Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis
Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway
Hills Like White Elephants, a short story by Hemingway, addresses the secret issues of a society with use of characters and symbolism. Centered on abortion, a very controversial and taboo theme, considering the context and setting of the story. Even though abortion dates back to the 1970s when women became liberated with rights to choose parenthood the story signifies all the negative impressions during that era. Though the author never directly mentions the word abortion, the reader is able to interpret the message of the story with hidden language and its undertones. Clearly a story of a pregnant young woman contemplating aborting her child and having to consider all variables with …show more content…
True love can be defined by the decision to abort or keep child. Many myths and philosophies have been introduced in society to prevent people from committing abortion, and remains a vice to this day. Hemingway uses symbolism in a way that relays this message. White elephants are symbolically used to represent the enlarging womb or uterus as they progressively become more visible, as would a growing baby in Jig 's womb. The hills symbolize the swollen breasts of a pregnant woman as wells a belly full of expectations and pending motherhood (Weeks, 76). A white elephant is a symbol of something of little value which is expensive and difficult to maintain. This is how Jig and the American saw the baby, as a costly, added expense in their lives and more of an interruption in their plans (Hemingway, 552). Moreover, one of the hills from the perspectives of Jig could represent her lifestyle and the American. The American does not have a name which is of major significance, too. He remains unnamed throughout the story, which can represent just about any American man who is in love or probably just out to have fun with a woman yet not ready for any major commitments such as a having a baby. That is why the American tries to convince Jig to do away with the baby because he is simply not interested in it (Hemingway, 555). The American pretends not to care about the ultimate decision regarding the pregnancy, although he clearly pushes her to in the direction of
Hills Like White Elephants, a short story by Hemingway, addresses the secret issues of a society with use of characters and symbolism. Centered on abortion, a very controversial and taboo theme, considering the context and setting of the story. Even though abortion dates back to the 1970s when women became liberated with rights to choose parenthood the story signifies all the negative impressions during that era. Though the author never directly mentions the word abortion, the reader is able to interpret the message of the story with hidden language and its undertones. Clearly a story of a pregnant young woman contemplating aborting her child and having to consider all variables with …show more content…
True love can be defined by the decision to abort or keep child. Many myths and philosophies have been introduced in society to prevent people from committing abortion, and remains a vice to this day. Hemingway uses symbolism in a way that relays this message. White elephants are symbolically used to represent the enlarging womb or uterus as they progressively become more visible, as would a growing baby in Jig 's womb. The hills symbolize the swollen breasts of a pregnant woman as wells a belly full of expectations and pending motherhood (Weeks, 76). A white elephant is a symbol of something of little value which is expensive and difficult to maintain. This is how Jig and the American saw the baby, as a costly, added expense in their lives and more of an interruption in their plans (Hemingway, 552). Moreover, one of the hills from the perspectives of Jig could represent her lifestyle and the American. The American does not have a name which is of major significance, too. He remains unnamed throughout the story, which can represent just about any American man who is in love or probably just out to have fun with a woman yet not ready for any major commitments such as a having a baby. That is why the American tries to convince Jig to do away with the baby because he is simply not interested in it (Hemingway, 555). The American pretends not to care about the ultimate decision regarding the pregnancy, although he clearly pushes her to in the direction of