Themes In Hills Like White Elephants, By Ernest Hemingway

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In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, the author employs the use of the iceberg theory to convey a hidden message within the lines of the story for the reader. Through the use of strictly dialogue, Hemingway allows the reader to only see the part of the iceberg that is above water. The rest of the story is inferred by the reader. For example, Hemingway uses simple sentences rather than complex sentences to get straight to the point. All of Hemingway’s use of detail and explanations of scenery or background is made simple. Most all of us have seen a selfish person that makes us want to intervene in the situation, but if you haven’t then you are not missing anything. The intervention most associated with selfish acts are in relationships. The mention of abortion in Hemingway’s short story is not mentioned specifically, …show more content…

One specific story is called “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner. While we are on the subject of hills signifying one’s life, let us look at the dad in the story. He starts out by burning a barn all due to a pig, forcing him and his family to travel for jobs, almost like Jig and the man in Hemingway’s story. The life for the dad in Faulkner’s story is making the life for his family quite a crazy one. He is making it near impossible to remain stable. His rage and constant moving around for a job is the climb up a hill to reach a stable point in his life. We finally see a point of stability when he and his family settle at a rich farm. He still has “rage fits,” but it is not to the point where he burns down a barn. The family is starting to talk to him to try to calm him, and the work seems to be going well. However, the readers still know that his desire to burn things is still inside him. His family wishes his lifestyle would change, but his desire to change is nowhere in sight. This relates to Jig and the man in Hemingway’s story. One wants change, but the other one

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