Ernest Hemingway wrote the work “Hills Like White Elephants”. His story is about abortion although within the text, the word abortion is nowhere to be found. The reason why Ernest Hemingway portrayed abortion the way he did was because in 1927, abortion was something that nobody really talked about. It was a something that would be looked down upon. So he writes “Hills Like White Elephants” with multiple metaphors to mask the idea of abortion. Not one time does the man or the woman say the word “abortion.” The man goes through everything that the girl says in his mind and takes the literal meaning of her words. On the other hand, the girl says almost everything metaphorically. Also the actions of the man and the girl have metaphoric meanings as well.…
On one side of the valley, it contained trees and long white mountains, which resembled white elephants to the woman. This side of the path symbolizes life and happiness, the white elephants is seen to symbolize the child she is carrying. Therefore, identifying that Jig desires motherhood and wants to settle down in a family with the American. The other side of the valley, is the complete opposite of life, it was empty with no shade nor trees. This side seems to represent the outcome of the relationship if they do proceed with the abortion and the danger of the operation for the woman, and perhaps it can also be identified as the emptiness of this couples dynamic.“I wanted to try this new drink. That’s all we do, isn’t it look at things and try new drinks?”(476). Jig seems to desire more than just an adventurous lifestyle, such as the American. She wants to settle down and start a family with this man. The painful choices Jig has to decide is whether to bear the child and possibly losing her lover, or want to be with this man enough to get an abortion and forget her wants and needs. The junction not only symbolizes the decision of whether to keep this child or continue on with the abortion, it also seems to highlight that these two people are at different stages in life, one is still looking to have fun while the other is ready to settle…
Estrella’s mother, Petra, was left a long time ago by her husband. Estrella learns from her father’s loss that men cannot be trusted or depended on, and that women will usually always be left to take care of the family. Just as Petra has been abandoned physically by Estella’s father, and mentally by Perfecto, Estella soon will come to be abandoned by Aledo. The fact that Perfecto has not married her mother extends the idea of lack of promise made by the men in her life. Estrella knows that the world of men and women through her mother Petra and Perfecto Viramontes is insightful to the men in some ways, but she does emphasize that when the men abandon the family, the women are left to bear for themselves and their children. Estrella and Aledo’s relationship, serves as a major basis for the author's claim in the idea of suffering. Aledo’s death represents how once a female is left…
Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” portrays the turmoil a couple endures when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, the choice to hold onto their current life or to begin a new life. Readers are allowed to intrude on a conversation between an American man and a girl, further conflict is presented through Hemingway’s use of symbolism. The man wants to go through with an abortion while the girl is unsure about which track she should take. Throughout the story, Hemmingway’s use of abundant details about the setting, rather than providing much detail about the characters, reveal a conflict between the man’s desire for the girl to have a “perfectly natural” (Hemingway 116) procedure and the decision to forgo an “awfully simple operation”…
Pleads for an Operation, not an Obligation Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” sprays bullets of emotion through the reader’s head and heart. It is hard to ignore the insincerity of the American’s persistent pleads for the mother of his child, Jig, to schedule an abortion. It is quite a challenge to not root against the man, as he can be seen by many as the clear antagonist. For such dark schematics, the bearer of the child provides a positive energy for the audience with her apparent preference to ignore the man and spare the fetus. Despite their opposing visions on the future, he ensures Jig that he will care for the child.…
Becoming a parent is something most people see in their future, however it often comes at the wrong time for some people. In Ernest Hemingway’s, “Hills Like White Elephants”, we see a couple’s conversation as it leads up to the decision they are making on whether or not to have an abortion. With the white elephants representing a metaphor for the unborn child, we are able to see the struggle of a couple trying to make a decision on whether to keep the child or not, through which it is apparent that the two of them as a couple don’t communicate properly and the girl does not normally know how to make her own decisions.…
The first line of the story, "The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white" (475), can be interpreted as the length of the belly of the pregnancy and the worry of the characters is carries in mind, the word Ebro could be referring to embryo the stage of development and the color white meaning innocents. The next line," On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun" (475), can be interpreted as the middle of the day, on one side nothing but dirt, also could mean no problems and other side full of life, a choice of taking responsibility and have a family, the two rails are a crossroad to which choice to take. The place there were both going was to Madrid and give Jig the abortion. They both were sitting on the baron side of the station thinking nothing but themselves and with no worries, ignoring what problem they both have, enjoying the moment and trying new things together. The hills to Jig look like white elephants, in her mind, she is thinking about her physical appears, when her belly gets to that point similar to the hills. Jig a young girl and the American an older gentleman in this station to make critical life changing choice. Jig makes her choice first and moves across the other side of the station to the green fertile fields and a symbol that represents the keeping of the baby. At the end the American moves…
