In the story 'hills like white elephants' by Ernest Hemingway, we read about two characters, a girl and an American man. They have short conversations between them, and these conversations can hint of many clues about them and their relationship. In the story, we discover what the characters are like, through what they say, and also through the things they don't say.
First, in the story, we understand that the American man has money, and he is an adult because he seems to knows what he is doing. He doesn't want to have a child. Therefore, he is asking his girlfriend to risk her life by having an abortion. The surgery's death rate was higher than its survival rate at that time. All this makes him very selfish, as well. He doesn't care about her, despite the fact that he says: 'well, I care about you.' (Hemingway, 255). He doesn?t even listen to her. She speaks to him, and he says some unrelated things back. We can assume that he always talks about drinking because he wants to get her drunk so she will accept the abortion. Also, we can understand from his comment: ?I?ve known lots of people that have done it?, (Hemingway, 255) that he had too many relationships with teenage girls before, and he has been through the same situation nemrus times.
Secondly, the woman, who is called the girl in the story, has no identity. We don?t know where she is from, or if she has a family. We can understand that she is a teenager who depends on a careless man. Furthermore, it?s clear from her words: ?and if I do it you?ll be happy and things will be like they were and you?ll love me?? (Hemingway, 255), that she is a lonely desperate girl who still hopes for happiness. Nevertheless, she knows she will never have it. That?s why it?s obvious from her reply, ?I don?t care about me?, (Hemingway, 255), that she is depressed, and even ready to die by agreeing to the abortion.
There is a common theme in “Hill’s like White Elephants” and “The Birthmark” of a life altering decision. Both women are thinking about having an operation that will affect them for the rest of their lives. In “Hill’s like White Elephants”, Jig and the American are debating whether or not they should have an abortion. This decision is something that will affect both of them deeply throughout their lives together. By the way the two characters interact with each other the reader can deduce how important they feel the operation is. There seems to be a tension in their sentences with each other. Jig says things like “Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for” and “That's all we do, isn't it-look at things and try new drinks” (Hemingway 841)? These responses to the American show that Jig is in a distasteful state of mind which would most likely stem from her thoughts about the operation and what they will do in regard to it. Because these thoughts of the operation are affecting her socially, it shows just how important the operation is to her. How Jig interprets the scenery around them while they are discussing the operation also suggests the importance ...
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.
While reading the story thoroughly, I came to my conclusion: the girl will eventually go through with the abortion. However, she will not stay with the man. In the article from the Hemingway Review: ‘Hills Like White Elephants: The Jilting of Jig’, a similar point of view is presented by critic Howard Hannum. He believes that the girl will have the abortion, but after the operation, she will leave the man. He states that, ‘it is a
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.
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.
To begin, consider the main character's point of view. Single and in his prime, he makes the most of his lifestyle by traveling and seeing new sights. The story is set on one such excursion, at a train station in Spain. Of the complications that might arise from starting a family, one is certain to him: traveling, sight-seeing, and his current lifestyle would be things of the past. These are some of his motivating thoughts as he pleads his case for terminating the pregnancy. He chooses his words advantageously, almost deceitfully, when trying to convince the girl that an abortion is easy surgery: "It's not really an operation at all" (275). Those familiar with the abortion procedure can affirm that it is an operation, and rarely a simple one. This remark reveals how desperate he is to make the decision for the girl.
I see many people as I wander through the streets, yet I can only hear silence. I see couples getting into a restaurant, order, check their smartphones, eat, and I wonder why they do not look up, face each other and genuinely communicate. What I perceive, are men and women living not with, but next to each other. This is exactly what I imagined when I read Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”. A couple waiting to catch a train and as they sit and drink some beers, they start talking about Jig’s pregnancy and the option of abortion. However, all I can hear is silence because they simply do not speak the same language. They are both living in different worlds filled with divergent ideologies and opinions. As a result, the words do not come across. The American, though, does everything in his power to convince Jig of conducting an abortion, in which he seems to succeed at first. But as the story develops, the divided and childlike Jig transforms into an independent woman, who possesses an internal strength, determination and a mind of her own. Hence, I am going to argue that Jig will not have the abortion and will eventually leave the American.
The tale begins outside a small train-stop in the middle of Spain, where a young woman peers into the nearby hills. Jig remarks that they look like white elephants and tells the man she wants some beers. The man asks for two drinks and the waitress asks Jill if she wants her drink with water, but she can not decide. The man suggests that they're good with water so they drink the Anis del Toros. As they chat about drinks, the man remarks about the abortion saying it is not a big deal and that everything would be fine afterwards. She agrees to do it because she doesn't care about herself and they get in an argument. She asks for only one thing, which is to stop talking to her. The man gets up ,grabs the bags, and in the end he comes back and asks if she's fine. She responds,"I feel fine. There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine." (p255)
The American in “Hills like White Elephants” is constantly saying how simple of a procedure it is when in actuality he has no knowledge of abortions. He goes on to say that “she doesn’t have to be afraid because he knows lots of people that have done it (Hemingway 476) The taking of a life no matter how it is done is never as simple as saying other people have done it so don’t be scared. Even though the American says he just wants her to be happy. It is clear that the most important thing is not her safety or happiness but him being able to live his care free lifestyle burden free (Wyche). He is constantly pushing the conversation even when she ask him to stop. For him the thought of death is an escape from his responsibilities. Her indecisiveness is hindering his plans to travel and he says if she does have an abortion then he will be happy again and then she will be happy too. He is so simple minded and egotistical that he tells her what she needs to do to be happy and that that’s the only way. At this point the American has indirectly said I cannot love you and be happy if we have a child, but if she has this procedure then everything will be back to normal. In “A Clean, Well-lighted Place” the protagonist the young waiter has a similar outlook but in a different situation. The waiter is constantly saying that “he wishes the old man had just killed
"Hills like White Elephants" is not the normal story where you have a beginning, middle and end. Hemingway gave just enough information so that readers could draw their own conclusions. The entire story encompasses a conversation between two lovers and leaves the reader with more questions than answers. Ernest Hemingway was a brilliant writer. People that study Hemingway's works try to gain insight and draw natural conclusions about Hemingway and his life. Hemingway led a difficult life full of martial affairs and misfortune. Some of these experiences have set the foundation for Hemingway's greatest works. This essay will analyze the influence that Hemingway's separation from Pauline and divorce from Hadley had on "Hills like White Elephants."
The setting is set in a café at a train station. On one side of the station there is a lush and green landscape and the other is a deserted barren landscape with browns and whites. They are sit in the café drinking and covertly discus the decision the American is insisting. The setting starts with “there was no shade and no trees” this reflects that there is nowhere to hide from the topic of abortion. It was all there to be seen by the sun. It is set in a hot and uncomfortable place which is the position the young girl is in. She sees a “passing cloud shadowing the white hills with darkness is a subtle portent of doom to Jig’s pregnancy” (Abdoo 238). There is two contrasting landscapes that the girl sees one that is fruitless and has a wind to it and the other has trees and is lively. This represents her options by keeping the baby she can have a fulfilling life or have the abortion and be left sterile and barren. The setting reinforces the idea that there is a divide between the couple and if they should have the
In "Hills Like White Elephants," by Ernest Hemingway the it is easy to sympathize with the woman, to like and admire her more than the man in the short story. Through reading the short story and going through the conversation that Jig and the American have it is easy to say why Jig is more likeable because she is sort of a victim of the American. He is pushing her into having an abortion that she may not want to have to keep their relationship the same, but if she has the abortion the relationship will not be the same anyway. The American is just pushy and selfish and wants only what is best for him, while Jig wants what is best for both of them.
# Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Ed. R.V. Cassill. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 1981. 613-617.
...ings from a metaphorical perspective. They are advised that the train will arrive in five minutes; meaning while they are at the height of their clash their decision must be made almost immediately. After a moment the American picks up "the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks"(146) from their initial position on the side with the stark, ominous hills, thus signifying his affirmation of her wishes. He takes, what is to him the emblem of their past life together, his "baggage", and brings them to her side of the tracks, the side of life. They've both chosen the same direction in life. Though the text itself does not implicitly reveal their final decision, Hemingway's use of symbolism within the setting make their choice crystal clear: she decides not to have an abortion, and he, though not without staunch reservations, acquiesces.