Jigs decision in ernest hemingways hills like white elephants essay

In fact, the two great stylists of twentieth-century American literature are William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway, and the styles of the two writers are so vastly different that there can be no comparison. For example, their styles have become so famous and so individually unique that yearly contests award prizes to people who write the best parodies of their styles. The parodies of Hemingway's writing style are perhaps the more fun to read because of Hemingway's ultimate simplicity and because he so often used the same style and the same themes in much of his work. From the beginning of his writing career in the s, Hemingway's writing style occasioned a great deal of comment and controversy.

The fertile valley and the hills represent the unborn baby — the potential for life. She mentions these hills and looks over to them many times, whereas the man refuses to acknowledge them, ignoring her when she initially brings them up.

The presence of the beaded curtain shows that she does not agree with him.

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Furthermore, while she is perfectly aware she speaks of the white hills metaphorically, he takes her literally; they do not operate under the same mode of thought. Throughout the story, the American behaves according to the traditional idea of masculinity: He avoids directly voicing his opinions, but when pressured collapses, oversimplifying the operation and relentlessly pushing her to have it.

Her nickname, Jig, subtly indicates that the two characters merely dance around each other and the issue at hand without ever saying anything meaningful.

Although her mind is constantly changing as it receives new information, she still is being pressured to make a decision while under the influence of his persistent attempts to control her. Jig is very much like the following comment made by Hemmingway on the s, when the story was published: The age demanded that we dance And jammed us into iron pants.

Hills Like White Elephants Thesis - eNotescom

And in the end the age was handed The sort of shit that it demanded. Audre Hanneman, Ernest Hemingway: Princeton University Press, By the end of the story, Jig seems to understand that her relationship with the American has effectively ended, despite her earlier professed desire to make him happy.

Imagery and symbolism are common themes throughout this story. Liquorice is a popular sweet, but in medicine it used to induce vomit.

Compare and contrast Great Falls and Hills Like White

This sort of duality runs throughout the text. Here, Jig speaks about how everything possesses two natures: One not able to exist without the other. The curtain appears at the beginning of this scene, when the American orders the drinks.

At the end of the forty minutes, it is implied the train has come to pick them up. This too has a hidden meaning: Like the coming of the train, if she decides to abort the baby, there is no turning back.

The train will keep on going just as her life will keep going; but will she ever be the same? He looked up the tracks but could not see the train. Coming back, he walked through the barroom, where people waiting for the train were drinking… He went out through the bead curtain.

She was sitting at the table and smiled at him. He is still uncertain as to whether she will in fact go through with the abortion, but lets his opinion be known by taking their luggage and setting it by the tracks to be loaded on the upcoming train.

He looks up the tracks, waiting for the train that is supposed to come, but does not see it. When the American comes back into the barroom, he hopes that Jig has made a decision, preferably in favour of the abortion, but when he reaches her she has still not made up her mind.

For instance, the Anis del Toro is a drink that is illegal in many countries because those who gorge themselves on the drink can, and probably will, die of alcohol poisoning. This overemphasis of the number two could inspire two different readings. Jig is still weighing the possibility of becoming a mother because she has not yet made a decision as to whether she will abort the baby or not.

The overuse of two is definitely symbolic within the story. Even though these elephants were beautifully ornate and were given as great gifts, the upkeep is atrocious. Basically the cost and care for the white elephant would supersede the actual joy of receiving it.

Both the American and the girl drink alcohol throughout their conversation. They start by drinking large beers the moment they arrive at the station. Then, as soon as they begin talking about the hills that look like white elephants, the girl asks to order more drinks.

Although they drink primarily to avoid thinking about the issue at hand, readers sense that deeper problems exist in their relationship, of which the operation is merely one.

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The girl implies this herself when she remarks that she and the American man never do anything together except try new drinks, as if constantly looking for new ways to avoid each other. By the end of their conversation, both drink alone- the girl at the table and the man at the bar- suggesting that the two are winding down their relationship and will soon go their separate ways.

How to cite this page Choose cite format:are, "Hills Like White Elephants," a symbolic story concerning abortion and choice, and Take Nothing, which is a volume of his short stories.

Ernest Hemingway"s "Hills Like White Elephants" is . Hills Like White Elephants "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway, is a great example of women's role in the last century.

The story is told in a simple form of dialogue between a man and a young woman nicknamed Jig. Jun 23,  · In the “Hills like White Elephants” Jig and the American man are speaking code while waiting for a train out of Spain. The speaking of the code between the younger female and the older man is about having an abortion.

Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” Essay Sample The short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway seems absurd reading it for the first time. It is a story of an American man and a woman who are discussing about some things while waiting for a train bound to Madrid at a train station in the Ebro Valley.

Hills which are like white elephants represent a belly of a pregnant woman. Introduction In "Hills like White Elephants" Ernest Hemingway doesnt give us the straightforward information.

Rather, he gives us some info by using symbols, so that readers can derive a deeper meaning of the story by themselves. Title: Moving to the girl's side of `Hills Like White Elephants'. Created Date: Z.