...Rational Sentiment: A Formalist Essay on Hills Like White Elephants Rightful choices come whenever the realization of something wrong occuring comes. The various, contradicting dialogues of the characters evident in Hemingway’s literary piece exemplify their baffled minds and frequent loss of reason in seeking for transformation despite the circumstances. The short story focuses on a couple set in Spain who are faced with the argument as to whether she would have the operation or not since according to him, it would be as easy as “let[ting] the air in.” At one part of the text, the man would say, "I think it's the best thing to do. But I don't want you to do it if you don't really want to," where it is clear that he is still giving the woman some options although the American has made his choice final. From the beginning of the story, the American’s decision was made clear to the readers that he wanted no baby, no family, no responsibilities, and only pleasure. Just like what he said, “That's the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy.” It is also seen many times in the text that he would always try to divert the conversation whenever the woman becomes too serious with the issue of abortion so he asks her to drink more beer with him; this line being frequently repeated: "Should we have another drink?" Jig, the woman in the text, had actually took into consideration the idea of giving away her child, as seen in the lines "Oh, yes. But I don't...
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...Literary Analysis: Hills Like White Elephants The story “Hills Like White Elephants” is an incredible short story written by Ernest Hemingway. When readers read this short story, it forces readers to visualize the situation, an attempt to comprehend the dialogue, and infer the concluding symbolization of “Hills Like White Elephants.” Ernest Hemingway style of writing seems to give readers minimal facts; Hemingway does not provide the characters inner thoughts. Also, it is unclear of who said what. Readers have to make assumptions, speculations, and theorize a probable interpretation of the story. The story “Hills Like White Elephants” is written in a first person point-of-view with limited amount of facts and details. However, the title of the story implies the signification of what the story means. Based off the characters dialogue, the characters are presumably young couples struggling with their relationship and moral decisions. The conversation between the two characters seems vague but also neutral in the beginning of the story. However, when readers gather all the responses and organize each character response, the conversation implies a struggle in their relationship. The author tells the readers the man and the woman is drinking “two big ones.” In the middle of the story, the two characters consume more and more alcohol. The supporting of this evidence is when the woman said, “I wanted to try this new drink. That’s all we do, isn’t it- look at things and try...
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...Man VS. Woman: A Literary Analysis Of Conflicts In Two Stories Gena Jones ENG125: Introduction To Literature Instructor: Denya Ciuffo August 31, 2015 Man VS. Woman: A Literary Analysis Of Conflicts In Two Stories In the short stories “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston and “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, there is a very similar conflict of Individual vs. Individual between the men and the women that represents the constant struggle for power in the human relationship. While “Sweat” allows us to see the resolution of conflicts by the end of the story, “Hills Like White Elephants” presents us with these conflicts and does not really give us clear resolution in the end. Imagery and epiphany are techniques used in both stories to give the reader more detail as to the nature of the conflict. Plot as a literary technique is present in “Sweat,” but absent in “Hills Like White Elephants” and this has an impact on the understanding and resolution of conflict in both stories as well. Through careful analysis, I will demonstrate how plot, imagery, and epiphany as literary techniques give depth and meaning to the conflict of Individual vs. Individual in both “Sweat” and “Hills Like White Elephants. In the short story “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, we see a conflict between a lazy man and his hard-working wife. “Sweat” is about a woman named Delia Jones who picks up and launders other people’s clothes to make a living, while her husband lives off of the money she makes...
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...Darren Maracin Dr. Patrick Wasley English 445 20 November 2015 Importance of Theme: Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway After analyzing Hemingway’s Hills like White Elephants, the reader can find that it is not your average story with a beginning, middle, and end. Hemingway does a phenomenal job of forcing the reader to think critically—giving just enough information for the reader to make assumptions and draw their own conclusions. The story itself is centered on a man and a woman having an emotional conversation filled with frustration and misunderstanding. Hemingway’s use of theme is important to this entire conversation between the two characters, and will give the reader more understanding of who the characters are and the situation they are faced with. The three major themes of this work that will be analyzed is alcohol as a comping mechanism, loss, and selfishness. This analysis of theme will also help to reinforce the characters thoughts, feelings, and emotions. American author, Ernest Hemingway, was born in the small town of Oak Park, Illinois in 1899 and died in Idaho, 1961. Hemingway began his career as a writer at the age of 17 for a newspaper office in Kansas City. When the United States entered the First World War, Hemingway joined as a volunteer to the ambulance unit in the Italian army. While serving, Hemingway was wounded, spending time in several hospitals until returning to the United States. When Hemingway returned, he became a reporter...
