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Hills Like White Elephants": Critical Analysis
Ernest Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants" is an intriguing story of two individuals who have come to a difficult conversation. Hemingway captures this conversation between man and woman about a pending abortion but never actually revealing what they are talking about, only subtly alluding to the issue throughout the conversation. The context for the conversation is at a bar in a rather desolate place in a station where individuals simply pass through. The setting sets up the context of how the story is reflective of the dialogue of between the man and the woman- it seems like a pass through conversation and it is a conversation that needs to happen to reach the final destination. The man tells Jig that it is a "real simple operation" and that it is just to "let the air in" and that it's "all natural" (Hemingway). These words along with the general attitude and the aura that Jig, the main female character in this text, exudes throughout the entire text. The...
A large part of the first part of their conversation is founded around alcohol and it initially brings them together and seems like a common agent between them, it also serves as an agent that brings them to talk about the issue between them, that of the abortion. By the end of their conversation, or at the end of the text, the girl drinks alone at the table and the guy drinks alone at the bar potentially indicating that the two are separated and may go their separate ways.
There are several symbols that emerge from Hemingway's text including that of the white elephant that appears in the title of his book. The white elephant has come to symbolize throughout the conversation between the man and woman something that neither really wants, and in this particular story it is the unborn baby of the girl. Throughout the conversation though, the girl mentions the elephants- first, at the beginning saying that the "hills look like white elephants" (Hemingway). Then, she later takes back her comment that the hills look like white elephants potentially indicating that she wants to keep the baby and then ultimately, she reveals that the hills only looked like white elephants at first glance, and the hills are quite lovely (Hemingway). Ultimately, it seems that the unborn baby is aborted by…
Works Cited
Adair, William. "Ernest Hemingway and the Poetics of Loss." College Literature. 10.3 (1983): 294-306. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills like White Elephants." http://www.gummyprint.com/blog/archives/hills-like-white-elephants-complete-story/.
Wagner, Linda."Proud and Friendly and Gently: Women in Hemingway's Early Fiction." College Literature. 7.3 (1980): 239-247. Web. 27 Nov. 2011.
Hills like White Elephants -- Critical Literary Analysis One of the first things entering the mind of a reader (on an obvious level) in Hemingway's short story is that the image of a white elephant the woman sees in the line of hills in the distance has created a classic man-woman conundrum. She sees it her way and he sees it his. The beer and the anis del Toro -- and
Hills Like White Elephants Ernest Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants" Ernest Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants" Ernest Hemingway's short story, "Hills like White Elephants" draws largely on the themes of selfishness and naivety, which can be seen in looking at the story's main characters. In order to further embed these themes into his writing, Hemingway skillfully utilizes the literary tools of setting and symbolism to not only give readers an understanding of the
Hills Like White Elephants" -- Ernest Hemingway Will the couple agree to an abortion? Jig, the girlfriend, knows she is going to have to give in to the man and have the abortion, and there are hints and there is foreshadowing (albeit very subtle) that provide the clues. This paper reviews the subtleties and on pages 2 and 3 points to specific passages that suggest she will in fact give in
Ernest Hemingway's - Hills Like White Elephants, write essay supports Final Act It is quite possible that Ernest Hemingway was being deliberately deceptive when he wrote "Hills Like White Elephants," which first appeared in 1927 in the collection of short stories entitled Men Without Women. Regardless of his intention, when the story is read outside of the social and cultural context in which it was written -- as is the case
male figure in Hills Like White Elephants is inferior to Jig, the female counterpart within the story, yet Jig's realization of her strengths against the male is her power to refuse having the abortion surgery. Of course, the story is never resolved and many critical analysts of Hemingway's story have sought to make a prediction about what decision Jig will ultimately make in the face of such a selfish
Hemingway is classified as a modernist in fiction. Modernism rejected traditions that existed in the nineteenth century and sought to stretch the boundaries, striking out in new directions and with new techniques. More was demanded of the reader of literature or the viewer of art. Answers were not presented directly to issues raised, but instead the artist demanded the participation of the audience more directly in finding meaning and in