hills like white elephants

HillsLikeWhiteElephants2.Characters1.BackgroundContents3.Symbols4.Theme5.Summary1.Background•“HillsLikeWhiteElephants”waswrittenbyErnestHemingwayandwaspublishedin1927inabooktitled“MenWithoutWomen.”1.Background•Hemingwayusesastylethatanalystscallthe“IcebergTheory.”Thisisveryevidentin“HillsLikeWhiteElephants.”Hishardfactsfloatabovethewaterbutmostofthesupportingstructure,filledwithsymbolism,operatesunderwater.2.Charactersheroine•Jig,atendergirl,pregnant,dependentontheAmericanmanandlosthercouragetofighttotheendtogivebirthtothebabyunderstrongpressureofmalelead•Thegirl’spsychologyexperiencesthreestages,atbeginning,sheborewithexpectationandwantedtopersuadethemantothinkabouttheunbornbaby,suchas,shewaseagertoconveythatthebabymightbegivenlifebydeliveringthathills(death)likewhiteelephants(life),however,afternumerousrejections,shewasbecomingdisappointed,finallyhopeless.hero•TheAmericanman,dominated,selfish,hypocriticalandirresponsible,triedeverymeanstopersuadeJigtohaveanabortion.•Healwaysstressedthattheabortionwasjustasimpleoperationandtheycouldownhappinessonconditionthatsheacceptedthisoperation.Wecanseethatthemanisveryhypocriticalanddesperatetoescapehisresponsibility.•Themanalsohadexperiencedpsychologicalchanges,fromevadingthefacttoindirectlyexpressingthathewasn’twillingtotakeresponsibilitytobeafather.3.Symbols•Hills:theroundedenlargementofthegirl'sstomachwithababy•WhiteElephants:Awhiteelephantisalargelyuselessobjectthatmaybeexpensivetoownandmaintain,accordingtooneofitsdefinitionsinstandarddictionaries.FromtheperspectiveofJig,oneofthehillsmayrepresentthelifestyleofherandtheAmerican.•RailroadTracks:Railroadtracksrunsidebysidebutnevermeet.Thus,theycouldsymbolizetherelationshipofJigandtheAmerican.3.Symbols•AnísdelToro:ThisrepresentstheexcitementtheAmericanoffersJig.Butitfailstostirher.•LiquoriceandAbsinthe:Thisrepresentsthesweetandbitteroflife.•Baggage:Thisrepresentsthepast,whichisthesameasthefuturetotheAmerican.Whenhepicksupthesuitcasesandcarriesthemtotheothersideofthestation,heisindicatingthathewantstocontinueasbefore.4.Theme•Theword“abortion”neverappearsinthestory,buttheconfusionandstrugglebetweenthelinesletusknowhowhardforthegirltochoosewhethertobornthebabyornot.Thesituationtheyoungcouplefacedwasmorethantodecidewhethertodothisoperationbuttoshowtheirvalueoftheirlife.4.Theme•Firstistheineffectivecommunicationbetweenthem.TheAmericanwasdominantintheirrelationship,andtheylackedequalcommunicationandrights.•Secondly,fromtheirdialogue,wecouldreadthattheman’sselfishnessandmanipulation.•Lastly,confrontingthebaby,theAmericawasreluctanttoresponseforthegirl,soitrevealedtheman’sevasionofresponsibility.5.Summary•HillsLikeWhiteElephantsisastoryaboutrelationshipbetweenamanandawoman.Itshows“Hemingway’sabilitytocriticizethetypeofegocentricmanculimitythatconsiderthewomanandherbodyasmereadjuncttohisowndesires,andtopresentthefemalesensibilityfromasympatheticorpotentiallysympatheticperspective.”•Thestoryistalkingaverysensitivetopicatthattime,becauseofthat,Hemingwaydoesnotuseawordofpregnantorabortion.Hemingwayisgoodat“IcebergTheory”.Inthisway,theshortstorydoesnotdiscloseeverything.ThankYou!