Category: Hills Like White Elephants

Introduction to Hemingway’s Use of Symbolism and Recurring Themes

Hemingway is often regarded as one of the most influential writers of American literature stemming from the lost generation. His literary works largely relate to his own life and world views. In his literature Hemingway employs many literary devices including symbolism to represent certain notions. Along with symbolism, Hemingway’s literary works also incorporate themes like miscommunication, masculinity and alcohol. The themes discussed in Hemingway’s literature are pertinent to Hemingway’s life and he uses his literature to provide a commentary on them.

Symbolism in ‘Hills Like White Elephants’: The Train Station as a Metaphor for Transition

Symbolism is a literary device in which symbols are used to represent a certain theme, idea or concept. Objects are often used as symbols, but symbols can also be actions or events. Hemingway employs the use of symbolism in his stories in order to represent themes, ideas and concepts. In the Hills Like White Elephants Hemingway uses the train station as a symbol for transition. A train station is a place where people move from one place to another. The American man and Jig must make an important decision whether to have an abortion or to get married. They are in a state of transition, either decision will greatly transform their life.

Masculinity and Symbolism in ‘A Day’s Wait’ and ‘The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber’

Hemingway also employs the use of symbolism in A Day’s Wait. The Book of Pirates in the story is a symbol for masculine conventions. Pirates are often seen as a brute, tough and independent figures who are resilient through vicious battles at sea. They fight through their injuries and receive little to no aid for their ailments. The young boy has internalized such notions of masculinity because of which he chooses to go out and about with his day despite being sick. The boy believes that choosing to rest while he is sick will make him seem less tough and resilient ultimately emasculating him in the eyes of others.

The reader is again exposed to symbolism by Hemingway in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. While on his safari the first animal Francis encounters is a lion. The lion is a symbol of bravery and masculinity. Francis is portrayed to be a weak, emasculated man who has lived a life of luxury without weathering through any significant hardship. The lion with his powerful roar causes Macomber to freeze in fear. This leads to him being deeply embarrassed when he is unable to kill the animal because of his own cowardice. The lion is everything that Francis is not as he embodies strength, endurance and bravery which are all characteristics associated with masculinity.

Exploring Miscommunication in Hemingway’s Stories

Along with symbolism Hemingway’s works contain themes which are certain central ideas and concepts discussed in his stories. Miscommunication is a theme Hemingway discusses in both Hills Like White Elephants and A Day’s Wait. In the Hills Like White Elephants two people who are presumed to be seeing each other somewhat casually discuss whether they should get an abortion. The couple go back and forth on whether it would be a wise decision for them to get an abortion while waiting at a train station in Spain. The conversation between the two characters seems meaningless as neither of the two make any effort to understand the point of view of the other. The man who is only referred to as “the American” expresses that he wants Jig to have an abortion. He is frustrated by Jig’s indecisiveness to get an abortion so he resorts to saying absolutely anything that would coax her to have an abortion. The American undermines the abortion procedure as much as possible and only refers to it as “the operation”. In order to convince Jig to have an abortion he says,” ‘It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig…’It’s not really an operation at all… ‘I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in.’… ‘I’ll go with you and I’ll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural… ‘We’ll be fine afterwards. Just like we were before”(Hemingway 476). Jig like the American only listens to what he has to stay rather than understanding what the American has to say. Eventually because of the persistence of the American, Jig momentarily agrees to have the abortion in order to shut him up. She says. “’Oh, yes. But I don’t care about me. And I’ll do it and then everything will be fine'(Hemingway 476). Regardless of Jig’s statement the American continues to talk about how he wants Jig to have “the procedure” which leads to Jig asking the American “Can we maybe stop talking?”(Hemingway 477). Jig realizes that the conversation between her and the American is not going to lead to any kind of decision.. Clearly they both cannot contribute anything meaningful to the conversation. While the story ends the reader is left right where they started. The miscommunication between Jig and the American leads to them remaining in the same predicament as they were in at the beginning of the story.

Hemingway brings up the theme of miscommunication in A Day’s Wait as well. The young boy Schatz’s in the story has a mild fever which he believes is much worse. This is because he believes that the doctor recorded his temperature as a hundred and two degrees Celsius rather than Fahrenheit. Schatz had heard from his french classmates that forty two degrees Celsius is a fatal temperature and results in death.This causes Schatz to spend an entire day fearing for his life. While this is happening Schatz’ Father spends the day enjoying himself outside, unaware of the fact that his son believes he is soon to die. Schatz becomes so paranoid of the mild flu that he has contracted, that he refuses to let anyone enter his room at the risk of them contracting his ailment. When Schatz’ father insists on coming into his room he says, “‘ You can’t come in,’…’You mustn’t get what I have’” (Hemingway 334) The miscommunication between Schatz and his father leads to Schatz living in isolation and feeling traumatized. In this story Schatz is only a small boy so ultimately the fault is on his father and the doctor for not properly explaining to him the nature of his ailment. The doctor at one point tells the father that, “ …there was nothing to worry about if the fever did not go above one hundred and four degrees and Schatz fever was caused by…a light epidemic of flu…”(Hemingway 332). Ultimately in this story the misccomunication between Schatz and his father led to him spending an entire day scared for his life over a mild flu.

The Theme of Masculinity in ‘The Old Man and the Sea’

Another theme that Hemingway analyzes in his literature is masculinity. The theme of masculinity is central in The Old Man and the Sea. Through the course of the novel Santiago proves himself to be the image of the Hemingway Code Hero despite his age and frail body. The Hemingway Code Hero embodies many of the traditional notions of masculinity. Santiago’s character is portrayed to be courageous and resilient with an unbreakable spirit. When Santiago is at sea he fights fiercely against the Marlin. He does not give up even when he becomes greatly injured while attempting to reel the fish onto the boat. Santiago proves himself to be especially resilient when fighting against the Marlin. Hemingway proves Santiago as resilient when he writes, “He could feel the steady hard pull of the line and his left hand was cramped. It drew up tight on the heavy cord and he looked at it in disgust. “What kind of a hand is that,” he said. “Cramp then if you want. Make yourself into a claw. It will do you no good” (Hemingway 21). It is made clear to the reader here that Santiago can withstand the hardships that come in his way regardless of whether that requires him to handle pain. Even though Santiago’s hand is cramped and he is in obvious pain he is resilient. He bears with the pain in order to reach his end goal of catching the Marlin. Santiago’s courageous nature is also made obvious to the reader while he is at sea. Santiago’s courage is apparent when he is struggling against the Marlin and says, “I’m being towed by a fish and I’m towing bitt. I could make the line fast. But then he could break it. I must hold him all I can and give him line when he must have it” (Hemingway 16). Santiago knows that it is a very real possibility that the Marlin could drag him with his boat into the sea, yet he does let that possibility scare him from pursuing the Marlin. Santiago’s mind is ruled not by his fear but by his determination to catch the Marlin. In the end, Santiago is left defeated as he is unable to capture the Marlin, but he faces this defeat with grace. The way in which Santiago deals with his defeat makes it apparent that he has an especially unbreakable spirit. Once defeated Santiago says, ““But man is not made for defeat,”…“A man can be destroyed but not defeated” (Hemingway 38). Santiago knows that he was not successful in his pursuit, but he does not let that crush his unyielding spirit.

