In the story ?gHills Like White Elephants,?h Ernest Hemingway provides significant roles in setting to communicate his theme of fertility and abortion. In his very short story, he does not directly tell readers that the couple is waiting for a train to have an abortion, but describes the detail of landscape and environment in which the event takes place. His use of setting and description of it help us understand what the story is about.
The description of the hills represents fertility. The story begins with the narration of the scenery that is seen from the place the characters are at. Looking at the line of the white hills in the sun, the girl illustrates it as ?gwhite elephants?h (324). The rise of hills resembles the swell of a womb; and a white elephant, which is an idiom of a useless or unwanted thing, represents the unwanted baby growing inside the girl. By likening the character to the scenery: white elephants, Hemingway conveys the girl?fs pregnancy.
Hemingway meaningfully explains the
The use of a train station supports the couple?fs serious situation, contributing the author?fs idea. The man and the girl are talking about an operation, and their decisions apparently seem to be met. Although the girl agrees to have an abortion first, she truly does not want to. In contrast to what she tells the man about her decision, we recognize she is gradually welling up her love for her unborn baby as a mother when she says, ?g They?fre lovely hills?h (325). Nevertheless, only because she wants to keep her relationship with the man, who does not want to lose his vacation-like lifestyle, she tells him to have an operation. Neither of them really listens what each says. Such conversation is similar to the train station tracks because trains run parallel and never meet. Moreover, the time at the station plays a significant role in their situation. According to the story, the couple is taking the express. This suggests that there is a very short time that the girl can change her mind. Hence, th
Some common words found in the essay are: Ernest Hemingway, train station, , white elephant,
Approximate Word count = 676
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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