Ernest Hemmingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is not a story in the clasical sense with an introduction, a development of the story, and an end. We only get some time in the life of two people, as if it were just a piece of a film where we have a lot do deduce. This story does not give everything done for the reader, we only see the surface of what is going on. It leaves an open end, readers can have their own ending and therefore take part in the story. A masterpiece of external narration, there seems to be no focal point in the characters. One must only here what is said, not what is thought by the two main characters, the American and Jig. Hemmingway’s third person narrator takes an objective position outside of the characters, thus providing a look from an third person point of view. The story told is that of a woman and a man during their trip to a place where she can have an abortion. Everything in the tale is related to the idea of fertility and barrenness. This main topic can been seen from the title, where “Hills” refer to the shape of the pregnant belly, and “White Elephants” is an idiom that refers to useless or unwanted things. In this case the unwanted thing is the unborn baby the couple is awaiting to abort.
One can see that the story setting is in Spain, but one does not know the final destination of the train which they are awainting. It is not known exactly where they are or the time or date in which the story takes place. We do not even know if they really take the train. The train is symbolic of change or movement. Most people are afraid of change, as this couple, since movement is not always forward, but can also mean moving backward, as in their relationship. It could in contrast mean “the train of life”. The limited time in which the train will be stopping, two minutes, symbolizes the time that Jig has to make her decision since she cannot risk her health in waiting for a long period of time. The first impression one will get when reading the text is that one is in the middle of a dry, barren place under the sun, with no shade or trees. This reinforces the idea of lack of life, but in contrast, they are in the warm shadow of the building where life is. This emphasizes the contrast between the pregnancy of the woman, as being fertile, and everything around them.
The Essay on Arriving Shortly Train Hank Life
As Time Goes By You might think that reliving you life over and over again would be "good, great or fantastic." You know having the chance to relive all the bad things that you have done, so that you can make the world a better world for you and the people around, well it wouldn't be that bad. Yes it would! Imagine it one morning-you are thirty something and then the next day you wake up as a ...
The American should also be included in this idea of fertility, as he is also apart from the barrenness and sharing the shadow. The characters in this tale are very mysterious being that the reader knows nothing about their lives. Sex and drinking seems to be their whole existance. Since Jig orderes “Anis”, wanting to try something different, she may be contemplating a new relationship or a new experience in life. But, when she tastes the Anis, she complains that is tastes like licorice, a very common, nonexotic flavor. She adds that everything tastes like licorice, especially the things that one wants for so long. This implies that when one waits for something for a long time, for instance a relationship, once it is obtained, it looses the origional appeal. The American wants Jig to have the abortion by emphasizing how easy the procedure is. He compares the operation to opening a window, an easy task “just to let the air in.” In reality he is the one with the doubts. He knows that having a baby would mean changing their lives, settling down.
Being that their suitcases are full of labels form all of the hotels they had spent nights, it is obvious that they enjoy living a nomatic existance. Jig is having the normal doubts any woman can have in her situation. She knows that her decision may change their relationship forever. At the end of the story, the American tells Jig that they can have the world. She replies no, they cannot. Once something is taken away, you never get it back. Here we can see that she wants to keep the baby, and she knows that once she has the abortion, shewill never be able to get the child back. When the American asks her at the end if she feels better, he if really asking if she has made her decision. “Hills Like White Elephants” is an interesting view at one couples strife in dealing with an issue that are faced by many couples, abortion. It seems odd to apply the term omniscient to a narrator who knows or is willing to tell us so little about the characters. The plot, setting, and symbols in this story help the reader to finish out the tale using their own immagination. Hemmingway has employed this story of generic players to the readers own outcome.
The Term Paper on Abortion Pro Life
Child Psychology Abortion, You decide The topic of abortion has been a highly debated and highly controversial issue before America was even founded. There are many aspects of the debate and many angles that can be taken. In order to understand, and to form an opinion on the topic of abortion a person must be informed about the History of abortion, the methods of abortion performed today, the ...