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...Analysis of Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” In Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants," the decision on whether or not to have an abortion puts strain on the characters’ relationship. The two characters, Jig and the American, have differing views on abortion. Hemingway uses the elements of symbolism and dialogue to portray such a serious conversation in which a major life decision is about to be made. Like the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone sees, but no one wants to acknowledge, not once is the subject of abortion mentioned, but it is implied. The reader must be willing to read what is not there. While most writers set the stage for their readers, Hemingway leaves the interpretation completely up to the reader. This story takes place in 1926 in Spain, a country where abortion was illegal until 2009 (“History of Abortion”.) The fact that the procedure was illegal is probably why the word abortion was never mentioned during their public conversation in the bar. Money is obviously not an issue for the American as referenced to the many hotel stickers on their suitcases and as we know, money can buy anything including medical services. Jig is interpreted as a young and naïve girl, who is struggling with the decision that is laid upon her. The American is interpreted as an harsh, manly man who is adamant during his dialogue about what he wants, even to the point of trying to downplay the procedure by stating that it was an “awfully...
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...anti-colonial movement. The British used to call him the African leader to darkness and death. The story is about a man living and speaking with animals, but the animals trick him, even though they pretend that they are his friends. In the end the man kills the animals. In my analysis and interpretation I’ll be focussing on the use of genre and style of writing and at last I’ll talk about the message of the story. The genre is, as said before, a fable. It is a fable because Kenyatta uses animals to represent what he means. The animals are given human feelings and actions and on top of that they are able to speak and think as humans. He also uses sentences as “once upon a time” and “lived happily ever after”, which are typical fable sentences. It is an omniscient narrator seen from another point of view, which is already seen in the first line, where it says “Once upon a time an elephant made a friendship with a man.” In which none of the characters are described as I or we but described from another point of view. This is also a typical thing from a fable, because it often has a deeper meaning, and therefore everyone should be able to relate to it, which can be difficult when using personal characters. The animals are talking to each other with titles before their names, like; “No sooner had Mr Rhinoceros seen it than he came rushing in, only to find that Mr Elephant was already inside.. “ [7th paragraph line three]. This is a reference to the human world, where we use titles...
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...Journal Two: Identifying Conflict in Two Texts Read About Journals in ENG125: Introduction to Literature for more information about the purpose and expectations for journals. This week, you continue writing your journal entries. This journal entry is designed to help you document ideas about conflicts in literature, which will contribute to the information required for the Week Three Draft and the Week Five Literary Analysis. Recognizing conflict is essential to understanding the various commentaries literature can provide. In Journal One, you identified conflict as it might appear in our everyday world and from other sources. Now, consider the following definition of conflict and how it relates to literature from the textbook or the story/poetry links provided under the requirements for the Literary Analysis: Conflict is opposing actions, ideas, and decisions that hold a plot together...the struggle that shapes the plot in a story. Chapters 1-7 of our text contain a number of stories and poems, each of which rely on at least one conflict. Choose two of this week’s assigned literary works and write about the conflicts presented in each of them. In 250 to 500 words Individual versus Society --- “Still she had come down the road toward the big white church alone. Just herself, an old forgetful woman, nearly blind with age” (para 3.1,2) --- appears to be the main conflict in Alice Walker’s narrative ironically, yet metaphorically named "The Welcome Table”. The...