Hemingway also focuses on the theme of masculinity in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. Francis is portrayed by Hemingway to be the antithesis of the man who adheres to the traditional notions of masculinity. Francis is boyish, cowardly and naïve, while on a safari with this wife he becomes frozen in fear when attempting to hunt a lion. Francis’ character is in stark contrast to Robert his English hunting guide who is rugged, courageous and determined. Hemingway when describing Francis writes, “Francis Macomber was very tall, very well built if you did not mind that length of bone, dark, his hair cropped like an oarsman, rather thin-lipped, and was considered handsome. He was dressed in the same sort of safari clothes that Wilson wore except that his were new, he was thirty-five years old, kept himself very fit, was good at court games, had a number of big-game fishing records…”( Hemingway 6). Hemingway describes Francis as handsome but his looks are surprisingly neat and put together like that off a woman. He is wearing the same clothes as Wilson, but it is apparent from the newness of his clothes that unlike Wilson he has no real experience hunting on a safari. Through the course of the story the reader sees Francis transition into a man after he successfully hunts a buffalo. Before Francis had hunted the buffalo he had attempted to hunt a lion. Francis was not only extremely unsuccessful at doing so but he also claimed to have” … bolted like a rabbit”(Hemingway 8). away from the lion because he was so fearful. Once Francis successfully hunts the buffalo he says to Wilson, ““You know, I‟d like to try another lion,” … “I‟m really not afraid of them now. After all, what can they do to you?” “You know, I‟d like to try another lion,”…“I‟m really not afraid of them now. After all, what can they do to you?”(Hemingway 25). It is clear that hunting the buffalo has transformed Francis. His successful kill has instilled confidence and a newfound bravery in him which even Wilson notices. Francis unfortunately lives for a very short amount of time after he discovers his newfound masculinity because he is shot by his wife soon after.

Alcohol as a Recurring Theme in Hemingway’s Literature

Alcohol serves as a theme in Hemingway’s literary works as well. In Hills Like White Elephants alcohol plays a central role in facilitating the conversation between the American and Jig. The American and Jig engage in a rather boozy discussion regarding whether Jig should have an abortion. In fact, the first sentence spoken in the short story is Jig asking the American, “What should we drink?’” (Hemingway 475). The American and Jig do not even begin a conversation between each other without the presence of alcohol. The conversation becomes much more fluid and relaxed between the couple once they have both consumed some amount of alcohol. This suggests that the couple have no real connection and are rather uncomfortable with each other. The American seems to utilize the alcohol in order to disregard and brush off Jig’s feelings and comments. Jig makes a comment towards the American saying “‘That’s all we do isn’t it-look at new things and try new drinks?’”(Hemingway 476). This seems to be Jig’s way of conveying to the American that she is unhappy with the nature of their relationship since it seems to be a rather shallow one. The American’s replies to Jig’s comment merely saying, “I guess so”(Hemingway 476). The American’s short and meaningless response makes it very apparent that he simply brushing off Jig’s feelings and concerns. In the end the American and Jig never come to any kind of decision as to whether Jig should get an abortion. Alcohol in this case serves as a mode of avoidance and it is possible that the couple could have come to a consensus if they were sober.

The theme of alcohol is also prevalent in The Sun Also Rises. All the main characters in the novel excluding Cohn are seen drinking excessively. Consuming alcohol works as a coping mechanism for the characters to forget about their worries and personal doubts. The three war veterans Bill, Jake and Mike are portrayed to be constantly drinking along with their shared love interest Brett. The three men have obviously been very negatively affected by their involvement in World War I. Jake perhaps has had the war take the most from him as it is often suggested that he sustained an injury that led to castration in the war. There are many instances in the novel when it becomes clear that Jake uses alcohol as an escape from his own feelings of sadness. At one point he says, “Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people”(Hemingway 77). The world including the people in it seem friendlier and more inviting to Jake once he is intoxicated. This statement from Jake also makes it clear that Jake realizes that alcohol is only a temporary distraction from his feelings. Once he is sober all his worries and self-doubts will surely come running back to him. It is apparent that because of this Jake is an extremely heavy drinker. Jake’s veteran friend Mike makes a statement to similar Jake’s saying, “’I’m rather drunk,’…’I think I’ll stay rather drunk. This is all awfully amusing, but it’s not too pleasant for me. It’s not too pleasant for me’ (Hemingway 107). Here Mike makes it understood that he is aware that he has a drinking problem. Mike also states that he in no way wants to end his unhealthy relationship with alcohol. The alcohol provides him with an escape from his own thoughts and feelings. The characters in The Sun Also Rises ultimately are never able to deal with their own insecurities and mental state due to their constant use of alcohol as a crutch.

Hemingway’s literary works are riddled with symbolism. In the Hills Like White Elephants Hemingway uses the train station as a symbol for transience. The train stations represents the state of the two main characters in the story. In A Day’s Wait Hemingway uses The Book of Pirates as a symbol for masculinity. The young boy hears the stories of pirates in the book who are rugged, resilient and courageous. He begins to associate these traits with masculinity and tries to emulate these traits because he feels that is what is expected of a man. In The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber the lion serves as a symbol for bravery and masculinity. The main character himself is portrayed to be meek and effeminate for much of the story and the lion stands in stark contrast to him. Hemingway in his literary works also discusses themes which include miscommunication, masculinity and alcohol. The theme of miscommunication is central to both Hills Like White Elephants and A Day’s Wait. In both short stories the main characters are negatively affected by meaningless methods of communication. Masculinity is a theme which is central to both The Short But Happy Life of Francis Macomber and The Old Man and the Sea. The main characters in both stories embody or seek to embody typically masculine characteristics. Lastly the theme of alcohol is present in Hills Like White Elephants and The Sun Also Rises. In both stories the main characters utilize alcohol as a crutch to suppress their own feelings and the alcohol allows them to form deeper connections than they are capable of forming themselves.

Citations

1. Hemingway, Ernest. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. Scribner, 2007.
2. Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Scribner, 1954. Print.
3. Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. , 1952. Print.

A dysfunctional relationship is a relationship that does not perform its proper function. Meaning the people in the relationship do not emotionally support one another, communicate well, or trust one another. People in dysfunctional relationships are manipulated and taken advantage of. There are many causes of dysfunctional relationships. The main cause of a dysfunctional relationship is manipulation. In the short stories “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman, the play Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, and the poems “You fit into me” by Margarette Atwood, and “Marks” by Linda Pastan, all have a dysfunctional relationship caused by manipulation.

One form of manipulation in a dysfunctional relationship is social isolation. Social isolation is an almost complete separation between an individual and society which is destructive to a person’s mental state. In a dysfunctional relationship the dominant partner in the relationship manipulates the other into an isolated state, effectively trapping them into the unhealthy relationship. This is shown in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The narrator’s husband, a well respected doctor, dismisses his wife’s postpartum depression and diagnoses her with “temporary nervous depression–a slight hysterical tendency” (Gilman 380). Which he treated with the “rest cure”, a common treatment for nineteenth century women who suffered from depression and anxiety. “During the ‘cure’,the patient was subjected to forced bed rest, excessive feeding, and massage. For six weeks the patient was isolated from her family and friends, confined to bed, forbidden to sit up, sew, read, write, or to do any intellectual work. The patient was kept under constant surveillance and divested of agency over her own body, sometimes forbidden even to turn over in bed.” (Gregory 114). The point of the cure was to remove the women from a potentially harmful household and toxic social atmosphere, yet the isolation led to insanity in some instances. The narrator’s husband, using his power as a man and as a physician prescribed the cure in an attempt to help his wife and completely cut off his wife from her friends and family, as well as the rest of society, unintentionally driving his wife mad.

