Preview

Hills Like White Elephants

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
358 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hills Like White Elephants
Hills Like White Elephants

Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway, is a short story written in 1927. This story is set at a train station’s bar in Barcelona, Spain. The main topic of this short story is abortion. At the beginning of the story we meet the two main characters: Jig and the American. Throughout the story Jig and the American are discussing back and forth about whether Jig should get an abortion. Taking note that the American character seems to be a hardcore partier that doesn’t take life seriously, you automatically comprehend that he is completely supports the idea of an abortion. Jig, who so far has also thus far lived a carefree life of partying, is now questioning what this baby might bring to their lives and trying to convince the American otherwise. Following these two characters discussion it becomes evident that with ones decisions come possible consequences along with having to take responsibility for them. No matter our choices, good or bad, there will always be some form of consequences tacked on with responsibilities. Though there might be ways to avoid these consequences, like Jig having an abortion, both characters are going to have to live with this one life changing choice. Jig and the American’s preference of lifestyle are plain to see when the Earnest Hemingway makes his readers have a clear observation of their luggage. Hemingway states, “There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent the nights” (p 173). They travel around from hotel to hotel trying different drinks and living a carefree, responsibility free life, and as of right now, Jig and the American have had no one else to worry about or take care of other then themselves. Now with this pregnancy a new life is coming into play, it’s no longer just Jig and the American left to do whatever they want to do. From the beginning of the story, the American realizes that because of this baby he was going to have greater responsibilities,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” portrays the turmoil a couple endures when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, the choice to hold onto their current life or to begin a new life. Readers are allowed to intrude on a conversation between an American man and a girl, further conflict is presented through Hemingway’s use of symbolism. The man wants to go through with an abortion while the girl is unsure about which track she should take. Throughout the story, Hemmingway’s use of abundant details about the setting, rather than providing much detail about the characters, reveal a conflict between the man’s desire for the girl to have a “perfectly natural” (Hemingway 116) procedure and the decision to forgo an “awfully simple operation”…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In this short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, focuses on a couples struggle to communicate and finding common ground which leads to a crisis point in their relationship. This story sets place in Spain where a woman named Jig and the American man are seated outside of a bar near a railroad junction. The couple starts out by having a few beers and discussing a problem they are facing in their relationship, as the conversation continues between the two, you can see that the couple is starting to get slightly angry and aggravated with each other whether or not they should proceed to Barcelona in order to have an abortion. Jig disagrees with the American’s choice, although she refuses to say her thoughts openly. The…

    • 1176 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story that begins with a man and his girlfriend waiting for a train in Spain. They drink alcoholic beverages and speak about an unnamed operation. As one reads further into the story, it becomes evident that the operation being discussed is an abortion. The man is trying his best to persuade his lover to abort their unborn child, but she is uncertain about what she ought to do.…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story "Hills like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway is a fascinating story about one couple having faced with an unexpected pregnancy. The theme of the story is about the couple's decision between life and death. The main character Jig and The American are in disagreements on weather to keep their baby, or have an abortion. The couple's lack of communication creates the conflict in the story. For example, Jigs says, "We can have all this..." "And everyday we make it more impossible" While this problem is going on, the couple is sitting at a train station in the middle of a valley. Each side of the valley represents either life or death. As Jig moves about in the story, she faces different sides of the valley, which helps to determine the decision she will make. With the many descriptions and symbolism throughout the story, the final decision seems as if Jig is keeping the baby.…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, the dialogue provides the driving force in the plot and gives the reader an overview of the characters’ persona. The American’s masculine character and ways of communicating differ greatly from that of the passive girl. They engage in a discussion in a train station surrounded by hills about whether to get an abortion for the pregnant girl. The American is pushing for an abortion while the girl is unsure of what to do. . The last few lines, the product of the discussion, blatantly say that there was minimal progress towards reaching a decision. From the discussion, Hemingway suggests that communication must also accompany firm understanding of the opposing side during persuasion.…

    • 1017 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After reading the story “Hills Like White Elephants” there are many possibilities as to what will come of the American man and his girlfriend. Throughout the story the two characters seem to dance around each other. This stems from the issue that they have an underlying problem that festers because of a lack of communication.…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility” (Roosevelt.) This quote by Eleanore Roosevelt shows the severity of certain decisions that individuals’ like the two main characters in Ernest Hemingway’s, Hills Like White Elephants, have to make. He uses symbolism to describe the two main characters decision that will either change their life forever or to remain the same. In his short story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism in the Title, the Train, and the Repetition of the Word ‘two.’…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story told is that of a woman and a man during their trip to a place where…

    • 780 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hills Like White Elephants

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages

    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.…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the "Hills like White Elephants," by Ernest Hemingway the setting emphasize on a decision facing a couple that disagree about whether the woman should have an abortion. The story's about a girl named Jig and her older American lover, sitting at a train station sipping drinks and discussing whether they should proceed to abort their unborn baby. Jig opposes the plan, although she refuses to say so openly. Her lover, on the other hand, sees it as a solution to their problems, and tries to convince Jig that it is the right thing to do…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The topic of "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway continues to be a hot button issue, even 90 years after the story's publication. Though not as scandalous as it must have been in 1927, it remains the subject of great debate. In this short story, two lovers are awaiting a train that will whisk them away to Madrid for the purpose of an abortion. Even though the decision was made before arriving at the station, they continue to debate whether she will go through with it. The man's persuasive dialogue makes it apparent that he wants Jig to have the abortion and is worried that she will change her mind, however she is more concerned with the fate of her relationship with the man and the effects an abortion may have on her.…

    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Hills like White Elephants” is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. The author starts the story by describing the setting to allow the reader to have a clear picture in their mind of what things look like. There are two main characters in this story and Hemingway only describes them as the girl and the American man, and they go through life living in the moment. It takes place in Spain at a train station. He describes the train station as, “there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails…” (pg. 96, paragraph 1). We are able to see the characters’ struggles at the end of the plot.…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ernest Hemingway’s "Hills Like White Elephants," tells the story of an American man and a girl who is named Jig. They are both sitting outside of a train station in Spain looking across a valley while drinking beer. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway discusses the landscape before them, the valley of the Ebro River, that has long white hills. As the American and the girl begin to have a conversation, the girl remarks on the Ebro River of the way it looks. After a while the American asked her if she wanted to do the operation (an abortion which was learned in the author's comment at the end) and explained to her that she would be fine. However, she began to think if she participates in the operation would the American lover still be with her. Nevertheless, the American knows that if the operation is not done he would not be able to do certain things; therefore, he is trying to eliminate the reasons to settle down with Jig. Towards the end of the story, Jig and the American would argue about the operation; even though the American does not want a child.…

    • 571 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

    Close interpretation of the story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway leads the reader to an issue that has plagued society for decades. Understanding of the human condition is unveiled in the story line, the main setting, and through the character representation. The main characters in the story are an American man and a female named Jig. The conflict about abortions is an issue that still faces society today. Architectural and atmospheric symbolisms are used to set the mood and outline the human condition. The love bond between the man and Jig is strong; however, the more powerful bond between Jig and her unborn child is sacred.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics