The narrative elements in a story are a large consideration of plot, conflict, climax, resolution, and dialogue. Theme is not just a plot or a summary of a story. It tells one what the story talks about. Theme is a representation of what lies behind the story. In order for one to identify the theme of the story, there is a need to look beyond the plot. When writing a story, the characters, actions, and other elements make it come alive, and it can be broadly recognized.
Plot
In the short story, “Hills like white Elephants” the plot is as follows; the main characters are: the girl and an American man. They sit outside a hotel under a warm shade. Jig and the American man have been sleeping in the hotel for several nights. They are asking for beer a bottle after the other while watching football.
They are holding a conversation. It is about abortion. The man is encouraging the girl to abort. He even tells the girl that they witness people who aborted and are living happy lives. He is trying to show the girl how easy it is for abortion to take place. He is telling Jig that being pregnant makes them unhappy. According him, he takes care of the girl by doing this. His insincerity has significantly contributed to fulfilling the theme of the story. He is telling the girl that, this is to make him and her live a happy life (Clugston, 2010).
This conversation shows that the girl is in a dilemma. Therefore, when the man sees that his girl is not into this idea of abortion, he tells her that she can do it if it is out of her will and that he is not forcing her to do it. Her answers to the questions that the American asks her show her frustration with him.
Her strength is the one which can help her resolve the dilemma. The girl ends up not supporting the idea of abortion which frustrates the American man (Gates, 1996). The way these two people have been asking for beer throughout the story is to try and take away stress. This conversation, however, has not ended with a conclusion.
Character
Characters in stories have different behaviour, which forces the fullness of the theme. Characters of the involved people in the story affect the narrative theme. The conversation between the two characters has a great effect to narrative theme in the short story “Hills White like Elephant”. Jig’s sarcasm, which expresses her feelings when the American praises abortion, establishes the theme of the story. Also, frustration of the girl when she is in a dilemma on what to do about abortion has helped to build the theme of the story.
Symbolism
In this story, the distant hills symbolize a place of escape. They always remind her about consequences of any decision she can make. This helps in building the theme of the story. The hills were traditionally a symbol of beauty while they are now not symbolising beauty according to the girl. This affects the theme of the story. Also, setting of the story helps to identify the theme. In this story, the setting is in a hotel which clearly builds on the theme of the story. They are drinking beer to relieve their stress on abortion.
References
Clugston, R.W. (2010). Journey into literature. Ashford: Bridgepoint Education.
Gates, H. L., & McKay, N. Y. (1996).The Norton anthology of African American literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
The short story by Ernest Hemingway “Hills Like White Elephants” can be regarded as one of the best examples of the use of the iceberg principle and the role of landscape symbolism. The author manages to reveal the development of the woman’s character without revealing her ideas and thoughts. All the reader has is the landscape and the dialogue. The author depicts a short episode from a couple’s life.
The man (the American) is trying to persuade the woman named Jig to undergo an operation. The woman hesitates as she wants to start a new life which is meaningful and complete. The woman soon becomes reluctant to continue the conversation. She focuses on the landscape to avoid talking about the matter.
The author does not reveal the decision made by the two. The conversation stops abruptly. However, it is rather clear that the woman makes up her mind. The author makes it clear that the woman undergoes some important changes during this short conversation.
The Iceberg Principle and the Landscape Symbolism
The iceberg principle makes the story really expressive. The author manages to say about the two people’s conflict without mentioning the exact reason of the argument. Likewise, the author never explicitly depicts the woman’s thoughts. He does not even describe her actions. There is a kind of motion picture which enables the reader to see the facts. Ironically, this specific incompleteness makes the reader clearly see the change that takes place in the woman’s head.
First, the woman tries to discuss the situation and she keeps asking: “Then what will we do afterwards?” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 230). However, soon the woman stops arguing: “Can’t we maybe stop talking?” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 231) These words signal that the girl needs to think.
She is focused on her own thoughts and she does not want to let the man in her world. She simply gazes at the hills thinking over the issue. The author does not depict her face. He does not reveal her thoughts. However, it is clear that the woman manages to make up her mind. Her nervousness is gone as she knows the right answer to her questions. Her smiling at the end of the story suggests that she has made the decision, which has nothing to do with the man’s arguments or his desires. She is calm and content.
