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Hills like white elephants symbolism and themes
Hills like white elephants symbolism and themes
Themes in hill like white elephants
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“Hills Like White Elephants”, published in 1927, gives insight into a couple struggling with an unexpected pregnancy. The woman, Jig, is deciding if she should get an abortion or not. Throughout the story, the man pressures Jig constantly. Stating that, “it would be no big deal [to have the abortion] and that everything will go back to normal” (Hemingway 312). The woman, confused enough, soon realizes that if she does decide to keep the baby, the man will not support her. This short story has a strong impact, not only in the 1920’s, but also in today’s society. Although the story is purely fictional, Hemingway engulfs the readers by giving reference to real world things such as cities. The story deals with real life situations such as abortion, …show more content…
When the couple is faced with the decision to keep the baby, they avoid the elephant in the room. They do this by only talking about what beer they want and what the hills and surrounding terrain look like. For example, they have a conversation that states “The beer’s nice and cool, the man said. It’s lovely, the girl said” (Hemingway 312). Soon they finally talk about the elephant in the room, but all the man wants to talk about is having the abortion, but she is willing to be a parent. She knows he doesn’t want to be a parent, so when the man tries to talk to her about the abortion she wants to avoid it altogether stating, “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” (Hemingway 314). Similarly, in today’s society, it is looked down upon to have a baby outside of marriage because there are instability and tension from both parents. In result, no one wants to talk about the pregnancy because it often comes with a lot of regret and confusion. Hemingway uses the characters of Jig and the American to portray this tension of the abortion, which in return relates to modern day society giving a sense of
Through his endless amounts of pestering he never finds a way to get his desire and true feelings across to the young lady and becomes increasingly bothersome because of his inability to convey his feelings. “‘We can have the whole world,’ the American declares. ‘No we [cannot],’ Jig retorts. ‘ We can go everywhere.’ No, we [cannot]. It [is not] ours any more.’ ‘[It is] ours.’ ‘No, it [is not].’” (3) The American is insistent on continuing the nomadic lifestyle that the couple lives by aborting this baby, and pesters Jig continually hoping to sway her with the thought of living their same lifestyle that they currently live. However he never directly tells her his desires and instead attempts to manipulate her as he feels his desire is in their best interest regardless of how he achieves his desire. However he does not realize that in his examples he is strengthening Jig’s resolve and conviction in her own wishes. Earlier on in the narrative the American is quick to turn and begin attempting to conform Jig, without any warning or inkling of a change in topic he quickly turns it into what he wants: “‘Should we have another drink?’ ‘All right.’ ‘The [beer is] nice and cool,’ the man says. ‘[It is] lovely,’ Jig agrees. ‘[It is] really a simple operation, Jig… I know you [would not] mind it.’ [Jig] did not say anything.” (2) Without transition or a telling sign, the American quickly turns an agreement about how lovely the cool beer is on a warm day, into pressuring Jig to conform to his desires. All because of his selfish need and lack of responsibility to settle down and lead a life where they can raise the child, and his desire to continue living a life of excess and materialism, yet he cannot convey these desires of him
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
Hemingway also uses immorality as the central idea. The American is trying to convince the girl to abort: ‘“I have known lots of people that have done it…. ‘But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants…‘I’ll love it” I just cannot think about it” (596,597). Here one sees how the man manipulates the girl.
“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.
In a well-written short story, different literary elements and terms are incorporated into the story by the author. Ernest Hemingway frequently uses various literary elements in his writing to entice the reader and enhance each piece that he writes. In Hills Like White Elephants, Hemingway uses symbols to teach the reader certain things that one may encounter during daily life. Symbolism may be defined as relating to, using, or proceeding by means of symbols (Princeton). The use of symbols in Hills Like White Elephants is utterly important to the plot line and to the fundamental meaning of the story. Through this use of symbolism, the reader can begin to reveal the hidden themes in this short story.
‘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.
