Erika Chaparro
Professor Brown
English Comp 1302
2/26/18
Short Story Point of View
Point of view is a literary element used in writing to show who is telling the story. This is called the narrator of the story, their job is to tell the story threw their perspective. There are four types of point of view, first person, objective, third person omniscient, and third person limited. In first person point of view the characters in the story are the narrators. First person pronouns are also used such as “I” and “me”. They are usually the initial indicators for the first person point of view. A story that contains this point of view is Everyday Use because the main character is the narrator. In the objective point of view, the narrator is not in
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In this point of view the narrator is vague and resembles watching a play. The reader is not made aware of what the characters think or feel. Description is used to indicate the setting along with the characters, however, the reader doesn’t enter the mind of the personas. Hills Like White Elephants is a story about a man and a woman having a conversation while waiting for the train. The story begins with a description of the setting followed by the introducing of an American man and a girl. The characters sit at a table waiting for a train to Madrid. They seem to be having a conversation over the appearance of the hills, but mainly an operation. The man talks about how it is a simple procedure but the girl appears to be skeptical. Throughout the story, the man gives the impression of pressuring the girl into getting this procedure. Even though he lets her know that it is her choice, he is still persistent. In the end, the man takes their bags up to the tracks. He goes back to the girl, who feels fine and feels nothing is wrong. This story is very indirect, leaving room for the reader to question the meaning of the narrative. Many things aren’t answered in the story such as, the question of what kind of operation is being introduced or what exactly are the characters doing at a train station. These components show how the story's point of view is objective. Usage of third person pronouns also help specify the objective point of view in the story. The quote, “The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside of the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes” (Hemingway 275) indicates the objective point of view because the narrator tells about the setting but the reader is left to wonder about the character’s
Stated in the title and repeatedly mentioned throughout the story, the hills looking white elephants is an important symbol. This symbol is mentioned in the first line, “The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white.” The color, being an important indicator of its meaning, as stated by Abdoo is similar to that of a still born child (Abdoo 239). This observation after knowing what the conflict is gives us direction from the first line. Lewis E. Weeks uses the image of the hills to embody the image of a pregnant woman lying on their back (Lewis) This is
When writing literature, authors will adapt points of view to mold the perceptions of their readers. Three points of view that authors use to draw readers into their works of fiction are the limited perspective, the first-person perspective, and the objective perspective. Three stories will be examined and critiqued for their use of these narrative techniques. Of the three perspectives that will be examined, the first-person perspective is the most useful for sharing the authors’ vision.
“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.
Point of View is incorporated in to stories to show the readers how the story is told. It includes describing the position and person in the story. Position is how far the narrator is from everything that is going on in the story. Person is way the narrator shows the character and their attitude.
Hemingway's characters in the story represent the stereotypical male and female in the real world, to some extent. The American is the typical masculine, testosterone-crazed male who just ...
Similar to first person is the limited omniscient point of view in that the narrator
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.
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.
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”, usual routine activity they do together. This bothers the girl because “that’s all [they] do … look at things and try new drinks.” This shows that the girl is tired of doing the same thing and wants to do something different, like having a baby and a family, instead of fooling around all the time. She wants to stop being a girl and become a woman. Hemingway then presents the reader with two contrasting hills. One hill on one side of the station is dull, desolate, and barren; “it had no shade and no trees”, very desert like. However, the other hill on the other side of the station is beautiful, plentiful in nature, and had “fields of grain and tress along the banks of the Ebro River.” Also on each side of the station where each hill is, there is a train track. These objects are symbolic devices prepare the reader in realizing that the characters are in a place of decision. The railroad station is a place of decision where one must decide to go one way or the other. The t...
As the couple waits between two destinations, Barcelona and Madrid, they are trapped in limbo "between two lines of rail in the sun"(142). The station, placed between the two lines of rails, suggest the two directions the couple may go - toward Madrid and the abortion or away from Madrid and to a family scenario. The landscape describes the conflict, both barren and fruitful. Alongside of one rail line long, white hills stretch across the horizon, the country before them "brown and dry" (143). In stark contrast to the desolate landscape of the hills, the other flank is lush and green, with "fields of grain and trees [running] along the banks of the Ebro" (145). This scenic dichotomy comes to embody the girl's sentiments regarding the abortion: the hills are barren, representing her life if she submits to her partners expressed desires and goes through with the abortion; while th...
Since the story was written in the third person objective, it is easier for the reader to remain objective while analyzing the story. If we one were to hear the story from on of the character’s point of view, the retelling of the story would be clouded with various em...
In second person narrative, the narrator is not a character in the story but "you" are. In a third person narrative, the narrator exists completely outside of the story. All characters are described as "he", "she", or "it". In third person omniscient narration, the narrator can describe the innermost thoughts and feelings of her characters. This book The Glass Castle is written in first person point of view and with that said some advantages that it has is that it mirrors real life for example. We can only experience life from our own point of view, we don't know what other people are thinking. Also with first point of view it's easier to portray the characters personality, feelings and view of the world, as they are doing most of the talking. First person point of view makes readers more comfortable with the story because first person narratives have an easier time garnering empathy from their audience, since the reader spends so much time in the character's
"The role of the narrator influences the type of relationship we have not only with him or her but also with the story" (Landy 75). This quote was taken from our Literary Studies book in which we have read several stories concerning different styles of narration. Narration is one of the most important components of a story. The characters, plot, setting, and theme are also significant, however the narrator sets the mood and also the pace of the story. Two good examples of narration is the short tale The Zebra Storyteller by Spencer Holst and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. These are stories in which the narrators retain certain styles of narration. An outside book that we have not read is the fairy tale Cinderella. In these three works, the narrators have specific functions or duties to carry throughout the story.
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.