Hills Like White Elephants Essay

“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is a short story outlining a conversation between a girl called Jig and an unnamed man referred to as the American Man. Throughout the story the two are discussing a topic, but never deliberately say it in the text, however it is implied that they are debating abortion. Jig and the American Man are in a relationship and she becomes pregnant, but the American wants Jig to get rid of the baby. Looking past the actual story, readers can see certain literary devices used in the story. For example, Hemingway uses writing style, symbolism, effect of the tone, and setting to portray certain feelings and thought to the readers through these devices. Like any other story or poem, the writing style has a big impact on the readers. It is one way the audience connects with the writer. The majority of the writing in this short story is dialogue between Jig and The American Man. A conversation within a story can move the plot quickly or slowly depending on how the writer uses it in their text. For example in this particular writing, Hemingway has quick and direct responses to the two characters such as “We can have everything,” and “No, we can’t.” This

Symbolism has a major role in the modernistic period as well as it does today. A title is the name of the whole text and has a part in why the story is called “Hills Like White Elephants.” First glance at this story, readers expect it to be about hills or even about the wild, but when reading this, it is clear that it is not about either of those, but it is included in the text. Jig says, “They look like white elephants,” while she was looking out the hills in the distance. This could symbolize several things based on the way that the audience interprets it. I interpret it as she looks out to the hills wishing she could have a better life, but she could never see it similar to the way you never see white