Apart from intensity achieved with the help of the famous principle, the author makes use of landscape symbolism to reveal the change in the woman. Thus, she looks at the “line of the hills”, and the hills are “white in the sun” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 229). The hills perform several roles.
However, in the first place, the hills can be seen as the symbol of pregnancy. Thus, the pregnant woman who is trying to make up her mind looks at the hills and sees white elephants as her mind returns to the issue over and over again: “They look like white elephants” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 229).
On the other hand, the white elephants can be regarded as the woman’s own world. They can be seen as her way to escape from the necessity to make the difficult decision or even the necessity to talk about it. In fact, Jig starts speaking about the white elephants to start some kind of talk. She knows that the conversation is inevitable, but she wants to postpone it making the man think of other things. She starts their conversation with a rather bewildering phrase: “They look like white elephants” (Hemingway, 1927, p.229).
She continues referring to the hills throughout their entire conversation. The woman is trying to avoid speaking about the matter: “The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 231). The woman tries to plunge into the world of calmness and beauty. She admires the majestic hills which make her feel better. Whenever she looks at the hills, she becomes more confident and she starts seeing things clearer.
Furthermore, the white hills can be regarded as a sign that helps the woman to make the right decision. The landscape is so right. It is so calm and easy. There is nothing more natural than the view of the beautiful hills. The woman “looked across at the hills on the dry side of the valley” and this is the moment she understands everything (Hemingway, 1927, p. 231).
This is the moment when the woman gets enchanted by the calm beauty of the hills. This is the moment when she changes. She becomes confident and she understands that she does not want to listen to the man. She wants to feel what is really important. She wants to take in the power of the majestic hills.
Thus, the landscape plays rather essential role in the short story as it inspires the woman to make the right decision. The reader can also follow the changes taking place in the woman’s character. Obviously, the landscape is the symbol of nature and natural things like having a baby.
The pure beauty of the hills makes the woman feel better. She finally understands: “There is nothing wrong with me” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 231). The landscape makes the woman solve the issue. The woman accepts her mission in this world. She is ready to make her choice and make her life meaningful.
Remarkably, the author enhances this idea of the rightness contrasting two pictures. The woman inevitably compares her present life which is nothing more but looking “at things” and trying “new drinks” and her possible future life filled with meaning (Hemingway, 1927, p. 230).
The bags symbolize her present and hills symbolize her possible future. The girl makes up her mind and her decision is clear. The man is preoccupied with the bags taking them “over to the other side of the station” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 232). However, the woman keeps looking at the hills. She definitely chooses the meaningful life. She is going to let the man go if necessary. She is committed to start a new better life which is as majestic as the hills resembling white elephants.
Conclusion
To sum up, the short story is one of the finest examples of the role of landscape symbolism and Hemingway’s iceberg principle. The author does not say explicitly what the problem is. This makes the story more expressive. The reader is free to make any conclusions and evaluate the problem in any way. This freedom makes the short story so strong.
More importantly, the author uses really expressive symbols. The hills (the nature itself) make the woman change. Thus, a carefree girl having a meaningless life turns into the mature woman who is ready to make the right decision and to feel her life with meaning. The reader can trace the change which is taking place in the woman’s character. The hills which are calm and pure make the woman strong and committed.
Reference List
Hemingway, E. (1927). Hills like white elephants. Web.
Subtext and understatement in Hemingway’s works play a significant role, “Hills Like White Elephants” is one of the examples. The story centers on a conversation between an American and a girl at a Spanish train station while waiting for a train to Madrid. The dialogue represents the tip of the iceberg, as, at first glance, it seems like an ordinary, sometimes tense conversation. The couple indirectly discusses the “operation” that the man wants the girl to do, and this operation involves an abortion. The style is exact, telegraphic, so the story’s tone is relatively dry, sometimes the author even avoids the remarks. Behind these laconic dialogues, there is a whole story of relationships in which a bitter truth is hidden.
The images found in the story are significant; they help draw some analogies, plunging into the story of two people. The description of nature precedes the dialogues, and in the first paragraph, the Ebro Valley is presented. It symbolizes two ways of life, one is aimless hedonism, which the couple pursued on the road, resting, trying something new. The other represents life not only for their own pleasure but also for others, for their child. Comparison of hills with white elephants is significant and symbolic, as it suggests motherhood. Motherhood in this situation does not bring joy, the analogy with the idiom “white elephant” is observed, which means something burdensome and complicated.
