

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