Hills Like White Elephants analysis
Ernest Hemingway – Hills Like White Elephants
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a white elephant has a more figurative meaning: "A burdensome or costly possession. Also, an object, scheme, etc., considered to be without use or value." It’s easy to see how this could be seen in context of an unplanned pregnancy that at least one of the parents wants to terminate.
At first when I read through Hemingway’s short story, ‘Hills Like White Elephants’, I thought that it was merely a conversation between a couple with a subtle argument, however after sifting through the dialogue again I thought that some phrases that I didn’t fully understand before could be subtle symbolism of the girl’s pregnancy:
The white elephant symbolizes something no one wants—in this story, the girl’s unborn child. The girl’s comment in the beginning of the story that the surrounding hills look like white elephants initially seems to be a casual, offhand remark, but it actually serves as a segue for her and the American to discuss their baby and the possibility of having an abortion. The girl later retracts this comment with the observation that the hills don’t really look like white elephant which could be a subtle hint that perhaps she wants to keep the baby after all—a hint the American misses. She even goes on to say that the hills only seemed to look like white elephants at first glance, and that they’re actually quite lovely.
Everything in the story indicates that the man wants the girl to have an abortion. Even when the man says that he wants the girl to have an abortion only if she wants to have one, we question his sincerity and his honesty. When the man says, "If you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to," he is not convincing, as from his earlier statements, it is obvious that he does not want the responsibility that a child would bring. When the man promises to be with the girl during the "simple" operation, we again
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a white elephant has a more figurative meaning: "A burdensome or costly possession. Also, an object, scheme, etc., considered to be without use or value." It’s easy to see how this could be seen in context of an unplanned pregnancy that at least one of the parents wants to terminate.
At first when I read through Hemingway’s short story, ‘Hills Like White Elephants’, I thought that it was merely a conversation between a couple with a subtle argument, however after sifting through the dialogue again I thought that some phrases that I didn’t fully understand before could be subtle symbolism of the girl’s pregnancy:
The white elephant symbolizes something no one wants—in this story, the girl’s unborn child. The girl’s comment in the beginning of the story that the surrounding hills look like white elephants initially seems to be a casual, offhand remark, but it actually serves as a segue for her and the American to discuss their baby and the possibility of having an abortion. The girl later retracts this comment with the observation that the hills don’t really look like white elephant which could be a subtle hint that perhaps she wants to keep the baby after all—a hint the American misses. She even goes on to say that the hills only seemed to look like white elephants at first glance, and that they’re actually quite lovely.
Everything in the story indicates that the man wants the girl to have an abortion. Even when the man says that he wants the girl to have an abortion only if she wants to have one, we question his sincerity and his honesty. When the man says, "If you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to," he is not convincing, as from his earlier statements, it is obvious that he does not want the responsibility that a child would bring. When the man promises to be with the girl during the "simple" operation, we again