“They look like white elephants, she said. I’ve never seen one,” the man drank his beer. No, you wouldn’t have. I might have,” the man said. “Just because you say I wouldn’t have doesn’t prove anything.” (Liternet, 2021)
The unwillingness of a man to understand, support and simply immerse in thoughts with the girl can be traced. Conflict over white elephants metonymically replaces conflict at a deep level. “But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you’ll like it?” (Liternet, 2021) After this remark, white elephants do not appear in the novel, but the quote, passing from the dialogue into the title, acquires the qualities of a “metonymic concept,” expressing the idea of loneliness.
The choice of a narrative mode shapes the way in which readers perceive the actions of the main characters. This paper will include an analysis of two short stories, namely Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway and A&P by John Updike. These literary works exemplify different story-telling techniques which enable the writers to achieve various goals. Overall, it is possible to say that these authors are able to choose an approach that best fits their purposes. This is the main point that should be discussed more closely.
First, it should be mentioned that these writers use different story-telling techniques. In particular, Updike relies on the first-person narration. The readers are prompted to look through the eyes of a teenage clerk, Sammy, who works at an A&P supermarket.
The main advantage of this approach is that the writer can throw light on the inner world of this character. For instance, this story-teller seems to be a cynical person. At first glance, one can say that he despises other people who he regards as slaves. Nevertheless, it is possible to argue that this first impression is very delusive.
For instance, the narrative indicates that the protagonist desperately wants to produce a favorable impression on the girls who enter the A&P store. Moreover, it becomes evident that Sammy is a romantic or even naïve individual. One can say that the first-person narration helps the writer to illustrate the conflicting motives that drive the behavior of the protagonist. Additionally, this character represents a wide group of young people who chose to rebel against the consumer culture.
In his turn, Ernest Hemingway takes a different approach to story-telling. He relies on the third-person objective narration which means that the writer does not speak about the thoughts, emotions, or attitudes of the character. To a great extent, readers are prompted to reach their own conclusions about the plot and characters.
Hills Like White Elephants can be viewed as a good example of this technique. In this case, the text of the short-story is mostly a dialogue between the two characters. The author does not try to evaluation the actions or arguments made by the protagonists. Additionally, the readers can only make conjectures about the subject which the characters discuss. For instance, one can suppose that the man tries to persuade the girl to undergo some form of surgery, probably abortion. However, one cannot say it for sure.
The main detail is that Hemingway refuses to make any comments about the relations between these characters. This use of third-person objective narration enables the writer to intrigue the readers and arrest their attention. The main advantage of this method is that it helps the writer to pose thought-provoking questions to the audience. For example, one can reflect on the future relations between the two characters. This is why the use of the third-person objective narration is quite justified.
Thus, these examples show how different narrative modes can be applied. In particular, John Updike’s use of the first-person narration is critical for describing the inner world of an adolescent who cannot adjust to the consumer culture. In turn, Ernest Hemingway’s approach is critical for engaging the readers who are prompted to think about the motives that underlie the words or actions of the main characters. These are the main issues that can be identified.
The author has embraced the use of dialogue in the short story extensively as one way of plot advancement. Throughout the story, we read the conversation between the man, the girl, and the woman. The author advanced his story by the creation of discussions among the three characters at the railway station while they were waiting for the train to arrive. Their communication develops from the time the story begins and continues through to the end of the story. This dialogue contributes to the development of the plot as it shows how their communication advances and how they can express their views and opinions.
Through communication between the girl and the man, we can perceive that the environment they are living in is hopeless and there is no brighter future ahead of them. The use of expressions like “hills like white elephants “enables us to realize there is desperation in the minds of the girl and the man. The expression implies that similar to white elephants, their hopes do not exist. The fact that the man and the girl are restless at the railway station and continue to drink while waiting for the train shows they are impatient due to delays in their transition to the next step. This shows they are tired of being where they were and need some changes.
The author has used dialogue in the short story as a way to break the monotony of narration hence making the story more interesting. If this story was to be acted, it would be entertaining due to the presence of the dialogue whereas if it were to be read, the conversation between the man and the girl would make it lively and entertaining.
