He also uses the white elephants to represent an unwanted gift such as the unborn child that the woman is carrying. The American wants the woman to get an abortion so that they can continue travelling. In his attempt, he tells her “That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy”. Meaning that the only thing that has made them unhappy is the fact that the baby would interfere with the traveling that the American has planned.
In addition, the way that Happy is actually unhappy creates a dramatic irony as his emotions opposes his name. However, it also shows a similarity between Happy and Willy as both of them had sexual affairs with other women and their views of women as objects are the
The second symbol encountered in this passage are the hills. The girl claims that the hills look like white elephants. In years gone by, white elephants were symbolic of a great but burdensome gift. This could potentially be linked to the pregnancy and the child itself. It almosts seems as though she already realizes the great burden that the child could place upon her and her partner.
Rochelle continuously denies her heritage and desires to be the ideal “American Bride.” Throughout the story Lily tries to get Rochelle to acknowledge her Hispanic heritage but Rochelle doesn’t accept it. “You’re carrying your gringa kick too far.” This shows how Lily feels towards her sister’s attitude. In the end Rochelle’s denial of reality reaches it’s peak when she’s finds herself pregnant, married, and in high school. “He was beautiful too- the Mexican version of the blond grooms.” Rochelle finally realized what her sister was trying to tell her all her life; you can’t escape your
The white elephants are a major symbol in this story, symbolizing something that is unwanted. While her unborn child is symbolized by hills that look like white elephants, saying the country is dry and brown symbolizes that maybe she isn’t so excited about having this child, and her feelings towards it are “dry”, which leads them to discuss an abortion. The theme being that abortion is always very controversial is also explained when the girl takes back what she said earlier by saying, “they don’t really look like white elephants.” This quote shows that the girl maybe after all doesn’t want to get an abortion. Although, who in
The background setting throughout their discussion symbolizes their life changing decision. Throughout the story, the author presents distinct clues in the scenery and setting to illustrate that the girl ended up not partaking in abortion. Jig and the man are in love, but the unexpected baby has put strain on their relationship because of the difficult decision on whether they should keep the baby or not. They continue to dispute with each other and reassure that everything will be all right and all they want for each other is to be happy. At this point, I began to wonder if they will really be happy with what they choose.
That's a very good question. You're a very smart little girl. Good luck trying to find a husband! The reason there are so few unicorn sightings today isn't because they are mythical creatures that never existed, but because of modern society's moral depravity. This is why you will never see Lady Gaga riding a unicorn.
Hills Like White Elephants Stephanie Anderson South University Online Hills Like White Elephants The story, “Hills Like White Elephants” is written by Earnest Hemingway. It is a story about an American man and a girl named Zig that enjoy the freedom of being together and traveling to different places. That is until a white elephant, to them, puts a damper on their lifestyle. A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which his owner cannot dispose and who’s cost, particularly cost of upkeep, out of proportion to its usefulness or its worth. (Wikipedia) Hemmingway does not state in the story what the circumstance is but to the reader and the assumptions made it is about the serious choice of having an abortion.
This gave him the incentive for writing Hills Like White Elephants. The story echoes Hemingway's own ordeals and could have been written as a medium to indirectly express to his then wife of his marital dilemmas. The most obvious place to start would be the title, Hills Like White Elephants, for Hemingway the use of symbolism of a white elephant for example the unborn baby, as the cause for the rift between the two lovers. In the article Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants written by Sherlyn Abdoo, she states It is not the American who is the white elephant in this story; rather, the American perceives the fetus as a ' white elephant' a costly, burdensome possession.... surely his comments regarding the inhibiting effects that a child would
Symbolism in “Hills Like White Elephants” “Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway is a short story about an American man and a girl named Jig who are confronted with a difficult issue of whether or not terminate a pregnancy. The main tension within this story is that Jig sees the possibility of keeping her child and having a happy life, while the man fails to see the positive possibilities and works to persuade her to go through with the abortion. Hemingway uses symbolism through alcohol, the hills, the white elephants, and the train station to develop the theme of the story. Hemingway’s writing style in this story is well crafted. His simple style and taut dialogue pull readers into the story, and he shares just enough about the couple to keep the readers interested.