Hills Like White Elephants Essay

Throughout his work “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism and condensed metaphors to sensationalize the power, yet subtleness of the main theme: happiness. While the title does not blatantly represent the characters pursuit of happiness, the simile used in the title does epitomize Hemingway’s writing style as well as the diverse use of symbolism throughout the narrative. Hemingway uses this symbolism to convey the unspoken thoughts and emotions of the characters and the ultimate decision made to begin her journey on the pursuit of happiness. The roots of the title, the hills, are sporadically mentioned within the first seven lines of the narrative. The hills foreshadow the lack of respect and communication in the characters relationship and allows the reader to recognize their unhappiness; “The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between tow lines of rails in the sun.” Hemingway presents the reader with imagery of two hills; one of the hills “[has] no shade and no trees” while the other has “fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro river” (Lines 1-2). The
While at the bar, the American orders two ‘Anis del Toro’, a Spanish alcoholic beverage that “tastes like licorice” (Line 24). Licorice is a sweet, childhood candy as well as an ingredient used in medicine to induce vomiting. Anis del Toro translates to ‘the bull’s anise’. The bull is known as a symbol of animal fertility; its horns symbolize strength, masculinity, and life. Anise is a flowering plant that is used by women to increase milk flow when nursing, to start menstruation, and ease childbirth (WebMD). These metaphors act as a reference to the ups and downs of pregnancy and foreshadow Jig’s