What is the theme in hills like white elephants. Themes Of "Hills Like White Elephants" 2022-10-08
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Hills Like White Elephants is a short story by Ernest Hemingway that was published in 1927. The story is set in a train station in Spain, where a couple is having a conversation about a significant decision they have to make. The theme of the story is the struggle between personal autonomy and societal expectations.
Throughout the story, the couple, referred to only as "the man" and "the girl," engage in a conversation about an abortion. The man wants the girl to have the abortion, while the girl is hesitant and uncertain about what she wants. The man tries to convince the girl that getting an abortion is the best thing for both of them, using logical arguments and trying to appeal to her emotions. However, the girl seems to be more concerned with what society will think of her if she gets an abortion. She says, "I don't want anybody but you. I don't want any one else. And I know it's perfectly simple." This shows that the girl values her relationship with the man and wants to make him happy, but she also has a fear of what others will think of her if she goes through with the abortion.
The theme of personal autonomy versus societal expectations is further highlighted through the symbols and imagery used in the story. The hills in the distance, which the girl compares to white elephants, symbolize the unborn child and the decision the couple has to make. The white elephant is a symbol of something rare and valuable, but also burdensome and difficult to maintain. The couple's conversation about the abortion is framed as a casual and mundane conversation, with the man trying to make it seem like a simple and practical decision. However, the weight of the decision is clear through the symbolism of the white elephant.
Overall, the theme of Hills Like White Elephants is the struggle between personal autonomy and societal expectations. The couple must decide what is best for them, but they are also concerned with how their decision will be perceived by others. The story suggests that society often imposes its own expectations and values on individuals, and that it can be difficult to make decisions that go against these expectations.
What does white elephant mean in Hills Like White Elephants?
Understanding of the human condition is unveiled in the story line, the main setting, and through the character representation. Hills Like White Elephants. Hemingway gives us subtle clues about their personality through dialogue when they are in the bar. He tells her that she does not have to have the operation, but tells her it is the best thing to do. Sinister and refined domination is current listed here since he enables feelings into the dialogue to be able to participate in on the girl emotion indicating everything will be ok.
The Theme Of Abortion In Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants: [Essay Example], 1142 words GradesFixer
Second, the theme of doubt and ambiguity is expressed to the reader through the doubts of the American and the doubts of Jig. For the girl, not only is this pregnancy something she's been dreaming of, but it's necessary for her development. It is through this lens that she claims the man would have never seen a white elephant because of his inability to see things from her perspective. And a road to Barcelona that has a vivid description of life. Who wins the argument in Hills Like White Elephants? The theme of the story is about the couple's decision between life and death. These small things indicate that the girl is playing an important role in the decision-making during their conversation.
Gender Roles The relationship of the man and the woman in this story is traditional in terms of gender roles, with the man holding the power in the relationship while the role of the girl is more submissive. The author seems to be a minimalist where he does not provide explanation about the very issue why the couple is unhappy and annoyed with each other. The paper discusses the manner in which symbolism has been employed in the story to communicate about an abortion, the couple is considering to go through. In 'Hills Like White Elephants,' Ernest Hemingway addresses this same concern. With the many descriptions and symbolism throughout the story, the final decision seems as if Jig is keeping the baby. Through the story does not provide the topic of sexuality in the case of the other two poems I have discussed above, the effects of desire rein this story.
Hills Like White Elephants: Theme, Symbolism & Literary Analysis
Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Life. Throughout the story, the girl becomes more strong-minded on her final decision making while the man becomes more sympathetic toward her feeling. Hemingway constructed this story beautifully through his use of character development, symbols, and theme. The woman's comment about the hills being like white elephants brings out the theme of the lost innocence of their relationship. This situation draws attention to the idea of translation, and yet also underscores how, ironically, even though they speak the same language, it is the man and girl who are in the most need of a translator.
The Themes in Ernest Hemingway’s 'Hills Like White Elephants': [Essay Example], 1781 words GradesFixer
Obviously, there is a significantly positive change in her mind about the baby. Dearborn remarks that being the legal guardian of Carol, his sister, Ernest, condemned her when she asked him for money to get an abortion 322. The man is trying to persuade her to not only have an abortion but to perform the action herself. Important factors to view in this essay are the relationship between the American and Jig, the symbolism and choices. Among the symbols used in this story are white elephants, the hills, the bamboo bead curtain, the landscape, the train station, and the use of alcohol.
Ernest Hemingway's Life and the Themes Presented in "Hills Like White Elephants"
Therefore, it is implied as an unwanted gift or a burden, which is the unexpected baby. In this sense, the man and girl represent stereotypes of male and female roles: the male as active and the female as passive. A white elephant is commonly used to represent something in a situation that is very obvious, yet no one wants to address. The story is a dialogue in which the American man is persuading Jig that it is better for t. The couple's lack of communication creates the conflict in the story. Are White Elephants good luck? The story concentrates on a conversation of a couple drinking in a bar at a train station in Spain while they are waiting for the train to Madrid. If Jig does deliver the baby then she knows that she would have to live a life without happiness.
The Meaning and Purpose of Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants
She can have everything, but her will to decide things. On the side where they are sitting, there is 'no shade and no trees. Works Cited Abdoo, Sherlyn. She begins to look around at the scenery and wonder if they could really be happy after the operation. At a purely stylistic level, Hemingway exposes the inadequacy of language through his use of unnamed characters and minimalist, stripped down sentences. He knows so much about drinks because he has experienced a worldly kind of life.
What is the meaning behind Hills Like White Elephants?
What did Ernest Hemingway mean by hills like white elephants?. However, it is not only the theme raised in the piece that has made it so memorable. The man continually misunderstands or contradicts the girl, to the point that the girl begs him to stop talking at all. Although, the girl and her companion have a conversation through the story, neither of the speakers truly communicates with the other, highlighting the distance between the two. He sees it as a less significant issue and that life will go on to be okay.
The figurative meaning comes from a story about the kings of Siam who 'gave white elephants as gifts to those they wished to ruin, hoping that the cost of maintaining the voracious but sacred mammal would drive its new owner to the poorhouse. He tells Jig that "it 's really not anything. The baby also means a huge price to pay and also to care for the baby alone requires hard work. The beginning of a story has a description of land with a train station located in Spain. However, as the story illustrates, such…. Detroit: The Gale Group, 1999.
In current debates, pro-life supporters usually find the procedure to be unethical in some way, i. What is the meaning of white elephant in dream? By the time he wrote this story he had been wounded in Italy during World War I; had traveled extensively in Europe as a newspaper correspondent and writer; had married, fathered a son, been divorced, and remarried Hemingway 236. The shadow of cloud can be accepted as a literary symbol of impending trouble. The American speaks with complete certainty Cited: Baker, Monica. The road to the Madrid where they are heading to has a negative description of the land with no trees and no shade, that if Jig will go through with the abortion.
