Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis Essay
Literary Analysis of Hills like White Elephants
Stacey Wall
ENG 125: Introduction to Literature
Instructor Emily Brandon
April 28, 2014
Literary Analysis of Hills like White Elephants
In this paper I will attempt to address the theme of the short story Hills like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway, as well as its use of symbolism and its point of view. Hemingway had an almost innate ability of bring his characters to life and using symbolism to convey the situations and ideas of his characters (Dubus, 2012). As an author, utilizing literary techniques are critical in expressing the conjecture to be relayed through the characters and the story.
The theme of a story is the idea behind …show more content…
There is more than one theme portrayed in this literary work possibly because of the seriousness of the dilemma portrayed. The complexity of human relationships also aided in developing the themes for this short story.
The author distinctly shows the irreverence of the American pertaining to the situation. As well as his desire to live a lifestyle of as little responsibility as possible. When the American states “I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s just to let the air in.”(Clugston, 2010), he makes light of a serious decision. The statement “We’ll be fine afterwards. Just like we were before.”(Clugston. 2010) exemplifies his desire for her to alleviate him from the impeding responsibility of a child so that they can continue a care free lifestyle.
Another theme that was prevalent throughout the story was the struggle with communication between the couple. The communication between the characters seemed coy and often evasive. They seemed to talk around the subject instead of being upfront about how they were truly feeling. For example when the girl states “I don’t feel any way, I just know things.”(Clugston, 2010) She refuses to express how she is really feeling about her desire to keep the child. The American knows she is hesitant about the abortion, yet he continues to humor her by telling her that she doesn’t have to do it (Clugston, 2010). It almost seems as though they spend the entire conversation avoiding the subject by briefly making interjections pertaining to
Stacey Wall
ENG 125: Introduction to Literature
Instructor Emily Brandon
April 28, 2014
Literary Analysis of Hills like White Elephants
In this paper I will attempt to address the theme of the short story Hills like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway, as well as its use of symbolism and its point of view. Hemingway had an almost innate ability of bring his characters to life and using symbolism to convey the situations and ideas of his characters (Dubus, 2012). As an author, utilizing literary techniques are critical in expressing the conjecture to be relayed through the characters and the story.
The theme of a story is the idea behind …show more content…
There is more than one theme portrayed in this literary work possibly because of the seriousness of the dilemma portrayed. The complexity of human relationships also aided in developing the themes for this short story.
The author distinctly shows the irreverence of the American pertaining to the situation. As well as his desire to live a lifestyle of as little responsibility as possible. When the American states “I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s just to let the air in.”(Clugston, 2010), he makes light of a serious decision. The statement “We’ll be fine afterwards. Just like we were before.”(Clugston. 2010) exemplifies his desire for her to alleviate him from the impeding responsibility of a child so that they can continue a care free lifestyle.
Another theme that was prevalent throughout the story was the struggle with communication between the couple. The communication between the characters seemed coy and often evasive. They seemed to talk around the subject instead of being upfront about how they were truly feeling. For example when the girl states “I don’t feel any way, I just know things.”(Clugston, 2010) She refuses to express how she is really feeling about her desire to keep the child. The American knows she is hesitant about the abortion, yet he continues to humor her by telling her that she doesn’t have to do it (Clugston, 2010). It almost seems as though they spend the entire conversation avoiding the subject by briefly making interjections pertaining to