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...Critical Analysis of Hills like White Elephants At first glance, Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway, may allude to many interpretations, however, the short story has a clear purpose. Set in the Ebro River valley in Spain, the story looms around the issue brought forth by Jig and the American, who is nameless throughout the whole story. The issue here being the ‘simple operation’ that Jig is about to undergo which happens to be an abortion. Set in the early 1920s, the idea of abortion is as irrational and controversial as today’s ongoing debate over gay marriage. Although the term abortion is never used in the story, the imagery Hemingway uses along with the language and behavior of the characters gives way for one explanation – Jig is getting an abortion. Of the many symbols Hemingway uses, the theme of abortion is evident in the white elephant hills that have the “coloring of … skin through the trees” (Hemingway, 1). The white hills, as described in the setting, parallels a pregnant woman lying on her back with the hills being relative to the womb. In addition, the white color of the hills would represent the purity of the unborn child the woman bears. Furthermore, the fields of grain and trees along the river would represent the fertility that the woman embodies throughout the story. Her body being the fertile land on which the white hills were. The trees along the hills being the distorting factor of her mindset on going through with the abortion as the American...
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...Hemingway’s ambiguously ending short story, “Hills Like White Elephants”, a man, referred to as “the American”, and a girl, Jig, sip on drinks at a train station as they talk of whether or not to have an abortion. David Foster Wallace’s short story, “Good People”, portrays a story line similar to Hemingway’s and follows the tumultuous thoughts of nineteen-year-old Lane Dean Jr. as he sits on a bench in quiet with his, equally submersed in thought, pregnant girlfriend Sheri. Writer Nilofer Hashmi asserts in her analytical essay, “’Hills Like White Elephants’: The Jilting of Jig,” that in Ernest Hemingway’s story the girl will go through with the abortion, but the American leaving her. Evidence exists, however, to prove that Jig will in fact have the abortion and the American will stay. Similarly, but entirely contrasting to Hashmi’s assertion, “Good People” insinuates that Lane will ultimately stay with Sheri should she fulfill his predictions and tell him she will raise the baby. Aspects such as whether or not love exists between the couples, the difference between Foster Wallace’s and Hemingway’s depiction and portrayal of the males and females, and symbolism disprove Hashmi’s analysis in favor of the previously proposed scenarios. Whether or not the relationship contains any sort of love separates Hemingway and Foster Wallace’s short stories. Love does not exist between the American and the girl in “Hills Like White Elephants”. Hashmi correctly proposes that Jig, who believes the...
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...February 3, 2011 Critical Review of “Hills Like White Elephants” In the story, “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, we are introduced to two main characters, Jig and the American. From the story, it appears that the couple has been living a carefree lifestyle, traveling around Europe, having a good time together. However, the couple has been faced with a dilemma that has caused much debate over the years. The couple is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy and they are going to Madrid to have the pregnancy terminated. At the time, a burst of air was the preferred method of abortion. It was a dangerous procedure since widespread antibiotics were not yet used. It was done by questionable doctors in secret. Jig is having second thoughts the longer she has to sit at the train station waiting for the trip. Jig appears nervous and insecure in the story. She is nervous about the growing baby inside her. She is nervous about the procedure she is going to have done, if it is going to harm her to the point she will not be able to have children again. Tensions grow as the discussion turns from drinks to the pregnancy, even though Hemingway doesn’t specifically say that is the cause. It appears in the lines, “Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things that you’ve waited so long for”(Hemingway 525) that the woman wants more than what she is being given by the man, as though she feels the man will leave her eventually. She fears the stigma that she...
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...Analysis and interpretation of “Elephant” + different types of endings Part A Polly Clark wrote ”Elephant” in 2006. It is a short story about a man, who writes biographies of female pop singers. He is having a writer’s block in the text and later begins to write false events to the biographies. His wife is also trying to get pregnant. The text is in a restricted third person, which means that the narrator can see everything but only hear the thoughts of one person, the main character William. That also means that we have to guess what the other character thinks, if needed of course. The text mainly contains description, but there is a small amount of dialogue between William and his wife. The narrator finds the events in the story boring and there is not anything exciting about William. The narrator is a bit unreliable because he has pre-interpreted William’s life and therefore describes it the way he does. That could change if it was another narrator or in first person. William is an adult male in his late twenties or early thirties. He is married to a woman named Ginny, who works in an office, maybe as an assistant, and he works as a biography writer. He writes biographies of female pop singers who are still alive, which is not what he would have preferred. He would have preferred to write biographies of male actors, but someone got there first. He and Ginny could live either in Great Britain or in the USA or some third country, but there is nothing in the text to indicate...