Through the use of dialogue, we understand the characters in the story and we can predict their next behavior. We learn the girl as being short-tempered when she angrily asks the man to shut up by saying” Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?”
The author has successfully portrayed the girl as being sarcastic in the way she answers the man. As compared to normal communication, it is great sarcasm to be answered the way the girl does to the man. She repeatedly gets back at the man using the same words the man uses. For instance when she says “I don’t care about me” she puts it in a way that sounds so sarcastic but with a great expression of her intentions that she does not care whether anything happens to her or not.
The girl is arrogant and seems to be so frustrated that she even feels there is no need to be humble and calm. She addresses the man with great contempt and also asks him to shut up. When she is told to do it, she seems to be on the defensive side and it looks like she has been greatly disappointed.
She is very temperamental towards the man and does not hesitate to express her anger and frustrations with the man. Even though they have spent many nights together she can not restrain from unleashing her anger at the man by asking him to do her a favor by shutting up. It is very unfortunate that instead of her enjoying the company of the man while waiting for the train, she feels he is a bother to her and deserves to keep silent.
The girl is inquisitive and does not let anything pass her notice without seeking clarifications when she keeps asking the man all sorts of questions about what she does not understand. For instance, she asks’ Then what will we do afterward?”, “What makes you think so?” and she seems not satisfied with any answer given to her.
Eudora Welty curved the figure of a real woman in the character of Phoenix Jackson, an old woman striving to take care of her grandchild. Her love is seen through her struggles to ensure she gets drugs for her grandson. Phoenix is courageous enough to go through the woods alone towards the drug store to get treatment for her grandchild. She encounters great threats like the hunter who threatened her with a gun. Despite the many animals she encounters in the woods like the wild dog, she does not retreat home but forges her way to make sure she gets to the drug store. Even though her grandson had been suffering for several years, she has the strength to attend to him and ensure that he gets treatment. Phoenix is an optimistic lady who even though her grandson is sick, hopes to get treatment for him. She leaves him at home and goes on a long journey to seek treatment and while there keeps hoping that the drugs will heal the child. Even though the grandson has suffered for a long time and struggled with the disease, she never gives up and continues to visit the doctor and the nurse to get treatment for him. This is not the first time she is visiting the doctor and keeps hope alive that one day her sick grandson will recover.
She is an illusionist and talks to imaginary creatures by warding off animals and talking to them as though they understand her. Her mind is preoccupied with images of ghosts and when she sees a scarecrow she thinks it is a ghost. The fact that she talks of the grandson who exists in her mind alone but is absent from the story, is a clear indication that either old age or senility has overcome her.
Eudora Welty managed to devise a critical approach to the use of symbols in her short story that has elaborate literal and practical illustrations. To her, the title “A Worn Path” is an image used to indicate that the story is about dejection and devaluation due to continued use. A path that is constantly used has to be smooth and easy to walk on but in this context, the path is torn due to long time usage and most importantly with total negligence. The author tries to explain how society has rejected and abandoned its responsibilities like parenting and provision of basic needs. The absence of the son’s parents without an explanation of where they are shows how careless and irresponsible they are to their duties. This symbolizes the abandonment of parental roles to other people while the parents are in pursuit of a professional career or income. The name Phoenix is about a tale of a sacred Egyptian bird that moved from Arabia every 500 years to Heliopolis and sacrificed itself then resurrected young and beautiful. Phoenix thus represents this bird that sacrificed its life for the sake of future generations. She can not walk without the use of a cane made from an old umbrella symbolizing how poor she was. The nickel that Phoenix picked from the man who dropped it and from the nurse which she gladly appreciates symbolizes desperation and poverty that has rocked society to an extent that a valueless item is magnified to have great value. The endless trips to the doctor to seek treatment for the grandson symbolize the constant attempts aimed at ensuring the future generations are protected and preserved at all costs by those who have these responsibilities.
The writer of this short story has managed to use language in a symbolic manner that has portrayed the real issues that surrounds the life of human beings.
Even though the short stories Hills are Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway and Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell are not related, in the formal sense of this word, both of the mentioned works of literature nevertheless explore essentially the same theme.
This theme can be formulated as follows: One of the reasons why there is much more misery in the world than there could have been being that the world’s unofficial ‘rulers’ (rationally minded White men, obsessed with trying to impose their dominance upon everybody else) are much too intellectually arrogant. In this paper, I will explore the validity of the above-stated at length.
Hills are Like White Elephants
Ernest Hemingway (1899 –1961) is considered one of America’s most prominent literary figures. Throughout his life, Hemingway never ceased adopting a strong stance on the issues of socio-political importance, while going as far as taking part in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Spanish legitimate government, which at the time was opposed by the fascist rebels. Through the final years of the WW2, Hemingway worked as a journalist in London and Paris.
Hemingway’s literary legacy is rather extensive – it accounts for seven novels and six collections of short stories, which are being marked by the author’s adherence to the ideals of progress and tolerance. As of today, Hemingway’s literary masterpieces are being commonly referred to, as such that contain several in-depth insights into what account for the qualitative aspects of the relationship between men and women.
In this respect, the short story Hills are Like White Elephants appears especially exemplary. After all, it is specifically the idea that, as compared to what it happened to be the case with women, men are differently ‘brain-wired,’ which represents the novel’s focal point. The validity of this suggestion can be well illustrated, in regards to the fact that, throughout his conversation with Jig, the American never ceased exhibiting the signs of being thoroughly arrogant.
For example, while trying to convince Jog that she should decide in favor of abortion, the American believed that the best way for him to address the task would be concerned with trying to appeal to his girlfriend’s sense of rationale: “You don’t have to be afraid. I’ve known lots of people that have done it” (Hemingway 476).
It never occurred to him that it was not the prospect of facing any physical danger, which Jig considered the most upsetting thing about the suggested surgery, but the fact that it would result in killing her unborn child. In its turn, this implies that there is indeed much of a difference between how men and women address life-challenges.
Whereas, while reflecting upon the surrounding social reality and their place in it, men are innately driven to establish the dialectical links between causes and effects, women prefer to rely on their acute sense of intuition, in this respect. As Jig noted: “I just know things” (Hemingway 477). Therefore, it can hardly be considered appropriate that, during the conversation, the American continued to insist that he knew how Jig should have handled the situation – solely by virtue of having been a man.
Essentially the same can be said about the existential attitude, on the part of the American, reflected by this character’s tendency to avoid addressing life-challenges, as opposed to facing them directly. The allegory of the ‘white elephants,’ contained in Hemingway’s story, substantiates the validity of this suggestion: “Jig: I said the mountains looked like white elephants” (Hemingway 475).
Given the fact that the American disregarded this Jig’s remark, this can be well seen as such that that provides us with an insight into the workings of his psyche. The American tended to think that the unfamiliar things are, by definition posing a certain danger. In its turn, this betrays him as a typical egocentric White male, who was naturally tempted to objectify women as somewhat inferior beings, quite incapable of thinking rationally (Anderson 1350).
Therefore, it does not come as a particular surprise that there are many unmistakably tragic overtones to Hemingway’s story – after having been exposed to it; readers inevitably conclude that it was only the matter of time before the American would leave Jig.
Shooting an Elephant
George Orwell (1903 – 1950) is considered one of the 20th century’s most influential British writers. Throughout his life, Orwell continued to travel extensively around the world, which in turn prompted him to come to the idea that, when implemented practically, many of the otherwise well-meaning political ideologies (such as Communism) tend to backfire.
As of today, Orwell is mainly remembered for his world-famous anti-utopias 1984 and Animal Farm, in which the author showed what happens when a particular totalitarian ideology attains the dominant status within the society.
Nevertheless, the author’s literary legacy contains several short stories, as well. Many of these stories are concerned with criticizing the notion of a ‘white man’s burden,’ as has been reflective of the White people’s mental fixation on the idea of domination (Kovel 60).
Orwell’s short story Shooting an Elephant, stands out as a perfect example, in this respect. In it, the author has gone to a great length, while expounding on what used to be his colonial experiences in Burma. Having been stationed there as a police officer, Orwell was expected to act as a well-respected authority figure, in charge of maintaining law and order among the dark-skinned locals.
In its turn, this required the author to be willing to exercise a ‘naked’ physical force continuously, as the mean of ensuring that the thought of disobeying their British masters would never get into the heads of the people in question. Therefore, even though Orwell did not want to be sent on an errand of killing the unruly elephant, he nevertheless could not refuse.
