Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway
In Ernest Hemingway s Hills Like White Elephants, the two main characters, Jig and the unnamed American man, are at a train station in Spain trying to decide whether or not they (actually just Jig) should go through with an abortion. The first time I read the story it wasn t very clear to me what type of an operation it was that they were talking about. Hemingway doesn t really spell it out for the reader. After reading the questions at the end of the text and reading over the story again I realized that the operation they were talking about was in fact an abortion. Although Hemingway provides very little information about the character s situation or their pasts, the use of symbolism in the character s dialogue throughout the story makes it a whole lot easier to understand.
The only thing I really noticed the first time I read the story was the tension between the two main characters throughout the story. In the first dialogue, there seems to be some tension between Jig and the American man. They speak to each other in short sentences and Jig starts getting sarcastic with her male companion (Hemingway doesn t state whether they are married) when he says that he s never seen white elephants. At first impression, seems like the lady is the antagonist. For most of the beginning of the story all they talk about is drinks. At one point Jig says That s all we do, isn t it look at things and try new drinks? (445) These people must have a pretty meaningless relationship if that s all they do. Even after they re done talking about having the operation on page 446, they go back to more drinking.
The Essay on Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephant
Hemingway’s literary opus “Hills Like White Elephants” is a perfect example of how setting and symbolism are utterly utilized in emancipating the plot. The story is simple. There are no subplots and change in characterization. It is about abortion, although mentioned as an “operation” in the story. Through the gradual suggestions of symbolic parts, the reader is able to understand where the ...
The whole dialogue about the operation made me question the American man s love for Jig. Was he sincere? At first he s convincing her that the operation is simple and how it is the only thing that has made them unhappy. One can tell that Jig doesn t really want to go through with the operation by the way she talks. She asks him, And if I do it you ll be happy and things will be like they used to be and you ll love me? It sounds like she really doesn t think that he ll love her if she does have the kid. It also sounds like he isn t really concerned about her safety either. He keeps trying to convince her that it is a simple operation and that it really isn t an operation at all. He sounds like he s bullshitting. Then afterwards he starts telling her that he doesn t mind if she chooses to have the kid. It s obvious that he wants her to have the abortion so they could continue traveling. Hemingway illustrates that this couple travels quite often on page 447 when the American looks at the bags with the labels on them from all the hotels they had stayed at.
Another aspect of the story that caught my attention was its title, Hills Like White Elephants. Jig also describes the hills as white elephants. Hemingway s use of this description and title might symbolize how women become when they are pregnant. If Jig chooses not to abort the fetus, she will become large and round like an elephant. The use of this simile becomes more apparent on page 445 when she says, They don t really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees. It s obvious that she is not really thinking of the hills when she uses the word skin.
I looked up the definition for white elephant in The Merriam Webster Dictionary. The dictionary defined white elephants as something requiring much care and expense and giving little profit or enjoyment. That really cleared up the whole white elephant thing for me. The kid would have been more trouble for them than it would have brought enjoyment.
The Term Paper on Women in “Hills like White Elephants”
Through history women have fought for equal rights and freedom. This tension is derived from men; society, in general; and within a woman herself. In the nineteenth century, women in literature were often portrayed as submissive to men. Literature of this period often characterized women as oppressed by society, as well as by the male influences in their lives. This era is especially interesting ...
Something else that caught my attention was the use of fertility symbolism. Besides the hills as pregnant ladies, Hemingway used the setting to describe fertility and infertility. On the side of the station the land was barren. The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry. (446) Across the river at the other end of the station were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. The trees and the river represent life and fertility but Jig and the American are on the sterile side of the river where the station is. Leaves on the train, chances are, she s going to get the abortion. If she doesn t board the train she won t get it. What wouldn t they just get the abortion there? It s probably not offered in that city. I think that the Hemingway chose to have the area around the river fertile to illustrate the point that if she didn t leave she would have the kid. In the distance was barren land, symbolizing that she would abort the child if she decided to take the train. Hemingway leaves the end open to the reader s imagination. It is not sure whether she decides to get on the train, but it is apparent that the man wants to get on since he s eager to take her luggage to the end of the station.