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...Analysis of “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe & “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemmingway Analysis of “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe Abstract “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, is a short story about a man named Montessor who gets revenge on one of his “friends” named Fortunado by trapping him and burying him alive. Treatment Setting: Two kinds Plot: Man gets revenge on his “friend” Characters: Montresor, Fortunado, Montresor’s family, and Luchesi Setting: An underground catacomb, somewhere in Italy, during the carnival season Time: Over two days Conflict: For Montresor to revenge himself for Fortunato’s insult, he has to get away with it – if Fortunato can revenge him back, then Montresor has lost. The punishment must be permanent − Fortunato has to feel it, and he has to know it’s coming from Montresor. Resolution: The satisfaction of the death of Fortunado Narrative point of view: First person, Central (Montresor) Literary devices: Repetition- "Amontillado" - This shows Fourtunato's doubt about the wine being Amontillado. Dialect- "I will not impose upon your good will." - The way the character talks suggests that they are in the past and educated. Onomatopoeia- "ugh...ugh, ugh...ugh." - instead of just saying that Fortunato had a cold or was sick, the author used onomatopoeia to show the reader that he had a cough and was very ill. Evaluation At the end of the story The Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar...
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...Nordic Journal of African Studies 14(3): 368–383 (2005) The Yorùbá Animal Metaphors: Analysis and Interpretation ADÉSOLÁ OLÁTÉJÚ University of Ibadan, Nigeria ABSTRACT The paper undertakes a study of animal metaphors in the Yorùbá language with a view to highlighting the stylistic and communicative potentials of these metaphors. To achieve the set objective, the animals – domestic and wild – involved in metaphors and their individual distinctive characteristic features that motivate their metaphorical interpretations are highlighted. The paper also discusses the sources of animal metaphors, which are said to be located in three areas, namely: the Yorùbá naming culture, animal characteristic habits and behaviour, and the Yorùbá poetry. In discussing the metaphorical processes involved in the interpretation of animal-related metaphors, a two-dimensional approach is adopted: stylistic and cultural. In the first, the semantic features of animals involved in metaphors are decomposed into semantic markers that are of two types. The first is the High Priority Semantic Markers (HPSM), which determine the cognitive/conceptual meaning of the metaphors, and the second is the Low Priority Semantic Markers (LPSM), which determine the secondary metaphorical interpretation. Animal metaphors involve transference of meanings, and whatever meanings or interpretations are assigned to a particular animal metaphor, are culture and context dependent. The paper concludes with stylistic and...
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... | |Literary/Informational Comprehension | | | | | | | |Categorize |to place somebody or something in a particular category and |“Categorize the types of elephants discussed in the passage, | | |define or judge the person or thing accordingly |‘All Elephants.’ Describe the main characteristics of the | | | |elephant types using supporting details from the passage for | | | |support.” (IC11) | |Demonstrate |to explain or describe how something works or how to do |“Demonstrate your understanding of the term, ‘capricious,’ and | |...
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...Luke Martino Writing 102 12/9/15 Writing 102 Portfolio Throughout this semester of Writing 102, I have been assigned to write four essays that have stressed the course competencies of subject matter knowledge, writing process knowledge, rhetorical knowledge, genre knowledge, discourse community knowledge, and meta-cognition. Through the process of drafting, editing, and revising three out of the four papers, I think I have been effectively able to absorb three of those course competencies; subject matter knowledge, rhetorical knowledge, and writing process knowledge. The first paper I was assigned to write for Writing 102 was a literacy narrative. For this paper, I was told to write about a past experience that helped influence my current writing and reading qualities. The core competencies that were involved in this essay were writing process knowledge and subject matter knowledge. I used writing process knowledge when I was told to generate ideas for my essay. I began by thinking of five possible ideas and from there I created a brainstorming web out of the two topics I thought would be the most interesting. Shortly after starting, I realized I could only build an effective brainstorming web from one idea. I decided to use the first time I forgot my lines in a play as my main idea for the essay. After I completed the brainstorming web and finished taking notes on what I remembered from the incident I started to follow the writing process that consisted of prewriting...
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