...Carver’s story “Cathedral”, Ernest Hemingway’s story “Hills Like White Elephants”, and John Steinbeck’s story “The Chrysanthemums”. The question is; what is the symbolic meaning behind each of to these story...
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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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...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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...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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...In the short story Hills Like White Elephant , Hemingway unveils important problems of life , family values and decision to make an abortion . Hemingway observes and records human 's behavior and actions of people faced with moral and ethical problems . The use of an objective narrator and the choices of settings and objects support the situation and shape the atmosphere in the story . Thesis Hemingway skillfully uses settings , dialogue and symbolism to develop the story conflict Using specific settings , Hemingway depicts psychological and emotional state of the characters . The main setting is a bar by a train station It is possible to assume that the train station symbolizes future changes in lives of both heroes . The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade , outside the building (Hemingway Dark ' colors usually means evil , loosing hopes and disappointment and more important life and death . Hemingway depicts this situation metaphorically : the American and the girl are sitting in the shade trying to find the right decision to their problem . Following David Wyche interpretation , The station is situated between two sets of rails , whose significance lies "in their figurative implications (Renner 34 cited Wyche , and between two contrasting landscapes that symbolize the couple 's options (Wyche , 2002 , . 56 . It is associated with one or another of the main thought-feelings of the story : abortion verses a new life To some extent , the use of settings...
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...Professor Lynda Lambert English 102 5 November 2013 Hills Like White Elephants In “Hills like White Elephants”, the main character’s dilemma serves at the symbolic setting of the story. By giving the reader just enough information in the form of using symbols, Ernest Hemingway’s concept gives readers an opportunity to draw deeper meaning from the tale. He focuses on symbolism to deliver the idea of an abortion as the main point. Jig, the main character, struggles with the decision to continue her pregnancy or continue her hard-nosed lifestyle with the American; this is represented by describing two different scenerios of the railroad tracks. “Hills Like White Elephants” is the title Hemingway uses as a symbol for Jig’s pregnancy. A rare, expensive possession that is a financial burden to maintain is defined as a “white elephant”. “On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun” (Hemingway 591). The complicated decision of abortion plagues Jig and the American, even though the term “abortion” is not found in the story. From the symbolic interpretation of the setting, there are only two choices, or two directions, similar to how there are only two rail lines that pass through the station. (Rankin 1). However, the situation is regarded in separate viewpoints from both characters. “Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the building and a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads...
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...The Use of Narratives and Its Effect on Stories The use of narrative view are important for an author. It determines how the reader interpret the story and ultimately understanding the theme. In the work of “Hills Like White Elephant” Ernest Hemingway uses third person objective point of view to present the conflict of a young couple over the difficult decision of whether to have an abortion. In comparison to Hemingway’s work, “Great Falls” by Richard Ford, tells the story of the breakdown of the parents’ relation through the eyes of the protagonist Jackie. The authors of the two short stories use these different points of view, to allow the reader understand the overall themes of the stories; which are the essence of a good story. “Hills Like White Elephant” begins with the description of the setting. Soon the narration leads to the two characters, the American and his girlfriend, Jig. Their conversation begins at the bar beside the train station, where momentarily they will head towards Madrid. The conversation, however, is not an enjoyable one. The couple argues about an “operation” that Jig will receive when they arrive at Madrid. After an intense debate, the woman agrees to have the operation (Hemingway, 661-665). “Great Falls”, on the other hand, through first person narrative, takes the reader back to the protagonist’s childhood, to one incident which his parents are facing a break up in their relationship. After a hunting trip with his dad, Jackie realizes...
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...Hemingway’s short story Hills Like White Elephants I think that the focalization is omniscient even though it is easily interpreted as external focalization and here is why. The point of view switches easily from a bird view and very detailed description of the landscape surrounding the train station, then narrows down to the main characters The American and The Girl/Jig's dialogue and also finally (though very briefly) into both character's thoughts and minds at the end of the story. The narration shows just the tip of the ice berg and leaves a lot of interpretation to reader (SparkNotes. (2007). Hills Like White Elephants. Retrieved 24/9 2015, http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/hills-like-white-elephants/section2.rhtml) and this in some ways leaves the omniscient narrator deliberately restricted, because he does not want to show too much of the setting and ruin the suspense of the story for the readers. That is the reason why it is so hard to take any of the two character sides throughout the storyline. The plot and how the two main characters interact with each other illustrate very stereotypical gender roles. The American is shown as a strong, unbending, independent, masculine and static character, while the Girl/Jig is helpless, confused and literally dependant on The American who speaks Spanish, but she is more of a dynamic character in my opinion thanks to her realization in the later part of the story (Murfin, Ross, and Supryia M. Ray 2003:52-53). The internal author...
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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...
