Prominent Symbols In Hills Like White Elephants
Elizabeth Delaney
Prominent Symbols In Hills Like White Elephants:
White Elephants, The Bead Curtain, and Alcohol
In most works of literature not everything is what it seems. An image, character, item, or act that has prominence in the story is called a symbol. Symbols go beyond their literal meaning and purpose. Some symbols universally represent similar things, but they can also be literary symbols, which are specific to the text. In The Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway, a couple has a conflict in a bar that is located in a train station in Spain. Hemingway never directly says what the fight is about. The common belief is that they are discussing an abortion, because there is the most evidence to support that theory. Jig, the woman, seems to be very emotionally conflicted whether to go through with the operation or not. But the American man is pushing her to pursue it. Certain objects in this story pop out at the reader. Three images in particular interested me as a reader. The hills that look like white elephants, the bead curtain, and alcohol all represent the strain and the conflicting views with in the relationship.
In the beginning of the story Jig is looking at the white hills. She mentions that, “They look like white elephants” (196). This is one of three times, besides the title, the white elephants are talked about. When authors repeat a certain phrase or word it generally has a deeper meaning than what it seems on the surface. The couple never says what they are making a decision about, but it is definitely the “elephant” in the room. Whatever it is, they don’t want to directly say what it is in public, or it is too painful to say out loud. Paul Rankin also draws attention to the disharmony the couple is having.
From the second exchange of dialogue between the man and Jig, Hemingway introduces the man’s demeaning tone toward Jig, as he needlessly and crudely points out a flaw in one of her remarks. “‘They look like white elephants,’ she
Prominent Symbols In Hills Like White Elephants:
White Elephants, The Bead Curtain, and Alcohol
In most works of literature not everything is what it seems. An image, character, item, or act that has prominence in the story is called a symbol. Symbols go beyond their literal meaning and purpose. Some symbols universally represent similar things, but they can also be literary symbols, which are specific to the text. In The Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway, a couple has a conflict in a bar that is located in a train station in Spain. Hemingway never directly says what the fight is about. The common belief is that they are discussing an abortion, because there is the most evidence to support that theory. Jig, the woman, seems to be very emotionally conflicted whether to go through with the operation or not. But the American man is pushing her to pursue it. Certain objects in this story pop out at the reader. Three images in particular interested me as a reader. The hills that look like white elephants, the bead curtain, and alcohol all represent the strain and the conflicting views with in the relationship.
In the beginning of the story Jig is looking at the white hills. She mentions that, “They look like white elephants” (196). This is one of three times, besides the title, the white elephants are talked about. When authors repeat a certain phrase or word it generally has a deeper meaning than what it seems on the surface. The couple never says what they are making a decision about, but it is definitely the “elephant” in the room. Whatever it is, they don’t want to directly say what it is in public, or it is too painful to say out loud. Paul Rankin also draws attention to the disharmony the couple is having.
From the second exchange of dialogue between the man and Jig, Hemingway introduces the man’s demeaning tone toward Jig, as he needlessly and crudely points out a flaw in one of her remarks. “‘They look like white elephants,’ she
Cited: Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Approaching Literature: Reading + Thinking + Writing. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford, 2012. 196-199. Print. Rankin, Paul. "Hemingway 's Hills Like White Elephants." Academic Search Premier. 63.4 (2005): 234-237. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. Streissguth, Ann. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: A Guide for Families and Communities. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing. A. (1997).