Hill Like White Elephants

Point of view plays a major role in every story, helping shape how characters are seen and interpreted. The right narration will help to clearly present the theme; it dictates the way a story is read and understood with an array of symbolism. In “Hill Like White Elephants” Hemingway presents symbols like white elephants and a train station to carry theme. Through the objective third person point of view symbols are used to help the reader understand the intricacy of a young couple’s life changing choice. 

In stories that are told through the objective third person point of view, the characters are often viewed as blank canvases, waiting for the reader to define them. In “Hill Like White Elephants” Hemingway leaves it up to the audience to interpret and seek meaning in the symbols such as white elephants, in order grasp the prohibitive situation Jig and the American are in “But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you’ll like it?” (Hemingway 60) A white elephant is something that no one wants in this case it is Jigs unborn child. Clearly the American is against keeping the child because he is constantly reminding Jig
of the “awfully small operation”. (Hemingway 42) The dialogue Hemingway uses is full of symbols that help the reader understand the complexity of the young couple’s decision on if they should keep the child or not. The objective third person point of view also transforms the reader into a witness to the events unfolding. The limited information leaves the reader dependent on symbols to help grasp the main ideas. Hemingway uses the train station in the story to depict a transformation in the journey that is the young couple’s lives. “He did not say anything but looks at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels” (Hemingway 97). The train station infers an upcoming change in there journey which relies on the couple’s decision regarding the unborn child. Through the impersonal manner of the objective third person point of view the symbolism surrounding the train station deepens the readers understanding of the young couple’s complex situation. The neutrality of the objective third person point of view does little to engage the reader through language, leaving the stories richness dependent on the symbols used throughout. Options concerning the unborn child’s future rely on metaphor, but regard an abortion literally. The train station at which the story is set separates two very different pieces of land. “On this side there was no shade and trees (Hemmingway 1). This describes a dry, level landscape symbolizing a lack of life both literally and metaphorically. On the other side “fields of grain and trees” (Hemingway 71), a contrasting piece of land rich with life and growth, offering the option to keep the child and enrich their own lives. The pregnancy faces the couple with option brought to life through the way the objective third person point of view places importance on the symbols in the story. Hemingway, while brining the story to life, use those symbols to strengthen the readers understanding of the option the young couple must choose. Point of view is an art that when properly used enhances the readers experience.
In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” through the objective third person point of view Hemingway used symbolism to help the reader grasp the complexity of the young couple’s deciton. Through symbols such as white elephants the reader is able to better identify the conflict between Jig and the American regarding their unborn child. The landscape presents the reader with the option available to the couple, whether to keep the baby or not; a moment of transition in the couples lives captured by the train station. The objective third person point of view imposes a script like story telling that places importance on the symbols as a guide to help the reader to more clearly grasp the young couple’s complex
situation.