Symbolism Analysis of “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway

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Robert Wenzel Professor Rury English 1302 April 22, 2014 Symbolism Analysis of “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway The literary element of symbolism plays a large part in Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants.” The use of dialogue and specific words that create vivid images in the mind of the reader serve to communicate a deeper meaning of what the characters truly wish to say to each other in this public setting where anyone can hear their private conversation. Utilizing objects in proximity to the couple and the unique ways each of them react to and interact with such objects give us a manner in which to deduce the emotions of these individuals and the various possibilities of their respective thought processes. There is an urgent decision to be made and although they are acting as though they have already made it, each of them is clearly second guessing their choice. The entire narrative centers on an unmarried mother-to-be and the father of the child and the decision they must make concerning their unborn infant. However, the reader only knows this due to inference and deduction. The story, told in third person without a clear narrator, plays out without the true subject matter ever being spoken. The characters reveal very little in the way of background or history and they are only referred to as “Jig” (or “the girl”) and “the American”. We never come across the words “baby” or “abortion,” (referring to them instead as a thing that is making the two people unhappy and an “operation,” respectively) yet the obscured meaning is very easily inferred. She wants to carry this child to term, give birth and raise him or her – or at the very least is afraid of how she’ll feel if she doesn’t get that chance. However, the American feels quite differently. His only interest is going back to life as is, without complication of

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