Hills Like White Elephants
Ernest Hemingway's impersonal objective narrative style is best exhibited in his short story, "Hills Like White Elephants", which describes a young girl and her older American boyfriend discussing whether or not she should have an abortion. Hemingway never explicitly uses the word abortion, but instead relies on the description and details of the setting to convey an idea of this weighty decision. It is his use of imagery, symbols, and dialogue that makes his minimalist technique most effective in expressing the real moral and importance of this story.
Imagery is one of Hemingway's most effective tools in conveying the central meaning of the story, "Hills Like White Elephants". His vivid language and articulate descriptions of the scenery …show more content…
Although he never mentions the word, Hemingway cleverly and painfully depicts the difficulty of a discussion about abortion. The dialogue starts with the couple engaging in a casual conversation over drinks. The girl makes a reference to the hills looking like white elephants and the man replies snappishly, revealing that he is uneasy and troubled by something that is not yet disclosed to the reader. Later he loosens up and states, "It's really an awfully simple operation...it's not really an operation at all" (249). This obscure statement brings the reader closer to the hidden conflict between the two characters. He goes on to say, "They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural" (249), which is the most direct mention of the actual procedure of abortion. The rest of the story is depicted by their awkward conversation with his nonstop pestering and unwelcome comforting. The girl finally cracks and asks him, "Would you please please please please please please please please stop talking?" (250). This reaction points out that she is tired of hearing the man's reasoning for the abortion and perhaps does not want to go through with it. At the end of the story, she appears pleasant and says, "I feel fine...there's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine" (251), yet she is not. Although she possesses a maternal instinct and an emotional attachment to her unborn child, she surrenders her choice to her boyfriend. Within the dialogue, Hemingway embeds the characters' true feelings and allows their common, everyday speech to be the decoder of the story's
Imagery is one of Hemingway's most effective tools in conveying the central meaning of the story, "Hills Like White Elephants". His vivid language and articulate descriptions of the scenery …show more content…
Although he never mentions the word, Hemingway cleverly and painfully depicts the difficulty of a discussion about abortion. The dialogue starts with the couple engaging in a casual conversation over drinks. The girl makes a reference to the hills looking like white elephants and the man replies snappishly, revealing that he is uneasy and troubled by something that is not yet disclosed to the reader. Later he loosens up and states, "It's really an awfully simple operation...it's not really an operation at all" (249). This obscure statement brings the reader closer to the hidden conflict between the two characters. He goes on to say, "They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural" (249), which is the most direct mention of the actual procedure of abortion. The rest of the story is depicted by their awkward conversation with his nonstop pestering and unwelcome comforting. The girl finally cracks and asks him, "Would you please please please please please please please please stop talking?" (250). This reaction points out that she is tired of hearing the man's reasoning for the abortion and perhaps does not want to go through with it. At the end of the story, she appears pleasant and says, "I feel fine...there's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine" (251), yet she is not. Although she possesses a maternal instinct and an emotional attachment to her unborn child, she surrenders her choice to her boyfriend. Within the dialogue, Hemingway embeds the characters' true feelings and allows their common, everyday speech to be the decoder of the story's