Hills Like White Elephants: A Literary Analysis

William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway are two of the most aggressively competitive authors in history, and trade literary blows through their correspondence. The most famous of these exchanges began when Faulkner was attempting to praise Hemingway’s bravery saying, “[Hemingway] has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” As per usual, Hemingway took this as a personal attack against his writing and responded with the retort, “Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?” This conflict is among the most widely known literary disputes between two authors and for good reason. The two writing geniuses are some of the most praised writers in history, even though their writing is sometimes
The scene is initially described through the details of the surrounding train station and geography but then narrows its focus on a couple. The man, called the American, and the woman, named Jig, are having a conversation over drinks that increasingly grows more serious as time passes. Eventually it is revealed that the American wants Jig to get a simple operation, otherwise known as an abortion. The two argue back and forth until the climax is reached and Jig screams, refusing to talk anymore. As the story ends it is unclear whether Jig will get the abortion but the two are distanced physically and
Every object mentioned has two meanings, one superficial and above the surface and another meaning less obvious and hiding below the surface. This is a part of the Iceberg Theory, which is shown through his minimalistic way of writing and the underlying topics that often shine through if carefully examined. Even the title of the story is figurative language, hills like white elephants representing Jig’s possibly unwanted pregnancy. These hills became the main subject of the story, “The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry. ‘They look like white elephants,’ she said” (Hemingway 563). A white elephant is a costly and useless item in which a person cannot dispose of, which means that Jig was questioning her desire to keep her baby. However, later it seems like she changed her mind saying, “‘They're lovely hills,’ she said. ‘They don't really look like white elephants. I just meant the colouring of their skin through the trees’” (Hemingway 564). This shows a very important part of Hemingway’s use of language, since such an important decision is represented by scenery. Another use of scenery and figurative language is the train station the couple is in during the story. This scene represents the transition and different paths the two can take through life, “The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across, on