Hills Like White Elephants
"Oh, cut it out!" (Hemingway 171). Could this be the true feeling of the American toward his unborn child? In the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" written by Ernest Hemingway, the two main characters find them selves in a moral dilemma in Catholic Spain. Jig, the protagonist, is pregnant by her lover the American. The American, who is not named by the author, wants Jig to have an abortion but she is not convinced. Both are seated at a train station between Barcelona and Madrid. The two rail lines divide the valley into two very different and opposite landscapes. Interestingly, the reader finds many such contrasts in the story. The dualistic nature used throughout the story by Hemingway is evident not only in the main characters' dialogue, but also in the use of setting and symbols. The train station located between two very distinct landscapes is very symbolic. One side is dry and barren while the other is green and fertile. The American and the girl are both sitting at the station on the dry barren side. It is the American who most likely chose to sit on this side. "This side, the side of the abortion, is the American side. The other side, with its imagery of life and fertility, is the girl's side"
The girl, unlike her lover, draws comparisons to things she observes in her environment. In looking out toward the barren side of the landscape, she sees a line of hills and comments, "They look like whit elephants"(Hemingway1). She is clearly referring to her pregnancy. White elephants, in her view, means that "although you find it worthless, someone else might not"(Justice2). Initially, it is the American who feels that her pregnancy and her unborn child are worthless. She, however, feels quite the opposite. She wants to keep her pregnancy and her child. Regarding the hill, she comments that "They're lovely hills"(Hemingway171). For the hills are "beautiful with the promise of life, and intrinsically of value, as was the highly esteemed Siamese white elephant"(Kozikowski1). Whereas the American looks at objects without very much thought, when she looks at objects, she creates images in her mind of the things that she sees. She understands the symbolism of the two completely different landscapes. When she gets up and walks to the end of the station, "she sees the sharp contrast on the landscape...the sterile, brown country side (the abortion) to her right, and the fertile field (the child) to her left"(Hannum5). As she looks out beyond the Ebro River, she comments, "And we could have
Some common words found in the essay are:
Barcelona Madrid, Whereas American, Initially American, Ebro River, , American American, Ernest Hemingway, Spain Jig, White Elephants, conclusion accepting, oh cut, main characters', short story, white elephants, looks objects, dualistic nature, dry barren, unborn child, train station,
Approximate Word count = 879
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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