The reason for this is that, had he done otherwise, the Burmese would begin to doubt his professional adequateness, as a ‘natural-born’ master: “And suddenly I realized that I had to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly” (Orwell 3).
This, of course, implies that, contrary to the conventions of the early 20th century’s colonial discourse, the fact that Britain was able to build a vast empire, had very little to do with the country’s claim that, by colonizing the ‘savages’, it was allowing the latter to enjoy the ‘light of civilization’ (Pennycook 25). Rather, the colonial success of Britain reflected the British colonizers’ emotional comfortableness with coercing the colonial subjects to obey under the fear of punishment.
To make this fear particularly acute, the British did not have any other choice but to inflict pain and suffering upon others, just for the sake of doing it. This highlights the symbolic significance of the novel’s scene that describes the death of an elephant: “I fired a third time. That was the shot that did for him. You could see the agony of it jolt his whole body and knock the last strength from his legs.
But in falling he seemed for a moment to rise, like a huge rock toppling, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree” (Orwell 4). Apparently, besides aiming to disturb readers emotionally, the above-quoted also implies that the price of Britain’s colonial prosperity was causing others to suffer, as something that had a value of a ‘thing in itself.’ And, as psychologists are aware of, only the extremely arrogant individuals do not have any moral objections against indulging in this specific activity.
Conclusion
I believe that the earlier provided line of argumentation, in defense of the idea that the novels Hills are Like White Elephants and Shooting an Elephant is concerned with exploring the motif of arrogance, is fully consistent with the paper’s initial thesis.
It is indeed the case, which is why both of these novels are considered intellectually enlightening – they do provide readers with insight into what brings negativity into the lives of a great many people – namely, the fact that, as Hemingway and Orwell illustrated, some individuals cannot help acting arrogantly. Thus, it is thoroughly explainable why even today; the discussed novels appear to be just as actual, as it was the case back in the thirties.
Works Cited
Anderson, Warwick. “The Trespass Speaks: White Masculinity and Colonial Breakdown.” The American Historical Review 102.5 (1997): 1343-1370. Print.
An opinion regarding the short story Hills like white elephants, written by Ernest Hemingway, has been ambiguous from its first publication until now. It pictures a girl and a man at the train station, waiting for their train and entertaining themselves with drinks and conversation (Hemingway, 1927). At first glance, the story might appear like a casual conversation between two travelers. However, while the dialogue and writing do not contain any difficult language constructions and literary expressions, it is challenging to perceive the message conveyed by the author. Notably, that was one of the main reasons for the story’s poor initial reception – many critics failed to understand what the story was about (CliffNotes, n.d.). The author deliberately withdraws himself from the story, leaving little to no clues about the character’s emotions and thoughts. Thus, readers are motivated to read more carefully and familiarize themselves with Hemingway’s hints and methods. As a result, individual interpretations might vary, but abortion remains the most popular (Study.com, 2021). The girl’s fears and doubts contrast with the man’s confidence and reassurance attempts, resulting in a substantial dramatic context behind the casual conversation.
Hills like white elephants and other notable Hemingway works illustrate the application of the so-called iceberg theory. He stripped everything but the essentials from his novels and stories, leaving readers on their own with the remaining dialogue and narrative pieces. Analogically to how behind the tip of an iceberg, visible above the ocean surface, hides a great mass of ice, Hemingway’s work conceals genuine tension and drama (Sparknotes, n.d.). Such an approach to writing contradicted the established technique of providing excessive details or addressing readers directly (Cliffnotes, n.d.). Nevertheless, the contemporary reader managed to adjust to the reading, realizing the value and bringing deserved attention to Hemingway’s work.
Back at the time of a given story, the topic of abortion was far more controversial than the iceberg theory. The girl in Hills like white elephants feels great uncertainty facing such a decision, and many readers can sympathize with that fact. Across the lifespan of an individual, everyone has to face hard decisions sooner or later. For instance, considering my single day, I might struggle with the choice of appearance. While a walk to the grocery store does not imply any substantial conditions, events such as a potential part-time job interview or date already establish certain requirements due to social expectations. The more respectful the position is, the more official my look is expected to be. In the meantime, a date, especially the first one, does involve a factor of impression I can make on my potential partner.