The story "Hills Like White Elephants" is a conversation between a young woman `Jig' and an American man waiting for a train at a station in Spain. The author never names the topic of their discussion but as their dialogue progresses; it becomes evident that Jig is pregnant. The man wants Jig to abort the unborn child but she is unconvinced and wants to become a mother. Hemingway has brilliantly written the story's dialogue which "captures the feel of a private conversation while at the same time communicating the necessary narrative background" (O'Brien 19). At the end of the story, it is unclear as to what decision has been made; however, Hemingway gives the reader several clues regarding what Jig feels, and what she wants to do. Jig's private thoughts are illuminated by Hemingway's description of the setting, the character, and the conflict. Stanley Renner suggests that, as a result of the couple's discussion, "Jig has become able to make a more clear-sighted estimation, and perhaps a better choice, of men" Wyche(59). The couple's inability to communicate effectively their true thoughts and emotions makes their dialogue very appealing. The story examines the gender differences and miscommunications as they influence the decision whether to abort the unborn child or not (Smiley). In his book on Hemingway, published in 1999, Carl P. Eby points out that "[f]or the past two decades, Hemingway criticism has been dominated by a reconsideration of the role of gender in his work" (Bauer 125).
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.
Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" touches on an issue as ageless as time: communication problems in a relationship. He tells his story through conversations between the two main characters, the American and the girl. Conflict is created through dialogue as these characters face what most readers believe to be the obstacle of an unexpected pregnancy. Their plight is further complicated by their inability to convey their differing opinions to each other. Symbolism and the title's meaning are other effective means of communicating conflict.
Analysis of Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway In “Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemingway relies on symbolism to convey the theme of abortion. The symbolic material objects, as well as the strong symbolic characters, aid the reader’s understanding of the underlying theme. The material objects that Hemingway uses to convey the theme are beer, the good and bad hillsides, and a railroad station between two tracks. The beer represents the couple’s, “the American” and “the girl’s”, routine activities they do together.
Swaying trees in the distance, blue skies and birds chirping, all of these are examples of setting. Setting can create the mood and tone of characters in a story. In the story Hills Like White Elephants, the story starts out with our two characters, Jig and the American, also referred to as the man, on a train overlooking mountains. “The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry” (Hemingway). In the case of this short story, the hills provided Jig something to take her mind off of the grueling conversation she was having with the Man. As said by a critic, “the story itself is comprised almost entirely of dialogue. Although there is a situation, there is no plot” (Henningfield). This characteristic makes the story harder to identify. As the couple reached the station they sat down on a bench and continued to talk. “The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station, looking at fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro” (Hemingway). The location of setting plays a big role in how the characters wi...
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.
He states ‘I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in.’ and ‘I’ll go with you and I’ll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural.’ Hemingway choose specific words in order to make the man sound like he is trying his best to convince Jig. Words such as “air”, “natural”, “perfectly” and “just” bring a sense of calmness to the discussion and to Jig herself. I think Hemingway did this purposely because he is trying to make the discussion between the two characters sound more of a debate. A debate in which the man isn’t fully trying to take force of the situation maybe with violence but in a more peaceful way of by using calm words and talking with a tone that shows he cares for Jig. It almost seems as if Jig doesn’t know what she wants from this discussion. She seems to be hesitant on wether or not to go through with the operation. This debate that Hemingway is trying to portray in the discussion between the two characters could very well be proof of the male dominance in society in the early 1900’s. Throughout the story the man seems to be in control of the conversation; reassuring Jig that it will be fine, that he will be with her and that the operation itself is very basic and simple that she can do it with ease. At the same time Jig seems to be the one that has less control of the situation even though it is her body and the child of course is within her. This causes Jig to question if she should listen to the man or not. She states ‘And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?’ which proves her hesitation and lack of power within the situation. It’s almost as if the man himself is trying to convince a child to not do something in order for him to
In the 1920’s abortion was a taboo idea and many frowned upon it in the United States. “Hills Like White Elephants” is another one of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories that may seem very simple, but has many underlying symbols and lead the outlier to reread the story to find the symbols and hidden meanings. A lot can be assumed when reading “Hills Like White Elephants” and if you understand how Ernest Hemingway thinks using his “Code Hero’ way of thinking, you can see that The American and Jig will soon be having a child. By analyzing a few symbols seen throughout the story; White Elephants, the description of Jig as a girl and not a woman, and the bead curtain we will conclude with the fact
Ernest Hemingway is an incredible writer, known for what he leaves out of stories not for what he tells. His main emphasis in Hills Like White Elephants seems to be symbolism. Symbolism is the art or practice of using symbols, especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations (merriam-webster.com). He uses this technique to emphasize the importance of ideas, once again suggesting that he leaves out the important details of the story by symbolizing their meaning.