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Symbolism in the story hills like white elephants
Symbolism in the story hills like white elephants
Womens roles in hills like white elephants
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5The story of “Hills like White Elephants” is written by Ernest Hemingway. This story is a story that describes a scene of a couple waiting at a bar for their train. However, their conservation indirectly about an abortion arises as a problematic issue. This issue becomes more interesting when we analyze how society unfairly labels gender roles, which is presented in the story. However, the woman attempts to overcome that by transitioning to become independent. 5The story starts with a man and woman waiting outside a bar and drinking while they wait for their train ride. The man’s girl observes how the hills look like white elephants. However, the man ignores the remark. Then, the girl mentions indirectly about the idea of abortion to the
“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
“The Hills as White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway, tells a story about a couple who are expecting a baby, but want to have an abortion. The setting of the story takes places at a bar situated across of a train station in Madrid, Spain. The couple sits by the bar, and order some drinks. They began discussing about whether or not having the abortion. While they wait for the train the man convince the girl. Within the two works there are many similarities but also differences between the central idea, conflict and the language devices.
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 ...
In Ernest Hemingway’s Hills like White Elephants we follow a couple’s conversation as they wait for a train. The majority of their dialogues evolve around abortion. He perfunctorily tries to convince her to abort the child while she reluctantly tries to please him. As the story goes along the female protagonist continually consumes alcohol, although she is presumed pregnant. I claim that her volition to keep this baby strongly can be argued, since it is common knowledge alcohol can harm an unborn child. We will try to find the source to why she is so ignominious to her actions. First and foremost, the girl is the one who initiates the drinking, “let´s drink beer”(106), suggesting a carefree attitude. Her male companion quickly responds to her request. Barley a moment after the beer has arrived, the girl finds a new drink, Anis del Toro. “Could we try it?” (106) Why could she not? Her actions are a footloose woman´s, there is no second thought to whether she should, or should not intake alcohol. At one point she gets upset and he offers her another drink, “all right” (107) is her quick response. The American also consumes alcohol, but his actions are of no significance. However, he never objects to whether her behavior is appropriate or not, which suggests that the child´s health is of no interest to him. Consequently we see that her treatment of the child is vindictive.
There is a never ending list of what makes some people amazing story tellers. Some writers have vast imaginations, other writers use the lives of others in their stories and other writers use their lived experiences in order to write moving works of art. Most books, works of poetry and short stories that revolve around lived experiences share a common theme of love, hate or both. As these are emotions that all humans share, However, there are some stories that have far more unique. Stories like “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway. Both O’Brien and Hemingway come from two completely separate walks of life but were both able to write stories using the same theme of emotional and physical
‘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 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.
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.
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.
---, "Hills Like White Elephants." The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1953. 273-278.
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.
Stukas, Jake. "Literary analysis: Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway." Helium.com. Web. 21 Nov. 2009. .
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.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th ed. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 113-117. Print.