Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

875 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hills like white elephants setting essay

Against Her Wishes
During life, we humans will be faced with challenging life-changing decisions. Some of these decisions are not always easy and can sometimes change the views and feeling of others towards the person making those decisions. “Hills like White Elephants” is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway in 1927 which takes place at a dry hot brown desert dead bar in a train station in Spain between two lines of rails—one coming from Barcelona and the other going to Madrid. The characters are Jig, called “the girl” in the story, and her unnamed American boyfriend called “the man.” Off in the distance, Jig is fascinated by the beautiful scenery of a river, fields of green, and trees along the bank s of Ebro, as she exclaims that the mountais looked like white elephants. While they waited for their train, they decide to drink a couple of beers and talk about a decision …show more content…

The man needs Jig to be cheerful and with the end goal Jig should be happy, and for that to happen the man needs to find a way to make the girl realize that even if she does go through with the procedure, he will be flawlessly fine with it. Unaware of the girl the man is not perfectly fine with her not getting the abortion but is only making her think that to play with her head. He tells her that he thinks it is the right choice to do. However, he wants her to believe that finally it is her choice, and if she does not want to do it then, he does not want her to do it. He tells her he will not worry about it because it is “perfectly simple” to assure her that she should not worry either because the procedure is just too simple. The different methods used by the man to persuade the girl in the story “Hills Like White Elephants” helps the audience see how effective the man is to convince the girl to get the abortion

Show More
Related

  • Interpreting Hemingway's 'Hills Like White Elephants'

    1637 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is about a couple, the American and Jig, who contemplate whether or not to have an abortion. The premise of the story seems simple enough, but the outcome is highly debated. Critics argue that the baby was kept by the couple ( Renner ) and others claim the baby was aborted.( Fletcher ) Others have even simplified the story, claiming that the issue was not resolved because the couple was drunk by the end of the story. ( Sipiora ) Although the conclusion is in questions many have agreed with the idea that the couples relationship would be changed and would end prematurely. ( Wyche ) Dialogue is the main technique in conveying this argument but we can only understand the complexity of Hemingway’s work by looking at the story as a whole. By looking at the many symbols, intrinsically and

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Hills Like White Elephants

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hills Like White Elephants Theme Analysis

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hemingway, does not, however, tell us that there is in fact an abortion. Jigg and her lover lead a very simple life before they are forced to consider a solution to their situation. “That’s all we do, isn’t it—look at things and try new drinks?” said Jigg (Hemingway 2). With the “awfully simple operation” (Hemingway 2), however, their entire world will be turned upside down. The American reassures Jigg “It’s really not anything…” and the entire process will be over in a few minutes; everything will be completely natural and fine. Yet Jigg, worried about their life together afterwards, asks the American what will happen. He responds, “Just like we were before.” (Hemingway 2). This leads one to believe absolutely no change will happen, at least in the eyes of the characters. In the story of Jigg and the American, there is what some consider a death (abortion) and what some simply consider an operation. Jigg is worried things will change from the way things were between herself and the American. The American continues to reassure Jigg that by having the “perfectly natural” operation things will go back to normal and “We’ll be fine afterward.” (Hemingway

    Read More

  • The Symbolism in “The Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story that is about an American man and a girl called Jig. They are sitting at a table outside a train station, waiting for a train to Madrid. While they wait they order drinks and have a heated ongoing conversation over whether or not Jig will have an operation that would be of great significance to their relationship. “The Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway has two important symbols in the story, the hills and the drinks both of which help to give us a better understanding of what is going on between the American and his girl.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway

    1703 Words  | 4 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    ‘Hills Like White Elephants’ is a short story authored by Ernest Hemingway about an American and a girl named Jig. In the story, the two are sitting in a train station waiting for the train to Madrid. While they wait, they have an intense ongoing debate on whether or not to abort Jig. At the end of the story, the train is about to arrive and the man carries luggage on the tracks as they prepare to leave. The end of the story does not clearly define the outcome of its decision. She said I feel good at the end of the story - happiness is a central theme of the story, but we wonder if she went through with the operation. The paper discusses the manner in which symbolism has been employed in the story to communicate about an abortion, the couple is considering to go through.

    Read More

  • Abortion in Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

    2463 Words  | 5 Pages

    Renner, Stanley "Moving to the Girl's Side of `Hills Like White Elephants'." The Hemingway Review, 15 (1) (Fall 1995): 27-41. As Rpt. in Wyche, David "Letting the Air into a Relationship: Metaphorical Abortion in `Hills Like White Elephants'. The Hemingway Review, 22 (1) (Fall 2002): 56-71. EBSCOhost.

    Read More

  • Character Motivations in Hills Like White Elephants

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story, "Hills like White Elephants" written by Ernest Hemingway, the main character Jig faces a life changing event, abortion. The struggles with the complications of abortion concern and desire Jig to want to keep the baby. Bringing a new life into the world is a long time commitment and it is something Jig feels she can treasure forever. However, her companion attempted to persuade her in another direction, to proceed with the abortion. As naïve as he is, he feels his persuasion can overcome Jig's desires. Jig is a sarcastic yet reserved woman, who desires to bring a new life into the world, even if her companion does not approve; she knows what is best.

    Read More

  • Diverse Perspectives: Amplifying Impact in Literature

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    What would literature be had every author used the same perspective for every single story? Literature would not be as well received as it currently is received. Take three American short stories, “Hills Like White Elephants,” “A Rose for Emily,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” for example. These stories, by Hemingway, Faulkner, and Gilman respectively, each utilize a different a point of view. The perspective of a story heavily influences the impact of the story on a reader and that impact varies based on the content of the story.

    Read More

  • The Themes of Abortion and Pregnancy in Hills Like White Elephants

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Jig

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” the character Jig is submissive to her counterpart The American Man, who is encouraging her to have an abortion. While Jig is not sure what she wants, she does not wish to press the subject of the operation because The American Man is intent upon persuading her to go through with the procedure. Throughout this story Jig’s helplessness, indecisiveness, and her lack of education become apparent, although by the end of the story she becomes confident, decisive, and ultimately takes back control of her decisions and life.

    Read More

  • Communicating Conflict in Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    ---, "Hills Like White Elephants." The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1953. 273-278.

    Read More

  • Male Dominance In "Hills Like White Elephants" and "The Chrysanthemums"

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Fiction 101: An Anthology of Short Fiction. James H. Pickering. Twelfth Edition. Pearson Education, Inc., 2010. 638-641

    Read More

  • Setting in Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    This short story is filled with symbolism, some of which the reader may never find. The title itself can be analyzed a lot deeper. The “hills” refers to the shape of the female body during pregnancy and the “white elephants” symbolize a property requiring much care and expense and yielding little profit (merriam-webster.com). The story is about a man and a woman taking a train to get an abortion. The train is supposed to show change and movement, something this couple appears to need because their life is very routine.

    Read More

More about Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

Open Document