In the play, Trifles, John Wright, an abusive and controlling husband, intentionally isolates his wife from her friends and family. He exercises his power over his wife over and over. He leaves Minnie alone all day within the house with no social life, refuses to put a telephone in the house, and kills her songbird, forcing complete silence in the home. Mr. Hale tells the County Attorney, “I spoke to Wright about it [sharing a telephone] once before and he put me off, saying folks talked too much anyway, and all he asked was peace and quiet–I guess you about how much he talked himself. . .” (Glaspell 1605). Refusing to share a telephone line with the neighbors indicates that he prefers silence, while simultaneously restricting Minnie’s contact with the world outside their secluded farm house. This also offers an explanation as to why he killed his wife’s pet canary. Mrs. Hale reminisces about her past friendship with Minnie, before her marriage. “She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir.” (1609). This shows that her isolation from society is directly caused by her manipulative husband. Mrs. Hale stayed away from the Wright’s house because she felt it “never seemed a cheerful place” and she didn’t think “a place’d be any cheerfuller for John Wright being in it.” (1608). This shows that John’s demeanor towards others was a factor in keeping his wife in seclusion from her friends and family.

In the short story by Ernest Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants”, the girl is traveling with an American in Spain. The couple stops for a drink and it becomes clear that she does not speak the language. The two of them are obviously tense and argue openly in the bar. This situation is isolating because it is unclear if the couple will reach an agreement and she is in a country where she doesn’t understand the language and the man she is traveling with does. She becomes dependent on him to translate what the waitress is saying, what the words on the curtains means, when the trains come. If the argument were to end negatively, she could potentially be left alone, isolated, in a foreign country with no way to speak the language.

In instances where a person is socially isolated, there are often negative effects that occur because of it, such as increased risk of depression, anxiety, paranoia or panic attacks. This is proven to be true in the short stories “The Yellow Wallpaper”, “Hills Like White Elephants” as well as the play Trifles. In Gilman’s story the narrator who is suffering from postpartum depression is isolated from society as part of her treatment prescribed by her husband for her “hysterical tendencies”. As a result of the isolation the narrator’s depression gradually gets worse as the story progresses. As part of the “rest cure” the narrator is “absolutely forbidden” to write (Gilman 380). She keeps a secret journal where she documents her obsession with the yellow wallpaper.

Social isolation can drive one to more than just madness. In the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell, Minnie Wright is driven to murder. When her manipulative and psychologically abusive husband kills her pet songbird, she snaps. Mrs. Wright is a depressed housewife who is left alone all day in a quiet and empty home. She has been successfully separated from the rest of the world by her husband. Minnie is described as “real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and–fluttery. How–she–did–change” by her old friend, Mrs. Hale (Glaspell 1612). Minnie used to be a lively choir girl “when she was Minnie Foster” (1608). Her husband changed her when he forced his secluded, silent lifestyle upon her. When Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find the dead bird they realize what must’ve happened. “No [Mr.] Wright wouldn’t like the bird–a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that too” (1613). When John Wright took away the one thing left that Minnie loved, she took away his life.

In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” the girl travelling with the American feels emotionally isolated. The two of them argue about whether or not the girl should have an abortion. She doesn’t want the abortion but she also loves her partner and wants to be with him. While the American says “I don’t want you to do it if you don’t really want to” (Hemingway 121), he continues to try to persuade her into the operation. The American shows no signs of wanting to be a part of fatherhood, leaving her alone as a parent if she chooses not to have an abortion. When she says “We could get along”, talking about them having the baby, he replies with “But I don’t want anybody but you. I don’t want anyone else” (122). She is frustrated that her partner is pressuring her into a procedure that she clearly doesn’t want to go through with and scared that if she doesn’t do it, he will stop loving her. This is shown when she asks “And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?” (121). The man is manipulating the girl’s decision using her affection for him to influence her into getting the abortion.

Communication is part of what makes a relationship functional and healthy. Not all communication is healthy though. When the communication becomes manipulative, the relationship becomes toxic and dysfunctional. In the poem “Marks” by Linda Pastan, the author uses school grades to describe how her family critiques her as a wife and mother. The speaker’s family constantly assesses and judges how she performs her tasks instead of praising all she does for them. Her list of responsibilities are listed throughout the poem, “My husband gives me an A / for last night’s supper, / an incomplete for my ironing” (Pastan 1-3). Each member of the family uses different grading methods to evaluate the speaker. This manipulates the mother into having to work harder to achieve the standards set by her children and husband. The way her family communicates with her irritates the mother and the poem ends with “I’m dropping out” (line 12). This line indicates that the mother has had enough of the judgement and is choosing to leave her seemingly ungrateful, manipulative family.

Another form of manipulation is persuasion. The American man in “Hills Like White Elephants” attempts to persuade the girl he is travelling with to have an abortion. He trivializes their predicament by calling the procedure “awfully simple” and that “it’s not really anything” (121). “When he says he will stay with her all the time the operation is being performed, he no doubt means it. Although he tells her “it’s not really an operation at all” (121), his anxiety is evident. At one point he says, rather incongruously considering that he has constantly downplayed the seriousness of the procedure, “You know how I get when I worry” (121)” (Hashmi). The girl is reluctant to consider the abortion and feels pressured by the American to have one. He plays with her head and manipulates her thought process when he says “It think it’s the best thing to do” and then contradicts himself when he tells her “I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to” (121). He uses her love for him as a way to get her to go through with the operation. When Jig says “Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me” (121). This shows her devotion to the man and how she seeks to make him happy.

If communication is key to a proper, healthy relationship, than a lack of communication is a recipe for a dysfunctional relationship. Between Minnie Wright in Trifles, and the couple in “Hills Like White Elephants”, there is a serious shortage of communication in both stories. In the play by Susan Glaspell, Minnie has little to no communication with anyone other than her husband. This isolation results in her depression and the murder of her husband. Mrs. Hale makes it clear she regrets not going to see Minnie when she says “Oh, I wish I’d come over here once in a while! That was a crime!” (1613). Perhaps if Minnie had a friend to talk to, she would’ve been happier. Mr. Wright is known throughout the play to enjoy silence. The lack of communication between him and his wife is what led to her depression and anger towards him.

While the couple in Hemingway’s story don’t initially appear to struggle with communication, it becomes evident that the two of them dance around what really needs to be said. This communication issue between them threatens their entire relationship. The issue of their unplanned pregnancy is only implied throughout the story, never directly spoken about. The American man and the girl have strong, different opinions about abortion and argue about it while waiting for a train. The man attempts to persuade her by telling her “it’s all perfectly natural” and that “It’s the best thing to do” (121). From the beginning of the story it is clear that neither one of them actually listens to what the other person is saying and this poor attempt at communication worsens an already bad situation. The girl, Jig, is frightened by the circumstances and frustrated that the American continues to push for an abortion. She eventually begs him to “please please please please please please please stop talking” (122). At the end of the story it is unclear what happens with the pregnancy but it is clear that their relationship will never be the same after this conversation.

Deception in a relationship, whether intentional or unintentional is never good. In the poem “You Fit Into Me” by Margaret Atwood the first stanza has a positive connotation. “You fit into me / like a hook into an eye” (lines 1-2). It conjures images of a clasp fitting perfectly into an eye. A match that was meant to be. A comparison between a relationship that must be as well put together as a hook goes together with an eye. The second stanza, “a fish hook / into an open eye” (lines 3-4), clarify that the speaker doesn’t think the relationship is meant to be at all. The image of a fish hook into an eyeball is horrendous and brings forth images of pain. This deceptive poem is an excellent example of how relationships can be. In the beginning, it feels perfect. A match that is flawless. Once you get to know more though, things change and the relationship can turn toxic. It is not always intentional though. People in a new relationship don’t always reveal their true selves right away, and when the whole truth comes out, the match may not be as compatible as originally thought to be.

Another example of unintentional deception in a relationship is the family from the poem “Marks”. While they didn’t treat their mother and wife as good as they should have, they didn’t intend to drive her away. The son calls his mother “average” but also feels that if she “puts her mind to it” (line 7), she could improve. While this statement sounds harsh and no mother would want to hear it, perhaps it wasn’t meant to be perceived as a negative judgement. Parents and teachers say similar statements to students and it is a positive comment, as one can always improve themselves. Her daughter “believes / in Pass/Fail and tells me / I pass” (lines 9-10). For a child, or for students, passing is the goal. She feels that her mother passed as a parent. That could be a compliment of the highest regards coming from her daughter.

Unlike the previously mentioned deceptions in a relationship, other forms of deception are intentional. Purposely deceiving the other in the relationship in one way or another. Intentional deception is found in both the play Trifles and the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”. In Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, the two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters deceive their own husbands to protect Minnie Wright. While the men are upstairs looking for evidence, the two women discover Mrs. Wright’s dead songbird. Mrs. Hale tells Mrs. Peters “She liked the bird. She was gonna bury it in that pretty box” (1613). They deduce that Mr. Wright murdered the canary and as the two of them talk, they find themselves just like Minnie Wright. “We all go through the same things–it’s all just different kinds of the same things” (1614). This line shows that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters realize that all women are oppressed in similar ways. The two women manipulate the crime scene and deceive their husbands when “Mrs. Hale snatches the box [containing the bird] and puts it in the pocket of her big coat” (1615). The men are so unassuming of their wives that they don’t even bother to check what the ladies have decided to bring Minnie Wright.

Another example of intentional deception in a dysfunctional relationship between the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” and her husband. The narrator’s husband, a doctor, treats his wife with the well known “rest cure”. The narrator vehemently disagrees with her husband’s ideas and pleads for family visits, to work, for some excitement and change, but to no avail. In silent protest, she keeps a journal against her husband’s wishes and hides her writings from him. Her journal offers a creative outlet and a documented account of her depression and paranoia getting worse. She writes “I did write for a while in spite of them; but it does exhaust me a good deal–having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition” (Gilman 380). This shows how she deceives her husband and how much power he has over her. Her husband says that if she doesn’t recover quickly, he would send her away to a facility for the “rest cure”. As the narrator becomes more obsessed with the wallpaper and the woman she feels is trapped behind it, her seems husband picks up on some of her oddities. He begins to make her lie down for an hour after each meal. The narrator writes “It is a very bad habit I am convinced, for you see I don’t sleep. And that cultivates deceit, for I don’t tell them I am awake (387). Not only is she hiding her journal, she begins to lie about when she is and isn’t awake. She sleeps all day and watches the paper all night until one day, she has a mental breakdown.

All of these literary works have helped to teach our society about what a dysfunctional relationship looks like and what manipulation through our relationships look like. By knowing what these toxic relationships consist of, our society can learn how to avoid or handle situations that these characters have experienced.

The couple in Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Hills Like White Elephants’, are faceless characters that become faced with what can be a life-changing situation. Their unplanned pregnancy becomes the topic for debate and whether they should keep it. The problem escalates passive-aggressively when it becomes clear that Jig wants to stay pregnant while the American man refuses to settle. What Hemingway lets the readers see is an exposed conversation of the two trying to come to a conclusion. We are never able to learn what they decide. “Hills Like White Elephants” is an expressive story on how communication barriers can impact decision making. Therefore, the story is told based on the choices that are on the table and how their lack of communication skills affect the choice of the couple.

Beyond the lines of Hills like White Elephants, the tone at first glance is what sets how the structure will turn out. It begins with the narration being completely controlled. The story consists mostly of dialogue between the American man and Jig. Besides the conversations between the couple, the reader knows nothing about the characters or their relationship outside of the dialogue. During the couple’s interactions, there is no argument and no love shown other than a powerful conversation. Both characters cannot seem to move forward to discuss what it is they want and why creating a communication barrier. Their absence of agreement on the unborn baby has controlled them until the story comes to an end. Hemingway is known for his clean-cut writing talent. He writes his stories with straightforward dialogue. Although the couple’s conversation may seem emotionless, if you look closely, you can reveal what emotion is trying to surface. The not so happily ever after comes to an end when the American man asks Jig if she is okay, knowing she is not. The narrator quotes the couple, “Do you feel better?” he asked. “I feel fine. There’s nothing wrong with me I’m fine” she said” (200). Jig’s final words interpret that she is not okay at all but attempts to pretend she doesn’t know what he is referring to. Their failure to communicate leads to an unresolved ending and decision about abortion.

There is a deficiency of information about the two main characters. We don’t know where this couple is traveling from or what they look like and how they ended up in this situation. What we can interpret from the story provided is that these are two completely different people. A few things I took note of is that Jig is a pregnant woman that is educated on abortions, doesn’t want to have an abortion, is young enough to be called a girl, and drinks beer. We are given the impression that she is a developing character. After becoming pregnant at a young age, she lets the reader know that she wants to stay committed to her choice and tells us why. To give up the baby for adoption or have an abortion is simply not the answer for Jig. Since the story is based in 1972, both options were out of the question. The tradition in the early days was to get married and have a baby together that can be raised with both parents. In this case, getting married doesn’t mean they’ll live a happy life together and getting an abortion doesn’t mean that they will not be happy. The American man makes his point extremely clear that he doesn’t necessarily desire to get married and Jig makes it known that she refuses to get rid of the baby. She states, “Then I’ll do it because I don’t care about me” (199). In other words, she is saying that if she did truly care about her well being, she would not have the abortion. Although Jig is growing throughout the conversation, we can see that her boyfriend is not. He becomes a static character in this situation because he refuses to change his mind and tries to convince Jig to make the abortion happen. A few things we know about his character is that he doesn’t want to marry Jig but is willing to do so and doesn’t think abortion is a big deal. Because Jig and the American cannot come to a mutual agreement, this has created discomfort and psychological conflict.

The couples struggle to communicate on different viewpoints becomes dependent on what the next step to their relationship will be. They have hit a big bump in their relationship that is now a disaster. Hemingway’s theme of communication and choices correlate perfectly within the story. Jim and the American are placed at a train station where they are at a literal crossroads of where to go next. The two are waiting for a train in the excruciating heat of Spain where they are forced to come to a decision. To give in to each other’s wants and needs are at stake here. Although we do not get the reveal of their final decision, it becomes the drive of the narrative. The American went back and forth, “What did you say?” “I said we could have everything.” “We can have everything.” “No, we can’t.” (199). The couple struggle with communication breakdown and threatens the bond they have. There is also a lack of attention that the American has. Jig made a comment about the hills that resemble white elephants and get ignored. She repeats herself, “I said the mountain looks like white elephants, wasn’t that bright?” (198). She continues to complain about how all they do is try new things and look at things. The struggle to communicate continues, “They’re lovely hills, they don’t really look like white elephants, I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees”. He responds, “Should we have another drink?” (198). She is struggling to stay interested in their lifestyle and is frustrated that the American man isn’t paying attention to her. They are on two completely different pages in their lives and that causes strain on their communication. When that becomes affected, so do their choices.

The railroad tracks are the most important symbol that represents the story’s themes of language and decision making. These tracks run next to each other, never meeting at one point to connect. Both tracks can signify a different path. The American and Jig are having drinks at this train station while waiting for the train that will take them to Spain. People tend to wait at airports, bus stations or train stations, to go onto the next step in their life. Figuratively, the troubled couple is discussing whether what path to take next while on a time crunch of the progressing pregnancy. Hemingway continues to introduce another setting symbol that represents the light and darkness of the abortion. Based on the location of the train station, there are no trees closeby to supply shade. The sun’s beaming heat on the setting suggests how the couples’ mindsets are different. According to Jig, the appearance of the hills look like white elephants in the daytime, while the rural land resembles a desert. The hills and shadowless land may signify Jig’s thoughts of keeping the baby. The desert countryside may also symbolize the American’s thoughts of continuing abortion. Eventually, Jig becomes fed up with his pressure and stands in direct sunlight. Yet he continues to stay seated in the darkness of the shade and tries to convince her to come to sit with him in attempt to pressure her once again.

Conclusion

Both the man and woman are caught in a tense circumstance trying to hopelessly avoid the “white elephant” in the room. From the American’s perspective, the hills certainly do not resemble white elephants. However, Jig has stepped away from his reality and into her vision of what the future could be. This creates frustration within the two when at a literal crossroad. Hemingway uses his short story skills to create a dialogue based tale with hidden symbolism. It forces readers to read through the simple lines of “Hills Like White Elephants”. Because of Jig’s desire to keep her baby and the American’s want for a life of freedom, they find themselves struggling to look past communication barriers that affect further choices.

Iceberg theory is an approach of writing practiced by numerous writers in which distinct parts of a story are concealed, some details that both the writer and the readers know naturally and intuitively. Ernest Hemingway gave the name to this method and felt that this approach of writing creates a stronger connection with the readers as the reader is perceptive and join the pieces that were looked over. According to him, the correct idea of the story must not show on the surface, but rather be found confined in the framework of the story.

The iceberg theory represents that only 10-20% of the material must be disclosed from the entire story. This is about a real iceberg where only the tip of the iceberg can be seen above water. The other 80-90% of the story is joint within the groundwork which is not clear.

In this story, Hemingway uses minimalism approach, iceberg method and direct style with the main proposition that less is more. Instead of telling clearly, he designs the whole story as nothing more than an occasional talk between two people waiting for a train and does not expose the discomfort between them. As a result, many readers don’t recognize that the two are indeed talking about having an abortion and going their separate pathways. Hemingway stripped everything and left merely the essentials. The story does not even bring up the term abortion and that is why this story was so revolutionary for its era.

The story commences with a narrative of a landscape and a railway station without revealing exactly where the incident takes place. The reader seeks and becomes interested in the story. When the man talks to the girl about the procedure she doesn’t respond but stares at the ground. The whole incident is illustrated from the girl’s viewpoint and readers develop sympathy for the young woman. The story is more intensified when the man creates to talk about the operation and doesn’t understand that the young woman isn’t feeling well. He repeats it again and the reader still doesn’t perceive what’s it all about and starts feeling sympathy for the girl.

Also, both the American man and girl talk in extremely brief sentences and barely say more than a few words at a time. The writer also avoids dialogues like “he said” or “she said”. These pieces when omitted leave the readers entirely up to their own judgment and perception.

Hemingway also employs minimalism in the narrative which is the theory. He does not give adjectives or adverbs unless really vital. He also doesn’t describe what the main characters mean when they speak. This minimalism way of describing creates an idea that the writer is presenting merely the facts and it leaves the readers with a feeling of something missing.

Lastly, Hills like white elephants is written in a very simple form, however, the reality is much more intricate. The reader does not have any idea about the past of the characters and this keeps the reader involved. Hemingway’s approach is direct where the sentences are formed using quotes and the method is iceberg where only a little bit is revealed.

The setting in all short stories is a very important part, setting is the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event happens. The setting is important in the stories “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’brien, “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin and “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway. It is important to establish a setting in the story so the readers can visualize and experience what is happening. The settings in the stories are all very different.The things they carried by tim O’brien takes place in the jungle of Vietnam whilst Sonny’s blues takes place in the city of Harlem. Lastly Hills like white elephants takes place at a train station.

The setting in the Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien takes place in the jungles of Vietnam. The army soldiers are in a violent war between them and vietnam. All the soldiers carried Intangible items and tangible items ranging from packets of Kool aid to sewing kits and loved ones in there hearts. The soldiers are always on the move because they are in a constant fight with Vietnam. They are trying to survive even though there fellow soldiers are dying left and right. “They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity”(O’Brien _). Since there are a lot of traps everywhere all the troops are feeling very paranoid. Once the troops go back home to their own town they aren’t used to it because of the war.

The Setting in Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin takes place in Harlem New York. Sonny feels that he is being locked in his neighborhood so that’s why he starts doing heroin. Without Sonny feeling stuck he wouldn’t of made his music and art. “He had been picked up, the evening before, in a raid on an apartment downtown for peddling and using heroin”( Baldwin _). Sonny loses himself in his music, which is the only thing that keeps him from going back to jail and doing more heroin and experiencing poverty in Harlem.

Lastly the setting in “Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway takes place at a train station. The story is between the girl and the american.There is one train going to Madrid, Spain and one going to Barcelona,Spain. The choice that the girl makes by going on either train is if she is going to have the abortion or the baby . But if I do it then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants and you’ll like it”(Hemingway ). She chooses if she wants to keep their relationship or never see eachother again.The white hills and the valley is what she sees which helps her make her choice either from the abortion or life.

The setting in all short stories is a very important part, setting is the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event happens. There is a vast variety of setting in each of the stories.

Literature is a form of writing that shows expression and artistic values it’s definitely one of the most interesting and graceful talents in the world over. Written literature gets even better as everyone’s cup of tea is available with the vast groups of genres is at everyone’s disposal. I, however, dig into the work of the renowned American Ernest Hemingway, a writer, and a novelist, Ernest Hemingway, who had a knack of writing short narrative stories that were mostly fictional passages. In this paper, we’ll take a synopsis look at two of his work on ‘The Killers’ book, compare and contrast it with his other book, ‘Hills Like White Elephant’. Both done and published in 1927. Basically, this paper is about deciphering the differences and pointing out their similarities in style and theme.

In ‘Killers’, its a story about a disillusioned young man set on changing the state of a situation by trying to save the life of a man on a hit list. While in ‘Hills’, It’s a story about a young couple conversing about an operation in which the young girl is ambivalent to go through with, their brief conversation takes place as they are drinking alcohol while waiting for a train in a small town in Spain,

Let us start with Themes comparison in both passages, the technique used is terse and Concise, a few words to intimate a larger story. They are both short stories with a large meaning. In the ‘Killers’, the story can be construed as a narrative about a young man nick Adams who doesn’t know the dangers and repercussions of his heroic action while in the ‘Hills story may be understood as the story about naivety of the young girl who was unsure of having an abortion and the repercussion that goes with it.

Under the theme, we can also do a comparison inference, where the author uses antagonist and protagonist character in both passages. In ‘killers’, the author uses the ‘American man’ as the story’s antagonist character. for example, he constantly badgered the girl to have an abortion using a fake concerned and supportive tone while the girl is the protagonist because she didn’t want to have an abortion. In ‘hills’, the author uses ole Anderson the pugilist who had a bounty on his head as the antagonist and nick Adams the young man who was trying to help ole Anderson from getting killed, as the protagonist

The similarity is scene Characterization in both stories shows the description of the environment where the characters were placed. In ‘killers’, There is a description is of a lunch cafeteria located in a small town, while in ‘Hills the environment the couple sipped the drinks, is described as a train platform café, a train station somewhere in Spain.

Some contrast in both stories can be seen in the language expression that the author used. both passages were written in the early nineteenth century, the language used in that era was different from what we use today, whether formal or informal. In ‘Killers’, the author uses colloquial language commonly used by the uncultured population in an informal environment. he used the word ‘nigger’ a lot within the hit men’s dialogue. it shows authors background where racism might have been prevalent, while in ‘ Hills’ the authors used a more polished & polite language when the characters were holding a dialogue

A comparison and contrast in the author’s style of writing for both books can be noted as follows. by Comparison, both stories have a simple style of writing revealing minimal details with a deeper meaning below, iceberg principle. for example in ‘Killers’, the story is about Nick Adams, a young man’s exposure to a hostile environment & agonistic society represented by the killers, Al & Max while in ‘Hills’, the story is about the subject of an abortion that is cleverly disguised. By contrast, the author used a physical description of the characters in one book and completely omitted it in the other book. For example, in ‘Killers’: The author describes the killers as mean, gangster, wearing identical tight overcoats, muffler & hats, eating food with gloves whereas in ‘Hills’ there was no description of either the man nor the girl’s physical attributes, appearance nor clothing,

Under style, the author deployed a similarity in dialogue narration in both stories. For example, In ‘The Killers’ there are various conversations between Nick Adams, the hitmen (Max and Al), George and Ole Anderson. The same applies to ‘Hills’ where there is a dialogue between the couple. He has used the dialogue in both stories to attain various goals which include, to advance the plot of the narrative, to reveal some character personalities in order to present a background exposition and to create a tone of the narrative. It is also important to mention that in his work the use of offensive dialect has colored the personalities of characters as someone full of contempt, the use of harsh terms (nigger in ‘The Killers’) was a derogatory term used by the racist community.

However, the themes portrayed by the two stories are different like night and day. In The Killers I find the author to have driven themes of death, friendship and the purpose of life. Death is observed as the hitmen (Max and Al) are keen on killing Ole Anderson. They wait patiently for him to show up so that they can take his life but quite luckily he never shows up. Friendship is evident as Nick Adams goes out of his way to inform Ole Anderson of how his life was in danger despite the risk. When Ole Anderson is informed, he has already lost hope and his purpose in life. On the other hand, Hills Like White Elephants tend to drive the prospects of a procedure. The conversation between a couple and their discussion is about an abortion albeit indirectly. The context of the strained dialogue gives a sense of a nagging selfish man.there is also the use of metaphor in this scene where the author mentions the girl’s observation of a contrasting landscape of a fertile land imitating a good life while directly opposite the train tracks is dry and dusty landscape which may indicate death. the contrast makes the girl confused about the scene’s disparity, then wonders aloud whether to have a baby or abortion. The author expressing that the girl was split between giving life or death.

Lastly under style, a comparison in both passages, there is the use of satire and sarcasm. In ‘Killers’, This can be seen all through the conversation as both Max and Al ironically address both George and Nick Adams. (…’Another bright boy,’ Al said. ‘Ain’t he a bright boy, Max?’…). an indirectly way of showing a character full of contempt. In ‘Hills’, it’s the couple’s use of indirect sarcastic terms when communicating with each other. (…’ it’s just to let the air in’…), the man using sarcasm about abortion being a simple and safe procedure.

In summary Earnest, Hemmingway liked using very short sentences and minimal words in both short stories. He uses the same style & theme in both books. Always having a deeper meaning beneath the surface. His style of writing was unusual, without a deep perceptive evaluation, the structure of his sentences; figurative stories and objective views sometimes left readers clueless and dilemmatic. With readers denied so much information on the surface and having a lot of questions on the story’s depth, the author coined the term iceberg theory. Never the less Earnest Hemmingway came out as one of the best and unique literature writers of all time.

Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “Hills Like White Elephants” is an examination of human connection, a comparison of talking vs. communicating. The story’s setting, repetition of words, spare dialogue, and use of cognitive verbs establishes a textual pattern that develops the narrative’s dilemma. The text further explores the power of dialect crashing down between two people and how what is unsaid or what is unspeakable can define and disconnect individuals.

Hemingway exhibits deficiency in language by the use of unnamed characters and straightforward prose writing style. Without providing an actual description of “the man” and “the woman”, Hemingway chooses to expand on two features; the setting, and dialogue that carries the entire story. The setting contributes to the story’s dispute through features of the natural and artificial world. The natural world is depicted by the romantic portrayal of nature, whereas the artificial world is represented as the train station and railroad, emphasizes the man-made corruption of the natural world. The story’s title “Hills Like White Elephants”, highlights the underlying apprehension of a pregnancy that neither character cannot outwardly say or admit, further reflects the characters lack of communication. According to O’Brien, the dialogue distinguishes gender roles–by the male’s rejection of emotional language, and his goal-oriented vocabulary and the women’s imprecise, emotional, relational language. These components contribute to a conflict between ‘the natural’ and ‘the artificial’ that, better than any of the previously perceived contrasts within the natural surroundings, mirrors the tension between the girl’s desire to have a baby and the man’s wish to continue without it. (O’Brien 25).

Word-play and repetition of words enhance the story’s emotional conflict, at the same time, it also creates a language barrier to distance themselves from the very conflict. The repeating phrase “look like white elephants” occurs four times in the text. Although, the title outlines the hills as “hills like white elephants” rather than “hills (that look) like white elephants.” This distinction contrasts value rather than appearance. Jig confirms this proposition by stating “the hills don’t really look like white elephants”, but only “through the trees”(Hemingway 476). Most if not all of the story’s repetitions generates a textual pattern and then later on drifts away from it. The final phrase of “look like white elephants” breaks the pattern of the vital focus of hills to “things”, “But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants and you’ll like it”(Hemingway 477). Eventually, the repeating phrase manifests itself to be non-specific, inviting other words to be traded for “hill”, like a baby. In ancient Siam (Thailand now), white elephants were discerned as sacred and royal property. However, they were an epigram of the white elephant being an expensive burden. The substitution of ‘things’ for ‘hills’ and the word-play of pronouns replacements, suggests an even broader range of possible sacred and expensive ‘things.’ Further, in-depth this idea not only supports the couple’s relationship as another ‘white elephant’ facing abortion but also expands the idea of the sacred and costly “thing” until it becomes ‘everything.’ (Wyche 56).

The man’s telling Jig that abortion is a ‘perfectly natural’ procedure (Hemingway 476) emphasizes the central conflict. His reaction to the pregnancy is sterile, he believes that a man-made procedure is a solution to the core discourse. Hemingway differentiating the woman and man by linguistic patterns. The woman looks into the natural world, ‘the river through the trees’ (Hemingway 477), gazes ‘across at the hills on the dry side of the valley’ (Hemingway 477). She is discerned as emotional due to her romantic description of the world, and her positive response to fertility. In acute contrast, the man tends to look away from the natural world and goes rebels against it. By using the word “reasonably”(Hemingway 478) to describe how the people were in the car waiting for the train, The opposite of what is ‘reasonable’ is the realm outside the bar, the area exposed to the natural surroundings–highlights the man being interlinked with the artificial ways of the world. The description of the railroad tracks running into the valley of Ebro, and urgency to have an abortion, represents the man’s aggressive and mechanical manipulation to the natural world.

The couple’s relationship features many repetitions of trading questions and answers, the dialogue seems almost static. The man and the woman are constantly in a state of imbalance and disagreement. The woman construes her own desires as requests, using terms “could” and “would”. The story depicts the relationship as the man holding authority, and the woman’s questions challenge that authority and seek reassurance from it. The power of authority shifts briefly when the woman says “We could have everything and every day we make it more impossible” (Hemingway 477). To where he asks “What did you say”, and she simplifies the consequences of the operation, in the end, they cannot have everything (Hemingway 477). However the authority shifts back to the man when he continues to retaliate back, and the woman questions to ask for permission to end the conversation. Because of the unfair power domination, the only way the conversation will end is if she threatens to scream. Conforming to Link, The story contains a large number of words describing purely cognitive functions. A list of forty-nine such uses includes ‘want’ (17 times), ‘know’ (13), ‘feel’ (6), ‘care’ (5), ‘think’ (3), ‘realize’ (3), ‘worry’ (2), and ‘am willing’ (1). The number of cognitive terms suggests that the text is focused on personal desire arid the use of knowledge’s authority in its pursuit. Thus, most of the dialogue is a discussion of what the man wants (10 speeches) and how it relates to what Jig might want (4 speeches). In fact, Jig’s desires are quite irrelevant, given that the man is in a virtually unchallenged position of power. He would not ‘have [her] do it’ (SS 275, emphasis added) if she did not want to, thereby implying that her wants are relevant only because he has allowed them to be so (Link 26).

Ernest Hemingway was an influential American novelist and short story writer who is well known for his consistent portrayal of women as a necessary presence but the weaker of the two genders. Throughout his short stories, Hemingway focuses on issues related to masculinity, and gender themes are central in his works. The question of how women are represented in Hemingway’s works can be explored by analyzing one of his short stories, Hills Like White Elephants. This critical work will explore the representation of women throughout Hills Like White Elephants and determine why Hemingway decides to present women in this short story as pitied rather than respected.

Hills Like White Elephants is a conversation between an American man and a girl waiting for a train in Spain. As the story unwinds, the Iceberg technique displayed in the story shows the couple discussing the girl’s pregnancy. The man is coolly working to convince her to have an abortion. Throughout this work, the American presents Hemingway’s rigid concept of masculinity; The American is portrayed as omniscient and wise. He is worldly and in control of himself as well as the situation. He is presented as a cool man who feigns indifference. His insensitivity is evident when he tells the girl that he doesn’t care or not the girl has an abortion. He oversimplifies the operation as just a simple medical procedure to convince the girl to abort. He is relentless and aloof, never actually engaging with her but trying to blind her with simplistic logic.

The American lacks sympathy and understanding of her needs and ignores her behavior. It displays how the girl is, in contrast, less assertive. She is perceived as helpless and confused, as well as nameless; though the man is referred to as The American, he at least has a nationality and a maturity, while ‘the girl’ is young, vulnerable and without any other outstanding characteristics. During the time of this work, the liberated post-war American society is one of which is highlighted. The stereotyping of masculinity seeking solutions to the problems caused by women in his stories illustrates his patriarchal attitudes. Hemingway displays women as so unintelligent as to be malleable; in this story, The American decides he has to oversimplify the “painless” abortion in order to get rid of this obstacle to his continuing life as he wants it. The dehumanization of women in this short story is abundant, and the themes of discrimination and patriarchal values are smeared throughout the work.

Hemingway presents women in this story as objects trying to attract attention and please others to strengthen the idea of the Code Hero. Hemingway defined a Code Hero as “a man who lives correctly, following the ideals of honor, courage, and endurance in a world that is sometimes chaotic, often stressful, and always painful.” He is an ideal man with courage, knowledge, chivalry and an individualist attitude who enjoys many drinks and women. The presentation of women in his works amplifies the patriarchal image of the Code Hero. The Code Heroes remove any possible strengths of women surrounding them and become a man with defined codes. By including passive and child-like women in his story, Hemingway further asserts the role of the Code Hero. In Hills Like White Elephants, the man has total power over the relationship. One example of when this is shown is when, between the two of them, the American is the only one who can speak Spanish. Because of this, Jig has to rely on him continually and even clears with him which drinks they will order before doing so. This displays the dominance of the man as the Code Hero and the submissive, dependent woman in the relationship.

Furthermore, the audience is introduced to Jig as the name the American calls the girl. She is a girl who cannot make decisions easily without constant approval and recognition from a man. This particular man from whom Jig seeks approval is one who has impregnated her. Jig is a woman who cannot make decisions on her own which is shown throughout the story. She is depicted as dependent, weak and without independent thoughts or feelings throughout the story. Jig asks, “What should we drink?” in the opening line of the story. Just from this opening question, the audience gets the impression that Jig is a character who questions rather than acts. This shows that she is a person who is unsure of herself and also unaware of what she wishes in the relationship. Although this is a simple question to ask and can often appear as common politeness, this is the time in the short story where the audience meets Jig. Also in the opening scene, she imagines white elephants in the surrounding hills. These white elephants symbolize an unwanted gift, and to Jig, the baby represents the gift. It is unwanted in the eyes of the man, which in turn causes Jig’s unhappiness and desire for an “imaginary life.” Many other examples demonstrate her inability to make life decisions. Further on in the short story, Jig questions her life’s purpose by saying, “That’s all what we do, isn’t it–look at things and try new things?’ She believes her life is empty and she is unsure of her ability to create her own purpose. Jig seems to have exhausted her relationship with the man and craves change in her life.

Hemingway presents women as feminine objects regarded by men as passive and insipid tools in Hills Like White Elephants. As a central though unspoken theme in this story, women are portrayed as helpless and unstable. The weakness of women is contrasted with the power and clear-thinking male characters. The contrasting gender roles represent how men are the pivotal characters in this short story and women hold only roles that support the thesis of the Code Heroes. The prominence of unstable female characters highlights the importance of the male characters. The contrasting differences in the gender roles represent how men hold the central significance in Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants and display how women are suppressing roles which add to the ambience of the Code Heroes.

Short stories are known to go straight to the point, in other words there is no room for “sub-plotting,’ “slowing developing tensions,’ and for any kind of “byplay.” As it is stated in the Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, and Writing, early on in history, short stories, being brief and having a theme, included anecdotes, parables, fables, folktales, and fairy tales. Within these types of stories, novelists had to use a short amount of word count to fit their whole story, stories ranging from two to four pages long.

Majority of the time for this same reason, writers had to keep it to the minimum when developing the plot or even characters, this led them to begin the story right on the turning point of an event or of a character. For an example, “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway published in 1927 is an example of a short story. William C. Hamlin, within “In Writing for Studies in Short Fiction,” explains his criteria of a short story, it being when the writer is trying to go to point A to point B with the “shortest time consistent with purpose and reason,” with this being said Hemingway’s story does meet Hamlin’s criteria for success.

Ernest Hemingway is a novelist who began his writing career right after high school, he started off as a reporter and later went into creating short stories. As stated in the Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, and Writing, Hemingway based and created his short fiction stories from his own life experiences (74). He is the greatest stylist in the twentieth-century and was an expert in dialogue within his stories. The short passage from Hemingway, published in 1927, titled, “Hills like White Elephants,” is a great example for such expertise, the story was actually written as if the reader is actually eavesdropping on a conversation the couple is having. “Hills” actually starts off with introducing the location where the characters “the American” and “the girl” are located, location being outside at a table near a building. As it goes on, the narrator goes straight to the conversation that seems as if it were an unfinished topic they were discussing, the girl and the American’s conversation is about a simple operation that the girl is considering making.

At the end of the story, Hemingway ends it with a cliffhanger leaving the reader questioning about what had just occurred. Many readers would argue that Hemningway did not follow Hamlin’s criteria of a short story. Not even a few lines into the passage Hemingway jumps right into the couple’s moment of tension. As the girl tried to avoid the topic, she had mentioned the hills looking like white elephants and the guy responded back by saying that he had already seen such an image. After having a small discussion on whether or not he had seen the white elephants he later responds with “‘Just because you say I wouldn’t have doesn’t prove anything,’” within this line it is clearly stated that the man of the relationship is already feeling stressed out in regards to their current conversation and about the unfinished topic (line 12-13). The American then starts to act upon his feelings. The story continues with the dialogue between both characters leading it with more tension feelings between them. As it goes on, their problem was mentioned but in a sugar coated form for the reader. “‘It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,’ the man said,” here the reason for the tension was mentioned (line 42). They were not just having a regular conversation, but instead they were having a serious conversation about an operation the girl is planning to have, the operation being an abortion. However, the narrator, as noticed, does not state what the operation really meant. The word operation to the reader could simply refer to any type of surgery done. Therefore, readers are confused throughout the story. For this same reason, many readers do not consider this as a short story. To them the conflict is not clear enough. Going back, as mentioned before, a short story is going from point A to point B in the most quickly matter.

Grace Fleming an academic advisor and writer for ThoughtCo, states that short stories have to consist of the setting, conflict (being the most important one), and climax. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, conflict is defined as, “ to be different, opposed, or contradictory : to fail to be in agreement or accord” (2019). Meaning conflict could mean anything, such as, in this case the tension between both characters causing the couple to not agree on whether or not to follow up with such an operation. Fleming also mentions that tension within a story is very important due to it being created by the problem, not to mention it maintains the reader engaged throughout the story (2019). Within “Hills” it is quiet of a challenge to identify the conflict, the reasoning being that it is unclear. The narrator never specifies what he means by “operation.” But at the very end the reader is able to acknowledge the so called “conflict” being resolved. “‘Do you feel better?’ he asked. ‘I feel fine,’ she said.” this phrase being interpreted that after all the girl did consider the operation and had it done, meaning there was a climax to this short passage (line 109-110). With this being said, for many readers the conflict within “Hills” is unnoticed and the climax may leave them more confused than what they already are, making them believe that it does not qualify as a short story.

Overall, there are writers who make the conflict a mystery throughout the story to the reader, but it is all on them and how they interpret the text. With this being said “Hills Like White Elephants” by Hemningway is considered a short story. This passage contains what a short story consist of which includes the conflict and the resolution in the fastest way possible. Even though the context is complex it keeps the reader wondering and asking what the narrator’s point is which is what maintains a reader engaged.

As the events are happening in Spain, the author used Spanish words in order to emphasize this circumstance, for example, when the man mentions the name of a drink: The girl looked at the bead curtain. ‘They’ve painted something on it,’ she said. ‘What does it say?’ ‘Anis del Toro. It’s a drink.’ ‘Could we try it?’ Anis del Toro is an anise liquor that tastes like licorice. Heavy drinking is featured in many of Hemingway’s stories, often as a means for the characters to avoid underlying issues. In this case, alcohol serves as a means to avoid talking about the girl’s pregnancy both because of its effects and because it offers an idle conversation topic.

The text contains an appeal to the metaphorical symbol of the white elephant: They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry. ‘They look like white elephants,’ she said. ‘I’ve never seen one,’ the man drank his beer. ‘No, you wouldn’t have.’ The expression white elephant is a stable symbol.

A white elephant is something that is costly to maintain and difficult to get rid of, although it is typically also rare and very valuable, complicating the situation for its owners. Any number of things can be referred to by this term, from a palatial home to an extravagant necklace. The word has even inspired a form of gift exchange in which people attempt to get rid of their white elephants by finding other people who might want them. This expression is used as a part of a simile, for example: ‘They’re lovely hills,’ she said. ‘They don’t really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees.’ ‘Should we have another drink?’ ‘All right.’

The syntactic devices used in the text include parallel repetitions, for example, we see the repetition of the word water in the following fragment:

‘I don’t know,’ the girl said. ‘Is it good with water?’

‘It’s all right.’

‘You want them with water?’ asked the woman. ‘Yes, with water.’

Repetition in the text analyzed is used to create a pun based on using the same word please seven times: ‘I’d do anything for you.’ ‘Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?’

Also known as the ‘Omission Theory’, Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory states that the words on a page should make up only a small part of the entire story – they represent the proverbial ‘tip of the iceberg’, and the writer should use as few words as possible to point to the larger story. the unwritten history that lies beneath the surface.

Hemingway made it clear that this ‘missing theory’ should not be used as an excuse for a writer who does not know the details behind his or her story. As he wrote in ‘Death in the Afternoon’: ‘A writer who skips things because he doesn’t know them only leaves gaps in his writings.’

At less than 1,500 words, ‘The Hills Are Like White Elephants’ exemplifies this theory through its brevity and the conspicuous absence of the word ‘abortion,’ despite what is undoubtedly the main subject of the story. There are also several indications that this is not the first time the characters discuss the issue, such as when the woman interrupts the man and completes his sentence in the following conversation:

“I don’t want you to do what you don’t want to…”

“And it doesn’t feel good to me,” she said. ‘I know.’

It is clear throughout the story that the man would like the woman to have the operation, which he describes as ‘terribly simple’, ‘completely simple’, and ‘not an operation at all’. He promises to stay with her all the time, and that they will be happy afterward, because ‘it’s the only thing that worries us.’

He never mentions the woman’s health, so it can be assumed that the operation is not to cure the disease. He also often says that she doesn’t have to do it if she doesn’t want to, indicating that he is describing an elective procedure. Finally, he claims that it is ‘just to let the air in’, which implies an abortion and not any other additional procedure.

When a woman asks, ‘Do you really want to?’, she asks a question that suggests the man has an opinion on the matter—that he has something at stake—which is another sign that she is pregnant.

And his reply that he is ‘quite willing to go through with it if it means anything to you’ does not refer to the operation, it refers to not having a job. In the case of pregnancy, not having an abortion is something ‘to go through’ because it results in the birth of a child.