In a broader scope, a month or a year, I can struggle with the strategic planning of a budget. Depending on my current income, I have to set priorities and define what is necessary and what is optional. Undoubtedly, it becomes easier for me to discipline myself as I grow older. However, correctly distinguishing the “wants” from “needs” has always been and will be tricky on certain occasions.
Finally, a decision regarding the life vocation that hides behind the choice of my future employer is perhaps the most challenging decision I can make. The decision itself might not take that much time – the submission of a resume can be made with the click of a button. Nevertheless, this click embodies all the days, months, or even years I spent thinking about it during my everyday routine.
References
Hemingway, E. (1927). Hills like white elephants. Web.
Ernest Hemingway and David Foster Wallace’s short stories are very similar because they raise the same topic, use the setting of nature to convey mood, and tell similar stories. However, the characters of “Hills Like White Elephants” and “Good People” have different paths to making the decision. While both couples decide in favor of abortion at first, Jig and the American man are guided by their feelings and romantic relations, while Lane and Shari are pressured by their religious principles.
At first glance, Hemingway and Wallace’s stories have many similarities, since they tell about a couple facing the issue of unwanted pregnancy and abortion and use the setting to convey mood. In both cases, men are more worried about the likelihood of becoming a father, although girls also have many doubts. Both men also do not force their women to undergo the procedures, and the word “abortion” is not mentioned directly. Both couples decide to have an abortion after a tense and uncomfortable conversation at first, although the decision does not seem final. At the same time, in Hemingway’s story, the hot and dry plain and white hills are described to convey the tension of the situation (253). Wallace uses a more pleasant landscape, but a fallen tree in the water and “its ball of exposed roots going all directions” add gloom to the scene as well as the emptiness of the park (para. 1.). Consequently, the stories share common characteristics that make them very similar in many ways.
However, one can observe significant differences in the relationship of couples and circumstances that impact their decision. Lane and Shari are both religious people who have been in a relationship for a short time. They both feel guilty because they violated the prohibition on intimate relationships before marriage and decided to make the more serious sin of abortion in terms of religion (Wallace para.3). At the same time, Jig and the American man are guided by their feelings and happiness of free life to decide (Hemingway 255). At the same time, although Jig does not mind becoming a mother, she is afraid that such a decision will ruin her relationship with the man. For this reason, the choice for Lane and Sheri seems more complicated, since both options have more severe consequences for either career and the future or the fundamental principles of their life.
In addition, the difference between couples is the feeling of love that guides them. Jig agrees to the procedure to keep the relationship with the man the same, and they both openly talk about love for each other (Hemingway 255). At the same time, although readers do not know how this situation will affect the characters, they can conclude that Jig agrees for the sake of love. At the same time, Lane and Sheri are considering having an abortion because Lane does not love Sheri, and the girl cannot oblige him to stay with her because of the baby (Wallace para.5.). However, in Sheri’s final decision to keep the baby and Lane’s subsequent doubts, they demonstrate that refusal to abortion can be their way in the name of love (Wallace para.5 ). Thus, while love plays a central role in both situations, it leads the characters’ stories to different endings.
Thus, the analysis demonstrates that although the authors use the same theme for their stories, the characters’ development is significantly different due to the feelings and beliefs that guide them. Jig and American man make decisions based on their vision of happiness, while their religious principles influence lane and Sheri. At the same time, love has different effects on couples, although it is central to decision-making.
Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. Simon and Schuster, 1995.
Wallace, David Foster. “Good People.” The New Yorker, 2007, Web.
In ‘Hills like White Elephants’, the author has extensively used dialogue and setting to address a personal and emotional situation. The short story revolves around a couple and one other woman at a train station. The three characters engage in dialogue to express different feelings towards an issue under discussion. The setting of this story is given as small campsite or a restaurant located near a hill and next to a railway station. The setting of the place also seems perfect for the discussion that the couple had. In this essay, the researcher seeks to determine how the author’s minimalist and obtuse approach enhance the theme presented in the story.
Dialogue is one of the widely used literary devices that most authors use when building up a theme. The dialogue between the girl and the man brings out an emotional feeling between the two. It may be easy to say that the two are in love. This is especially so when the girl says, “I love you now. You know I love you” (Hemingway 477). However, there is a twist to this love that is presented through this dialogue. The man is trying to make the girl do something that will make both of them happy.
