A comparative analysis of the use of literary techniques in hills like white elephants by ernest hem
The white elephant is something that is both rare and sacred, as it is also essentially useless. It is a symbol of their lives spent traveling, something so cherished, but ultimately has only surface value. They are those hills like white elephants. The symbolism Ernest Hemingway creates does not come sparingly in “Hills Like White Elephants.”.
Their luggage has "labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights. Given their seemingly free style of living and their relish for freedom, a baby and a marriage would impose great changes in their lives.
Literary Analysis About “Hills Like White Elephants”
Everything in the story indicates that the man definitely wants the girl to have an abortion. Even when the man maintains that he wants the girl Women in prison essays have an abortion only if she wants to have one, we question his sincerity and his honesty.
When he says, "If you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to," he is not convincing. From his earlier statements, it is obvious that he does not want the responsibility that a child would entail; seemingly, he strongly wants her to have this abortion and definitely seems to be very unresponsive to the girl's feelings.
Hills Like White Elephants
On the other hand, we feel that the girl is not at all sure that she wants an abortion. She's ambivalent about the choice. We sense that she is tired of traveling, of letting the man make all the decisions, of allowing the man to talk incessantly until he convinces her that his way is the right way. He has become her guide and her guardian.
He translates for her, even now: Abortion involves only a doctor allowing "a little air in. However, for the girl, this life of being ever in flux, living in hotels, traveling, and never settling down has become wearying. Their life of transience, of instability, is described by the girl as living on the surface: The man is using his logic in order to be as persuasive as possible.
Without a baby anchoring them down, they can continue to travel; they can "have everything.
How is Symbolism Portrayed in Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants?" | YoExpert Q&A
With or without the abortion, things will never be the same. She also realizes that she is not loved, at least not unconditionally. Thus we come to the title of the story. The girl has looked at the mountains and has said that they look "like white Essays about hamlet as a tragic hero. The girl, however, has moved away from the rational world of the man and into her own world of intuition, in which she seemingly knows that the things that she desires will never be fulfilled.
Literary Analysis About “Hills Like White Elephants” free essay sample - New York Essays
This insight is best illustrated when she looks across the river and sees fields of fertile grain and the river — the fertility of the land, contrasted to the barren sterility of the hills like white elephants. She, of course, desires the beauty, loveliness, and fertility of the fields of grain, but she knows that she has to be content with the barren sterility of an imminent abortion and the continued presence Disability essay conclusion a man who is inadequate.
What she will ultimately do is beyond the scope of the story. The fields of grain and trees represent fertility and fruitfulness, which symbolize her current pregnant state and the life in her womb.
Speech abortion is murder
The Ebro River also represents life, as it germinates the fields. After an exchange of words with the man she again looks at the scenery, but this time in a different way, as the following sentence illustrates: As she considers his point of view she looks at the dry side of the valley, which is barren and sterile, symbolizing her body after the abortion. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights. The American apparently wants this abortion because he wants to keep his current lifestyle.
An Outline of a Literary Analysis of Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”
The bags with all the hotel labels on them are symbolic of his vivacious spirit. If the woman goes ahead with the pregnancy, he would have to settle down and raise a family, which would mean forgoing his youthful desires of seeing the world. There is no resolution and there is no decision stated regarding the abortion. This story was not only intended for the pleasures of reading, but also though provocation.
Hemingway has intentionally left the readers to conclude for themselves what will happen next. Maybe lay off the meth next time you write a book Hotel front desk receptionist cover letter, chief.
Hills Like White Elephants by Violet Bolstridge on Prezi
But when you think about it in the way Hemingway would have, then you get into the deeper things, lik his looking up and then back down would show that he has no care for her, the water and greens show life and the dryness shows death. The story is chock full of symbolism and as a result quite thought-provoking.
Thus the argument between man and woman, abortion or no abortion, carefree lifestyle or family. This is meant to be interpreted many ways.
Post navigation
To say there is a right and wrong way of interpretation in this case is naive. I thought it was about an abortion, but was it a parent and a child …. The character of the woman in Hills like White Elephants is less assertive and persuasive. She is unclear about what she wants and needs, and she is unable to make up her mind.
She is unfamiliar with the language of Spain. She is seen as a victim of the American man. She looks like a woman forced into having an abortion against her will. She is unlikely to encounter even the limited insight and empathy that a well-intentioned, loving man might provide alone with the American.
She could also expect a wide variety of assistance if she did choose to raise a child on her own. She wants to accept the new identity of being parent, while he wants to reject it.
How is Symbolism Portrayed in Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants?"
The symbols in this story are vague leaving much to interpretation and imagination for the reader. These symbols from the story are the hills, white elephants, and the railroad station.
The hills symbolize big obstacles that she must climb, but they are not enormous mountains.