Preview

Hills Like White Elephants Ending Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
547 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hills Like White Elephants Ending Analysis
“Happily Ever After?”
When eavesdropping on a person’s conversation who is nearby, sometimes a person won’t get all the information on what they are talking about or find out how their conversation ended. Sometimes a person could infer the wrong things or not get the whole story. Also, since the people talking in the conversation might not tell the full story, the person listening might not get to know how the end of their conversation went, but if they are lucky, they might. The narrator in the short story “Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemingway, was not so lucky and didn’t find out the ending, or many details of what the couple was disgusting. The story just ended with the woman saying “There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m fine”
…show more content…
This couple was talking about a very serious topic but didn’t want to make it obvious to the people around them what they were talking about; but there was enough details to infer the subject of their conversation. The woman wanted to keep the baby, but the man disagreed and thought having an abortion would be best for the two of them. They were always living on the road and never stayed in once place for a long period of time. The man believed this was a good enough reason to not have the baby, but the woman argued, saying the baby could be on the road with them. Another thing they didn’t see eye-to-eye about is, the man believed “ It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy” and “I think it is the best thing to do” but the woman was just worried if the man would still love her after the operation, if she would change her mind do it. After the two were disgusting this while drinking, the woman was starting to have enough of the conversation, it seemed and kept the man to stop talking. She wanted to keep the baby while the person she was going to have the baby with didn’t want the same thing. During the whole conversation between the two of them, they never used the word abortion; they never wanted the people around them to understand what they were disgusting. The readers of this story

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Narration is what allows us to grasp every action and detail in a story. Although authors are usually expected to guide readers through a book, Ernest Hemingway in Hills Like White Elephants decided to narrate his story in journalistic fashion. The story being told in an objective narrative format allowed for imagination and assumptions. The story being told in third person point of view which is objective, never allows us into the minds of the characters. We are only given minimal background and specifics. Though not much is offered, we can analyze various moments in the narration that contributes and shapes to the meaning of the story.…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A choice is a choice; it is as simple as that. Abortion is a huge controversial issue in the United States that many people disagree on. In the essay, “Owning up to Abortion” Ehrenreich believes that women should not keep in the dark about their abortion, but instead own up to it. Although abortion may be frowned upon by some people, no one should be entitled to judge another women because of their choice. No woman should feel ashamed of having an abortion because it is her choice and no one should make her feel like her choice is invalid.…

    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abortion Vs Pro Life

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In this world there are at least two sides to every story. The opposite sides are not necessarily good or bad, but different from each other. One of these "stories" is the story of abortion. Abortion is defined as the destruction or termination of a fetus while still in the mother's womb. However, abortion is so much more then just the definition. There are consequences. There are two sides: pro-life and pro-choice. There is controversy over which is the correct way to go. Personally knowing people who have chosen opposite sides on this one particular topic makes it one that truly means a lot to me as a writer.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Ernest Hemingway short story, Hills Like White Elephants, Hemingway uses a narrative voice as an eavesdropper and uses indirect characterization like dialogue to portray a serious conversation on abortion. Instead of providing a backstory, including motives and emotion of the characters, Hemingway puts the reader in the role of eavesdropper to the couple’s conversation.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The issue of abortion is by far, one of the most controversial topics in American History and everyone seems to have an opinion on the topic. Although there are many sides to the topic, the issue has divided the majority of people to the two extreme views of the topic --Pro-choice Vs. Pro-life. We can see the main arguments of each side just by analyzing the titles given to the two sides. Those who are pro-life believe that they are in fact Pro-Life and that abortion is murder. Those who are pro-choice believe that they are Pro-choice and that outlawing abortion would take the women's freedom to make a choice about her own body. Feelings and emotions about such an issue are very powerful and it has been the case that both sides will go to extremes to defend what they believe in. Such was the case Rosalie and Hector Zevallos, owners of an abortion clinic who were kidnapped and threatened with their lives, if they would not close down their clinic. (Glover, CC, 22)…

    • 2088 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the short story “From a Secret Sorrow” by Karen Van Der Zee a woman who struggles to tell her fiancé a truth that is killing her inside. The story focuses on two main characters, Faye and Kai. Faye is a woman who thought that the world was over for her after finding out she was infertile. Faye had no idea on how to communicate such horrendous news to Kai, her fiancé. She was afraid that her Kai was going to leave her and find someone else. She then started acting weird, nervous, and distanced herself from him. Her fiancé questioned her about a note he found, Faye immediately recognized that it was the note the doctor gave her and with a terrified voice asked “How did you get that?” (31). Finding out that she was infertile made her felt sorrow and like she was the only one who had the right to be upset. She thought that Kai was not going to love her anymore but it was the other way around. Kai seemed like he was really in love with her and cared about her. He wanted to let her know that whatever the problem was she was not alone, that it was not only her problem and that they will work together, then eventually get married. But Faye would not listen, she also loved him so much that she would have rather let him go instead of ruining his life with her knowing she is infertile. She knew he would be extremely disappointed and she told Kai that he had the choice to leave her and marry someone else.…