He is using love to get what he wants from the girl. He says, “And if I do it, you’ll be happy … and you’ll love me” (Hemingway 477). The theme that comes out of this statement is misuse of love. The man is using love to find her way with the girl. The girl reminds him that she loves him even before doing it. However, he insists that the act will be the only way of demonstrating the love, and that it will generate a strong bond between the couple forever.
On the side of the girl, her statement brings out another theme that may be described as reckless love. She is convinced that she is in love with him and doing it will not change much about their relationship. However, she is willing to do what he wants simply because it will make him happy. She fails to look at some of the possible consequences of such actions.
In fact, the girl deliberately fails to put the man to task about some of the possible outcomes of their actions, and the man takes a great advantage of that fact. The author uses their dialogue to paint the picture of how the American youths always make mistakes at the early stages of their lives simply because they are not willing to put to task the people who mislead them. Hemingway uses the girl to demonstrate this.
The lavish lifestyle that is common among many Americans is also presented as a major theme in the dialogue. At the beginning of the story, the girl tells the man, “Let’s drink beer” (Hemingway 475). The couple, through their dialogue, confirms the fact that they love lavishness and the fantasy of being able to own everything. The setting of the story also helps to present the theme. The statement ‘hills like white elephant’ is a simile. The girl could be referring to a possible pregnancy that may be the outcome of their planned act. What is strange is that she seems not to fear the hills like white elephants. This demonstrates that she is comfortable with the pregnancy should it happen to be the outcome of their action.
Work Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. Hills Like White Elephants: Short Story. Toronto: HarperCollins, 2014. Print.
The life of any person is paramount, the subsistence right is legally protected. The story “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway illustrates a situation where two partners have different visions of their future. The setting has a symbolic implication, emphasizing the contradiction of the characters’ views. It is used to demonstrate the stalemate in the couples’ relationships – the necessity to choose between an abortion and a breakup.
The train station where the action takes place serves as an indication of the relationships’ status. It is not the ultimate destination, but a base point. Therefore, the reader feels that the characters are in two minds. The decision they are to make is, indeed, vital. It is not just the question of where to go, but the one of whether to continue their relationships or not. The dichotomy that exists between the barren valley and the white hills signifies the girl’s options -giving birth or having an abortion. The brown emptiness of the station suppresses the young woman. Her restless strolling is followed by some vague remarks about the mountains that “looked like white elephants” (31).
The male protagonist is an American. The author portrays him as an intelligent man, who speaks, at least, two languages – English and Spanish. The American is capable of taking a hold on both himself and the situation – despite being confused, he still manages to keep a straight face. This character shows great skill and diplomacy while trying to force the girl to terminate her pregnancy. On the one hand, he says that “If you don’t want to you don’t have to. I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to” (55). On the other hand, he does his best to persuade her that the operation “is perfectly simple” (55).
The female protagonist is the girl. Unlike the American, she expresses less certainty. The young woman shows some reluctance discussing the operation. Yet, she says, “I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me” (64). The reader understands she is disconcerted when she cannot order drinks. Despite her desire to please the American, the girl seems to realize that even if the operation is performed, their relationships will hardly remain the same. This inner contradiction makes her say: “Once they take it away, you never get it back” (81).
The white elephant embodies the unborn child. The narrator uses it as a symbol of something unwanted. In the beginning, the girl claims that the hills “look like white elephants” (9). However, after the man’s speculations on the forthcoming operation, she suddenly changes her mind saying that the hills appeared to look like white elephants, but, in fact, they do not. Here the reader gets a hint that she might keep the baby. Finally, the girl cries out: “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” (98). This exclamation gives strong grounds to suppose that the girl is likely to keep the baby, even though this step will lead to her breakup with the American.
The story enlightens the important question of choice and responsibility. It brilliantly illustrates the entire complexity of a decision-making process. The author does not give any judgments, supplying the readers with an opportunity to reflect upon the matter and to make their own conclusions.
References
Bain, Carl E, Jerome Beaty, and J. Paul Hunter. The Norton Introduction To Literature, New York: Norton & Company, 2014. Print.