Hills Like White Elephants

Ernest Hemmingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" is not a story in the clasical

sense with an introduction, a development of the story, and an end. We only get some

time in the life of two people, as if it were just a piece of a film where we have a lot do

deduce. This story does not give everything done for the reader, we only see the

surface of what is going on. It leaves an open end, readers can have their own ending

and therefore take part in the story. A masterpiece of external narration, there seems

to be no focal point in the characters. One must only here what is said, not what is

thought by the two main characters, the American and Jig. Hemmingway's third person

narrator takes an objective position outside of the characters, thus providing a look from

an third person point of

. . .
Everything in the tale is related to the idea of fertility and

barrenness. This emphasizes the contrast between the pregnancy of the woman, as

being fertile, and everything around them. She adds that everything

tastes like licorice, especially the things that one wants for so long. Here we

can see that she wants to keep the baby, and she knows that once she has the

abortion, shewill never be able to get the child back. It could in contrast mean "the train of life".

"Hills Like White Elephants" is an interesting view at one couples strife in dealing

with an issue that are faced by many couples, abortion. This reinforces

the idea of lack of life, but in contrast, they are in the warm shadow of the building

where life is. This implies that

when one waits for something for a long time, for instance a relationship, once it is

obtained, it looses the origional appeal. Most people are afraid of

change, as this couple, since movement is not always forward, but can also mean

moving backward, as in their relationship.

The first impression one will get when reading the text is that one is in

the middle of a dry, barren place under the sun, with no shade or trees.

One can see that the story setting is in Spain, but one does not know the final

destination of the train which they are awainting. We do not even know if they really

take the train. Since

Jig orderes "Anis", wanting to try something different, she may be contemplating a new

relationship or a new experience in life.

The limited time in which the train will be stopping, two minutes, symbolizes the time

that Jig has to make her decision since she cannot risk her health in waiting for a long

period of time. But, when she tastes the Anis, she complains

that is tastes like licorice, a very common, nonexotic flavor.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 845
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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