Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

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"Literature is a luxury: Fiction is a necessity" (Chesterton). Literature is a single phenomenon that will always remain in the lives of people throughout the years. According to Andre Maurois, "In literature, as in love, we are astounded by what is chosen by others." Fiction Literature is one of the most fascinating types of Literature. There are many types of Fiction Literature read across the world and with much selection, the greatest are short stories. Out of those, one very memorable short story is called "Hills Like White Elephants". The author, Ernest Hemingway, has created many intriguing stories with his recognizable syntax. The specific style he is known for may be childish and use only a few small lines, but nevertheless his writings are continuously read by many people. Like any exceptional author would, Hemingway manipulates his text to get across certain themes in the plot of his stories. A couple themes found in "Hills Like White Elephants" are doubt, choices, consequences, and decision-making. These themes are noticed by Hemingway's use of various different literary elements in the story. They help the reader better understand the true meanings behind "Hills Like White Elephants"' seemingly empty plot.

The characters in this story are very believable because they play very realistic roles. For their situation, these characters are appropriately casted. The protagonist of this story is a girl named Jig. She is portrayed as a flat character where we only see one side of her throughout the story. We only see her doubt and worry over not being able to make a decision. The decision she is trying to make is whether or not to go through with an 'operation' that is not directly stated. We later infer that she...

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...about life itself. May we all learn from this reading experience as well as gain knowledge about the world as we know it.

Works Cited

Akers, Tim. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Short Stories for Students. Ed. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Short Stories for Students. Gale. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.

Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants". LitFinder for Schools. Gale. Web. 4 Apr. 2015..

Henningfeld, Andrews Diane. Overview of Hills Like White Elephants, for Short Stories for Students, The Gale Group, 1999. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

Johnston, Kenneth G. "'Hills Like White Elephants' Lean, Vintage Hemingway," in Studies in American Fiction, Vol. 10, No. 2, Autumn, 1982. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

Weeks, Lewis E. Jr., “Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in “Hills Like White Elephants,” in Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 17, No. 1, Winter, 1980. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.

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