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...Hills Like White Elephants The words left unspoken, sometimes scream louder than what is said. In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants”, the writer, Ernest Hemingway displays this so beautifully and intricately. He does this by using dialogue between two characters that are facing turmoil, but handle this in the most poise nonchalant manner. Ernest Hemingway illuminates the fragile state of a relationship that endures one of the worst decisions. The author displays the emptiness and confusion of a relationship that is threatened by the decision to keep an unborn child. What isn’t said between the two characters is what screams the loudest, a woman seeking to please her partner, a relationship doomed to fail by the selfishness of what is best for two future parents and not the child. The distress is clear, but not the affection between the two. In the beginning of the story it is hard to tell what type of relationship these two have. Very quickly it becomes very clear between these two characters that not only are they in a relationship, but also their relationship is suffering some sort of stressful situation, from the very beginning. This is not displayed by anger, or intense heavy...
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...thoughts and feelings. It is the reflection of art and performance of the social life. Fiction can reflect specific social phenomenon by creating a significant character. Hawthorne shows us all kinds of social phenomena in the society and a variety of characters, especially in his own work Rappaccini’s Daughter to develop a lifelike image of women. He explored through the interpretation of their respective fates, women with a variety of personality types living in a variety of circumstances. His unique style specializes in psychological description and reveals his characters’ inner conflict. Fiction can use various symbols to imply real things happened in the world. Hemingway’s short story--- Hills like White Elephants fully reflects his unique and classic writing style. The story seems simple, but actually artful. Hemingway captures the essence of the plain dialogue of usual life, so a reader may be under an illusion that he was present at the site of the story. And he adds sentiment into concise language. In Hills like White Elephants, the perfect symbolism about 'white elephant' and the characteristic ending constructed by Hemingway further gives prominence to his ability in language Fiction can warn people by using conflicts and comparison. Lady with Lapdog exemplifies the author's subtle yet powerful style, as Chekhov is economical with language and never says more than he needs. He conveys emotional complexity in just a few words, thus preserving the intensity...
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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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...Weekly Short Written Statement: “Hills like White Elephants” First of all, I want to mention that I was kind of confused after reading the short story. After reading it a second time, I decided to do some research. In found out that the story is about a potential abortion. Of course, I understood that they talked about an operation but I didn’t realize that this kind of operation was meant. Moreover, I was even more confused because the girl drinks a lot of alcohol throughout the whole story. That also goes together with the so-called Iceberg Theory. According to Hemingway, stories communicate more between the lines instead through the actual written story. However, I guess it is quite hard for some readers, especially for those who read Hemingway for the first time, to identify his intentions....
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...This is to certify that the project report Marketing Strategies for Northeast India Tourism submitted by Amit Gill, Gaurav Bisht, Savpreet Ramana, Shivam Kohli & Sumit Vyas students of MBA 1st year bonafide work carried out by them. During their tenure at the project, they were found to be sincere and meticulous in their work. I appreciate their enthusiasm & dedication towards the work assigned to them. I am hopeful that they will prove to be a good professional and wish them grand success for the future. Date: 3 April 2013 i|Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The success of any research study depends upon a number of factors among which the proper guidance from the experts in the industry and a faculty plays an important role. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to many people. This Project is an effort to contribute towards achieving the desired objectives. In doing so, we have optimized all available resources and made use of some external resources, the interplay of which, over a period of time, led to the attainment of the set goals. We take here a great opportunity to express our sincere and deep sense of gratitude to Dr. Girish Jaswal for giving us an opportunity to work on this project. The support & guidance from Sir, was of great help & it was extremely valuable. We express our sincere thanks to all the people who, directly or indirectly, contributed in time, energy and knowledge to this effort. ii | P a g e Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...
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...Literature goes beyond life "Literature goes beyond life. It is art; it is an imaginative creation that can tell truths gracefully, subtly through narrative, poetry and the movement of characters on a stage. Any imaginative act suggests possibility, and this is another reason to continue studying literature" (Florence Dee Boodakian). Literature has been the most influential art in the history of man. It passes down information from one generation to the next and unites all people from different places with a diverse culture. For examples, in Shakespeare, Walker, and Frost's works, it teaches and inspires us in lots of ways; emotionally, spiritually and intellectually. It also initiates change throughout our lifetime. It affects how people live and see the world in a bigger picture; another example of Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" it inspired and touches the hearts of many, that heritage is what binds one’s culture. Literature instills the skills needed by an individual to analyze critical things, to make a significant impact and differences in their lives and future. Literature is not a repository old scrolls and tomes, but great laboratory where the relation between man and the environment has been analyzed, experimented with and redefined over the history of civilization. The act of reading literature can change and shape how we perform and study things. Literature is the expression of oneself and the social life and thoughts through language that resemble one's heritage...
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