The story "Hills like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway is a fascinating story about one couple having faced with an unexpected pregnancy. The theme of the story is about the couple's decision between life and death. The main character Jig and The American are in disagreements on weather to keep their baby, or have an abortion. The couple's lack of communication creates the conflict in the story. For example, Jigs says, "We can have all this..." "And everyday we make it more impossible" While this problem is going on, the couple is sitting at a train station in the middle of a valley. Each side of the valley represents either life or death. As Jig moves about in the story, she faces different sides of the valley, which helps to determine the decision she will make. With the many descriptions and symbolism throughout the story, the final decision seems as if Jig is keeping the baby.…
Despite plenty of pleasant descriptions—White’s father comically rolling over in a canoe, the reverence for the silent lake in the early morning, the young waitresses, the walk to the farmhouse for dinner, the pleasures of boating and fishing, the taste of soda, the laughter of other campers clowning around in the rain—little hints of melancholy and uncertainty emerge as the essay develops, and lead toward the chill of death at the end.…
Ernest Hemingway’s "Hills Like White Elephants," tells the story of an American man and a girl who is named Jig. They are both sitting outside of a train station in Spain looking across a valley while drinking beer. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway discusses the landscape before them, the valley of the Ebro River, that has long white hills. As the American and the girl begin to have a conversation, the girl remarks on the Ebro River of the way it looks. After a while the American asked her if she wanted to do the operation (an abortion which was learned in the author's comment at the end) and explained to her that she would be fine. However, she began to think if she participates in the operation would the American lover still be with her. Nevertheless, the American knows that if the operation is not done he would not be able to do certain things; therefore, he is trying to eliminate the reasons to settle down with Jig. Towards the end of the story, Jig and the American would argue about the operation; even though the American does not want a child.…
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." Before writing "Hills like White Elephants," Hemingway had been residing in Paris with his wife Hadley and son, Bumby. During their stay in Paris, Hadley and Ernest Hemingway met a woman named Pauline Pfeiffer. Pauline was more of a friend to Hadley than Hemingway was. Pauline did not think much of Hemingway at first, she thought he was lazy and a no-doer. Later Pauline and Hemingway fell in love and had an affair. Once Hadley knew of their affair, Hemingway requested a divorce. Hadley agreed under one condition, Hemingway and Pfeiffer had to separate for 100 days. After the 100 days if they were still in love, then Hadley would grant the divorce (Baker 174). This separation period left an indelible effect on Hemingway's life and…
This essay will use new criticism to evaluate “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway in the areas of characters, symbolism, and conflict. I will mainly focus on two of the three characters. There will be many opportunities to comment on symbolism. Consideration will also be paid to the ongoing conflict between the American and the girl, sometimes referred to as Jig.…
The whole story is based in a train station with the two main characters disputing with each other over a decision that will change their lives. This conversation is going on while the train is threatening to draw nearer. Towards the end of the conversation the man continues to warn about the train. This is evident in the repetition of the line “the train is coming in five minutes” (Hemingway 109.) The man is very impatient with the train and wants it to arrive. This is shown through the line “He looked up…could not see the train” (Hemingway 109.) This is symbolic of him wanting to run away from the truth of the situation and have everything go back to the way things were before the pregnancy. As James Nagel mentions in this line “His comments reflect…free of obligations” (Nagel,) it shows how the man just wants to be free and be with his girlfriend, but his girlfriend does not want the same thing. Her difference of opinion is what causes the animosity to…
While reading Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Big Two Hearted River,” one might think that it is just about a man named Nick Adams returning to Seney, to go camping and fishing. It may not be clear to some readers why the town of Seney is burned down or why Hemingway talks about each of Nick’s action in great amount of detail. While first reading the story one might not notice that Hemingway has many symbolic parts, so that he can get the true meaning of the story across to the reader. The story is truly about Nick Adams wanting to get on with his life enjoying to its fullest and putting all of the awful events that have happened to him in the past.…
Close interpretation of the story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway leads the reader to an issue that has plagued society for decades. Understanding of the human condition is unveiled in the story line, the main setting, and through the character representation. The main characters in the story are an American man and a female named Jig. The conflict about abortions is an issue that still faces society today. Architectural and atmospheric symbolisms are used to set the mood and outline the human condition. The love bond between the man and Jig is strong; however, the more powerful bond between Jig and her unborn child is sacred.…