Analysis Of Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

“His style, his attitudes, and some of his characters became widely recognized throughout the world, and he was possibly the most influential writer of English prose in the first half of the 20th century.” (George, Perkins, and Young). Ernest Hemingway is a respected author all over the world for using his everyday situations to create intense short stories. One example of his works is “Hills Like White Elephants”. Throughout the story, Hemingway uses many literary devices such as setting, dialogue, irony, and symbolism to develop the theme of a superficial relationship between a man and woman. Hemingway begins “Hills Like White Elephants” by giving the reader a description of the setting. The setting is a literary device that gives the reader
Milan explains this idea by stating “In Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” (1935) a basic dilemma is presented, that of a couple who are considering an abortion.” (137-147). The quote explains the vague idea throughout the dialogue. The man states, “It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in.” (“Hills Like White Elephants”). The quote is straight from the mouth of the man in the relationship, and gives evidence of his feelings. The theme of a superficial relationship is supported by how the man feels about the abortion of the women he so calls “loves”. The idea of abortion is never spoken of in the short story, but through symbolistic dialogue is portrayed to the
He uses symbolism to convey a superficial relationship to the reader. “Immediately the symbolic significance of the title and the reason for the frequent mention of the hills becomes apparent.” (Week 75-77). The quote gives evidence to support the claim of symbolism in the short story starting with the title. The name of the story itself is a symbol. When talking about “the white elephant in the room” one means something is more of a burden than a gift. So, the “white elephant” in their relationship, is that the woman is pregnant. This is an example of a white elephant in the sense the couple is always drinking and traveling. Another example of symbolism in the story would be the train tracks in the station. The tracks run two ways, one towards Spain, one away from Spain. The railroad track is symbolistic to the character’s relationship since two outcomes can result if the woman decides to have or not have the abortion. The man wants her to have an abortion, and if she does, their “superficial relationship” can go back to the normal. It Jig decides not to have the abortion, their relationship will take a different path and possibly terminate. “Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway. The short story has many different literary elements throughout to support to his ideas. The main idea of the story is a relationship between