Paper One Literal meaning of “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway The story starts off with a detailed description of a train station surrounded by white hills, grassy fields, and trees in Spain. An unnamed man and his girlfriend are sitting at a table in a bar outside the station. They are waiting for a train to Madrid. The weather was very hot, and the man decides to order two beers from the female bartender. The girlfriend says that the hills in the distance look like white elephants, which the man says that he has not seen one.
The short descriptions of setting may not seem very detailed but combined with dialogues they tell us the true meaning of this three and a half page story. There is a couple waiting for the train. The American and his young girlfriend nicknamed Jig are sitting at a table in the shade, waiting for the train, talking and drinking beer. The whole story centres on a conversation over whether the girl should undergo an abortion or not. Although Hemingway never uses the words “abortion“ or “baby“, we can clearly tell that is all the characters are talking about.
Thesis: • Hemingway uses numerous symbols, such as white elephants, the hills, the valley, how simple the operation is, the luggage, and time, in order to demonstrate the huge commitment Jig and the Man must make about the “operation”/abortion. Intro: include the title, and the author • The story, Hills Like White Elephants, describes an experience between a man and a girl named Jig, in the valley of Ebro at a train station. While waiting for the train, the man and Jig discuss numerous things, what should they drink, what the hills look like, but the most important topic they discuss is about a certain “operation”. Hemingway, the author of the story, uses numerous symbols in the story to help the reader better understand the huge dilemma this “operation” will or may cause to both the man and Jig. Section 1: • Topic Sentence: o After only reading the title and the first paragraph, the idea that both the hills and white elephants appear to be symbolizing a certain choice involving something precious yet burdensome.
The story is set in a bar beside a train station. A woman and an American man sit together at a table discussing something that is unknown to the reader. The couple is enjoying a beer while awaiting their train. The young woman seems disconnected as she looks out over a line of hills and says, "They look like white elephants". The American discounts the young woman’s remark and keeps drinking (Napierkowski, par.
This gives you a visual of where they are and sets a tone for the story. (2) The conversation between The American and the girl he calls Jig, seem uneasy. You get the idea that there is something wrong. After tasting the drink the man orders, the girl comments on its taste and having to wait a lengthy time for something. The man’s response, “Oh cut it out,” supports the assumption that there is a problem in their relationship.
A round of beer to start, then Anis de Toro (a strong liquor). A set of train tracks runs on each side of the train station. The train that they are waiting for that goes to Madrid will arrive in forty minutes on the other side of the building. In front of them the scene is flat and dry. There are not any trees in sight only two distant hills and the woman refers to them as white elephants.
The Decision to Grow Up In Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” we are shown how fragile a relationship between two lovers is once reality sets in. Hemingway puts us at a “train station between two sets of tracks in the sun.” The sun seems to represent reality and the bright light of day that we are all faced with at some point in our lives. The man chooses to sit in the warm shadow of the building, perhaps to block out the light of the reality that he and Jig are facing, the choice of how to handle this unwanted pregnancy. At this train station there is a bar and when alcohol is mixed with the shadows the man is able to find comfort from the sun and the ever-present choice that he must deal with in the event that Jig chooses to keep the baby. Jig is referred to as a girl, but she is in fact a young woman faced with the problem many young women find themselves faced with.
The Jig Is Up The story of ones life is the summary of all the decisions one makes throughout their life. In Ernest Hemingway’s 1927 short story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, He sets the scene of the American man and his lover, Jig. It’s a hot summers day in the Ebro Valley of Spain where they await a train from Barcelona to Madrid. The lovers are discussing who will make the decision as to whether Jig is to have an abortion or not. Jig is faced with more than this though.
“It’s pretty hot,” the man said. “Let’s drink beer.’” (Hemingway, 2011, para 4) This is a good example of how Jig is being submissive to her boyfriend, instead of saying what she wants to drink; she makes a point to ask him what they shall drink. After this, he orders for her. He does this one other time in the story, suggesting there is a pattern of him making all of the decisions and her remaining passive in her behavior. The controlling manner displayed by the male
The two men are headed to New York when Tom insists they get off the train in order for Nick to "meet [his] girl." The two men proceed to a car repair garage owned by George Wilson, a "spiritless man" who is also Myrtle's husband. Tom chats briefly with Wilson about business matters. Myrtle, a sensuous, fleshy woman in her middle thirties, joins the men. Tom quietly informs her he wishes to see her and so she arranges to meet them shortly, leaving her husband under the pretense of visiting her sister in New York.