This couple is at a critical point in their lives when they must decide whether or not to have an abortion. Certain themes arise from this story such as choices and consequences, doubt and ambiguity, and how men and women relate. The couple is unmarried and the girl has become pregnant, but the man wants her to have an abortion. The man is really selfish he is didn’t want to responsible to take care the baby and become family. Writer also uses many examples of symbolism in “Hills Like White Elephants”, including descriptions of the surrounding scenery, the hills themselves, and the station where the action takes place.
Here the scenery could be seen as Jig’s creative and intelligent way of trying to overcome the communication difficulties faced by the couple towards the inevitable conversation of the abortion, because it represents a choice more than what they are actually seeing. Jig and the American start off in the first paragraph on the side of the railroad station where the land is barren and there is no sign of life. This symbolizes the way the American feels about the pregnancy, because he does not want to settle down and live a lifeless life when the baby is born. He feels as though they will be happy again when the operation takes place, as the pregnancy is ruining their relationship and any chance of them being able to live a careless life again. On the other side of the tracks the narrator describes the land to be full of lush, green vegetation with a river flowing through it.
A.Ximenes 1 Andrea Ximenes Professor Polnac ENGL 1302 Synonym 44936 Section 017 14 February 2012 Analyzing “Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemmingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is the story of a couple having a conversation at a Spanish train station. As they sit, waiting for their train, they have a few drinks and discuss an unnamed operation the young man, “the American”, wills for the young woman to have. From the text, one could conclude that this operation is an abortion. The American presses the issue, non-confrontationally, but in a way that might lead a young girl in love to follow. He promises the girl of how happy they will both be once is has been done, and just how “simple” it would be.
The girl in the short story is undeniably nervous about having an abortion. The man in the story is trying to be persuasive but is growing impatient. He keeps telling her that “it isn’t a big deal and he knows people who have had it done and they are fine” (Clugston, 2010). Tone is very important in “Hills Like White Elephants.” The point of view in literature is how the story is told. Point of view is told in different ways to increase or decrease the dramatic effect (Clugston, 2010).
The American is talking about abortion and he is trying to convince Jig that an abortion is perfectly natural, however Jig feels unsure about getting an abortion. The couple has a difficult time communicating about this subject and as tension levels grow, Jig says that she feels fine and that everything is fine, leaving the reader to believe that she is going to go through with the operation. The story is told from a moral perspective, which can be seen from the way the landscape is worked into the dialogue and the narration. The language used at the beginning of the story is simple and straightforward, telling the reader that the place is the Valley of Ebro in Spain, and at a train station. The impression presented is that the characters are at a train station in the middle of a dry barren place, under the sun, with no shade or trees, which gives the reader the idea of the lack of life.
Raising a child alone isn't as taboo as it was back then. But, she could choose for herself whether she wanted to have an abortion, or if she decided to keep the baby she would have many resources available to her. But this isn’t the case in this story. The American's shows a lack of concern for what she wants. I also get the impression that Jig is insecure about her relationship because she asks, “And if I do it you’ll be happy and
In the short story "Hills Like White Elephants", Ernest Hemingway uses a plethora of symbols to convey the idea that a young girl named Jig is a typical woman dealing with a woman's choice. Although the word abortion is never used in the story, the reader is lead to that conclusion through the use of symbolism. The story begins with Jig and her American boyfriend waiting for a train in the valley of Ebro, a symbolic use of the word "Embryo". In addition, the valley of Ebro has a river running through it. This river represents life.
He is known for what he leaves out of his writing, not what he tells. He is vague in his writing and leaves much to interpretation. This leaves readers to sift through the text and decipher the symbolism in his stories. In his short story, “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway uses an abundance of symbolism to convey the concept that an American man and his girlfriend, Jig, are struggling in their decision for her to undergo an operation which, although never specified, is understood to be an abortion. The story opens with the American man and Jig sitting at a table outside of a train station in Spain.
We don’t know where she is from, or if she has a family. We can understand that she is a young female who depends on a careless man. Furthermore, it’s clear from her words: And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me? (Hemingway,4).That she is a lonely desperate girl who still hopes for happiness. Nevertheless, she knows she will never have it.
Mary Smith Ms. Johnson English 1302 2 October 2011 “Hills Like White Elephants” While reading “Hills Like White Elephants” by Earnest Hemingway, it becomes evident that the overall subject or theme of this story is abortion. Throughout the context of the story, one could assume that the symbol in the story would be the “white elephants”. The meaning of the word “white” in this story represents the purity of life, while the word “elephant” represents the object or objects that nobody wants to talk about (i.e. the elephant in the room). By the end of the story it becomes clear that one character has succumbed to the pressure of another character to have an abortion.