Hills like white elephants explained. Symbolism in the story "Hills Like White Elephants." 2022-10-28

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"Hills Like White Elephants" is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway in 1927. The story is told through a conversation between a man and a woman, who are referred to only as "the American" and "the girl," respectively, as they wait for a train at a Spanish railway station.

Throughout the conversation, it becomes clear that the couple is discussing a difficult decision that the girl is facing. The American is urging her to have an abortion, while the girl seems hesitant and unsure. The story is written in such a way that the actual subject of their conversation is never explicitly mentioned, but it is heavily hinted at through their use of euphemisms and imagery.

For example, the girl mentions the hills in the distance, saying that they look like white elephants. The American responds by saying that he has never seen one, to which the girl replies, "No, you wouldn't have." This exchange can be interpreted as a metaphor for the girl's pregnancy, with the hills symbolizing the burden of the unborn child and the white elephant representing something rare and valuable that is also a burden to care for.

The tension between the American and the girl is palpable throughout the story, with the American trying to persuade the girl to go through with the abortion and the girl expressing her doubts and reservations. The American seems more concerned with the practicalities of the situation, while the girl seems to be more focused on the emotional and moral implications.

In the end, it is unclear whether the girl ultimately decides to have the abortion or not. The story ends with the couple continuing their conversation as the train approaches, leaving the reader to interpret the outcome for themselves.

Overall, "Hills Like White Elephants" is a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of the complexities of relationships and the difficult decisions that we often face in life. It serves as a reminder that sometimes the most important conversations in life are those that are left unsaid, and that the true meaning of things is often hidden beneath the surface.

What is the end of "Hills Like White Elephants"?

hills like white elephants explained

The difference between Jig and Louise is Jig wants the American, but he does not want to settle with her. Introduction Hemingway believes that a good story conveys far more by subtext than by the use of actual words that is why he uses several symbols to present ideas and emotions. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. He insists on talking even more about the operation and the fact that, according to what he's heard, it's "natural" and "not really an operation at all. Coming back, he walked through the bar-room, where people waiting for the train were drinking.

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What does white elephant mean in Hills Like White Elephants?

hills like white elephants explained

American Expatriates in Paris. As the story continues, more details of what the couple is discussing unfold. Hemingway tells the story from watching the couple from across the bar and listening to their troublesome conversation. Along with the title, the story refers to the whiteness of the hills and how they look like white elephants. The man, while urging the girl to have the operation, says again and again that he really doesn't want her to do it if she really doesn't want to. Given their seemingly free style of living and their relish for freedom, a baby and a marriage would impose great changes in their lives.

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Hills Like White Elephants: Full Plot Summary

hills like white elephants explained

The girl and the American have been traveling in Europe and they stop at the train station waiting for the next train. The man asks the woman if she feels better, and she replies that she feels fine. This setting shows the choice, which the main heroine makes of whether to obey her gallant, and become barren and fruitless, and maybe even dead or to oppose him, and be a fruitful lady, and a mother of a child. Significantly, their conversation begins with a discussion of what to drink, suggesting how central alcohol has become to their avoidance of real communication. The couple is trying to decide whether they should have an abortion or not. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him.

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Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway Plot Summary

hills like white elephants explained

Essay Example The prose dialogue narrative in Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway is an impressive feat. In the same way, the bareness of the hills and fertility of the fields suggest a distinction between happiness and sadness. They drink beer as well as two licorice-tasting anis drinks, and finally more beer, sitting in the hot shade and discussing what the American man says will be "a simple operation" for the girl. I just meant the colouring of their skin through the trees. This simile sparks the conflict the third element between the two over who has traveled more.


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Hills Like White Elephants: Symbols

hills like white elephants explained

Had Hemingway said that the girl, for example, spoke "sarcastically," or "bitterly," or "angrily," or that she was "puzzled" or "indifferent," or if we were told that the man spoke with "an air of superiority," we could more easily come to terms with these characters. Alternatively, she has the abortion, but the emotional toll on her causes her to split up with the man, and they each go their separate ways. The curtain and the child both are unimportant for the man. It is a wonder that this story was published at all. In one scenario, the woman refuses to go through with the abortion. She tosses out a conversational, fanciful figure of speech — noting that the hills beyond the train station "look like white elephants" — hoping that the figure of speech will please the man, but he resents her ploy.

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Hills Like White Elephants

hills like white elephants explained

In part, this is because the two characters are no in strict opposition to each… Who is the antagonist in Hills Like White Elephants? He also frequently says she doesn't have to do it if she doesn't want to, which indicates that he's describing an elective procedure. As he walks back through the bar he stops to get another Anis del Toro alone. He takes abortion for granted and believes that it is normal for an unmarried girl to have her abortion just like it is normal for the curtain to be hanging in the doorway. What is the ending of Hills Like White Elephants? Hemingway uses this symbolism to convey the unspoken thoughts and emotions of the characters and the ultimate decision made to begin her journey on the pursuit of happiness. This insight is best illustrated when she looks across the river and sees fields of fertile grain and the river — the fertility of the land, contrasted to the barren sterility of the hills like white elephants.

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Symbolism in the story "Hills Like White Elephants."

hills like white elephants explained

Although it is never actually said we learn that the couple is talking about whether to have an abortion. The Ebro River also represents life, as it germinates the fields. As the couple waits, they go and get some drinks while they designate an important decision; whether or not they should get an abortion. It is hot, and the man orders two beers. His frustration is palpable, yet when he rejoins the girl, both once again feign normalcy, refusing to communicate honestly in favor of further avoidance and concealment.

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Analysis of Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants"

hills like white elephants explained

. The main characters in the story are an American man and a female named Jig. But there is always a time when people realize that the ways of living should not be the way they are and that they have to change in order to live with their true selves instead of someone else controlling their lives. His most famous works are the novels A Farewell To Arms, and the novella Tender is the Night , and his work often played with themes common in the work of other Lost Generation writers. The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. The story opens with the American man and the girl sitting outside a bar at a train station near the Ebro river in Spain. Here her feelings are closest to the surface and there is the sense that there will be an emotional explosion, and then perhaps even some real communication and confrontation of the truth.

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Ernest Hemingway

hills like white elephants explained

The couple starts out by having a few beers and discussing a problem they are facing in their relationship, as the conversation continues between the two, you can see that the couple is starting to get slightly angry and aggravated with each other whether or not they should proceed to Barcelona in order to have an abortion. Analysis This story was rejected by early editors and was ignored by anthologists until recently. Such a thought would be no less likely in her mind, as she handles the beads, than her earlier perception of the distant hills as white elephants. Each symbol develops gradually from the start till the end of the story and communicates the meaning of the story. He is a drunk who has just tried to kill himself. Its main characters are on a train trip.


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