Hills Like White Elephants

The use of theme and point of view in short stories vary based on what the author is trying to accomplish through their work. Some stories, such as “Once Upon a Time” by Nadine Gordimer, has multiple points of view through the duration of the story, while others like, “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, keep one point of view the entire way through. Themes can be harder to decipher than the point of view for certain stories. Nonetheless, both elements are important parts of storytelling and can make or break the understanding of a story. “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway uses one point of view through the duration of the story- third person (objective). This gives the reader a “fly-on-the-wall” experience because

The point of view changes through the story. The beginning of the story is in first-person; Gordimer is narrating what she says, does, and thinks while using the pronoun “I.” As Gordimer beings telling herself a story, the point of view changes to third-person, just alike “Hills Like White Elephants.” The third-person point of view portion of the story centers itself around a family of three (father, mother, and child). The mother is terrified that they will be robbed of their things and insists that precautions be taken to insure their safety (Gordimer 1). It begins with “YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED” signs, and it ultimately forms into a large razor sharp fence that surrounds their property (1; 3). The newly constructed fence points to the direction of the theme which is disastrous ramifications result from the blinding fear of danger. After the fence is built, the child of the family is caught in the razors and dies as a result (4). The mother’s fear of danger and crime and the father’s consent to go along with her fears resulted in the death of their son. Both point of view and theme are used in this story to aid the reader in knowing what the story is supposed to be