    • 2456 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Indirectly approaching the sensitive subject of abortion, each member of the couplehood sets out to test the other in a verbal battle of the wills, engaging in a staccato like dialogue that offers some insight into the two main character’s personas. Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants" churns out a hefty sum of symbolism in a very short story ultimately leaving the imagination free reign to interpret.…

    • 1968 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jig begins to lean more towards the idea of getting the procedure but she still has hesitations. She wants assurance that if she follows through with his request he’ll still want to be with her. Jig asks him if he’ll be happy with her and if the abortion will take away their troubles. It’s no surprise that the man answers that it will. His word lacks any credibility not only because he misrepresented of the operation, but because he is willing to tell the girl anything she needs to hear to follow through with his…

    • 1317 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1630 the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony gave a sermon to his Puritan followers. Winthrop writes that God has purposefully made some people poor and others rich in order to perform his work in the different areas of life. He also speaks of a man’s moral requirement to help others with their needs. Winthrop’s purpose of delivering this sermon to Puritans was to encourage them to purify their connection with God and to obtain perfect order in their society. John Winthrop’s “city upon a hill” sermon was like his vision for the New England colony.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Abortion has been an ongoing national debate that continues on daily not only in North America but other countries as well. Medically an abortion means to permanently end a pregnancy. In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” a couple are at a train station waiting for the next train to take a trip to get an abortion or “simple operation” ( Hemingway 201) as the man refers to it as in the story. The man is attempting to convince the young lady to get an abortion and tell her that it is going to be fine. In this essay we will address the issue of abortion the short story “Hill Like white Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and explore what an abortion is, what takes place during an abortion, why you shouldn’t consume alcohol while you’re pregnant, and methods to prevent them from happening.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Patient-Centered Care

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This is a teaching strategy about a couple who thought they were doing the best for their first born child but in return was possibly going to lose them forever. There were decisions that they were going to have to make, whether to continue with the treatment or stop it. This was not a usual couple though, they were Buddhists and the staff had no idea what the rituals for death and dying were, along with looking different the couple had dread locks, tattoos, and…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the most controversial issues present in today's society is abortion. Abortion is the termination of a fetus done purposely to prevent the birth of a child. Since abortions are now easier, less dangerous and more accessible than they once were; they have become the target of debate in every aspect of our lives. The issue of abortion has caused many heated debates in politics, religion and society in general; yet both sides seem to only see one side of the picture and avoid the issue as whole.…

    • 1692 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hills Like White Elephants, written by Ernest Hemingway, is a story that takes place in Spain while a man and woman wait for a train. The story is set up as a dialogue between the two, in which the man is trying to convince the woman to do something she is hesitant in doing. Through out the story, Hemingway uses metaphors to express the characters ' opinions and feelings. Hills Like White Elephants displays the differences in the way a man and a woman view pregnancy and abortion. The woman looks at pregnancy as a beautiful aspect of life. In the story the woman 's pregnancy is implied through their conversation. She refers to the near by hills as elephants; "They look like white elephants" (464). She is comparing the hills to her own situation, pregnancy. "They 're lovely hills. They really don 't look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees" (465). Just as the hills have their distinct beauty to her, she views pregnancy in the same fashion making the reference to the hills having skin—an enlarged mound forming off of what was once flat. The man views pregnancy just the opposite. When the girl is talking about the white elephants and agrees that the man has never seen one, his response is, "I might have, just because you say I haven 't doesn 't prove anything" (464). This shows the defensive nature of the man, and when the woman implies the he is unable to differentiate between what is beautiful and what is not. Another issue that is discussed in this story is abortion and two opposing views. When the conversation turns from the hills to the operation one is able to comprehend the mentality of the woman. "Then what will we do afterwards?" (465) shows the woman is concerned about what will occur after the operation. "And if I do it you will be happy and things will be like they were and you will love me" (465). Here, the woman implies she wants the reassurance that he will…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Satire Essay On Abortion

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When I was about seven years old, I heard my aunt, a gynecologist, speaking on the phone with one of her patient’s husbands’ who wanted his wife to abort their baby. My aunt absolutely refused and commanded that he stop calling her. At the time, I didn’t really comprehend the story or what was happening, but I never forgot that moment. As I grew older, I understood why my aunt was so rigid about her decision. Abortion has been a huge issue not only in today’s society, but probably dating back to earlier times. It is the slaughtering of innocent lives with approval from the government. This is exactly why this dilemma should grab the attention of everyone, because It doesn’t just affect a specific age group it affects everyone and it is a…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Abortion Research Paper

    • 3418 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Relin, D. O. (1990, April 20). Agonizing over abortion. Scholastic Update, 122(16), 2+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA8962099&v=2.1&u=ocul_lakehead&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w…

    • 3418 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays