Analysis Of Hills Like White Elephant By Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway and his White Elephants Within his short story, Hills like White Elephants, Ernest Hemingway exemplifies a mode of unique, plotless literature that serves the sole purpose of conveying a message without literally mentioning it. Through his blunt conciseness, Hemingway demands the piece to be read between the lines and symbolically rather than literally. This Lost Generation, American author who found refuge within the depths of Europe utilized his experience with controversial topics and transformed a story with simple characters with virtually no descriptions into a message by even stripping it of its plot and presenting it to be pondered upon rather than given. Hemingway describes the morality of abortion along with the reality of the crossroads that many couples face in life through his
By establishing the story thoroughly with the third person point of view and maintaining it throughout the entirety of the short story, yet never vividly describing the characteristics of his character’s because of his ‘simple’ writing style, Hemingway forces deeper insights through only the dialogue. Many moments within the story cannot be understood without the context of the white elephants and the fact that these two are couples at a stop in an express station. As Jig says, “No, you couldn’t have,” to her “man” the sentence without the context of them being at a point in their relationship where a major decision needs to be made means nothing. Yet, there is no fanciful description that many authors typically