Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “Hills Like White Elephants” depends on dialogue to display two three dimensional characters and to demonstrate their relationship and the quandary they are experiencing and attempting to solve. A narrative of a couple who are in a dispute over the decision of whether the woman should abort her pregnancy, the work is written perceptively and plainly while dodging any words which explicitly name what the dispute is about. The author similarly uses symbolism, via the story’s setting, to restate the state of affairs. Generally, “Hills Like White Elephants” expresses a multifaceted theme and characterisation through few literary devices.
“Hills Like White Elephants” conveys a story with an virtually by using dialogue nearly exclusively. It looks at a young woman’s dilemma of whether or not to have her pregnancy aborted. In spite of such a difficult issue, Hemmingway merely shows the conversation between the pregnant woman and the father of her unborn child, instead of using backstory or descriptive passages. The speech within the discussion excludes any specific words of the predicament, for example “baby” and “abortion.” In doing this, Hemmingway has provided an elephant in the room, which could in part explain the title.
The words used by the man in the conversation validate that he wants the woman, Jig, to have the abortion. He speaks of the “awfully simple operation” (Hemingway) and says other comparable words that imply that he is flippant about the problem. Additionally, the American’s mentions of Jig’s pregnancy are alike to those about the termination, both of which he refers to as “it.” The man settles that he does not want a child in his life further in the conversation. He says, “But I don’t want anybody but you” (Hemingway).
While the conversation discloses the self-centredness of the American man, it likewise discloses the pensiveness of Jig. Her frequent remarks such as declaring that, to her, the hills look like white elephants, and her viewing the fertile land and saying that “we could have all this,” demonstrate that she is thinking about the problem far more deeply than is the man, who appears to trivialise every element of it (Hemingway).
If dialogue alone is unsatisfactory in endorsing the subject that Jig and the American are covering, Hemmingway presents a range of hints via symbolism within setting of the story. At the start of the story it is apparent that the two people are looking the barren land next to the station. However, Jig then notices that the adjacent side of the station has a wide space of fertile land. This is obviously representative of the options that are open to Jig: to continue with her pregnancy or to have a termination. At the ending of the story, the man moves their bags to the fertile side of the station. Jig smiles at him after this, suggesting that she has persuaded him that they should keep the baby. Still, this is not unambiguously said and is ultimately left to the interpretation of the reader.
Ernest Hemmingway uses dialogue and symbolism to express a complex theme and well-formed characterisation. Aside from these narrative devices, he uses few others to carry out his purpose. “Hills Like White Elephants” is deep, poignant, and displays the author’s talent at its best.
Works Cited
Hemmingway, E. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Scribd. Web. 25 Feb 2012.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/94569/Hills-Like-White-Elephants
