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Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

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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 new drinks?” Continuous alcohol consumption can signify an immediate scapegoat of some kind emotion or event. In the beginning of the story, Hemingway hints the readers an inference of a struggling relationship. The man and woman argue,
“They look like white elephants,” the man replies “I’ve never seen one” She replied “No, you wouldn’t have.” Suddenly, the man responds with a questionable remark. The man says “Just because you say I wouldn’t have doesn’t prove anything.” At this point, the characters conversations might lead readers puzzled. However, the conversation connotes some type of experience. The man’s response to the woman seems defensive and possibly argumentative.

The Hills like White Elephants signifies an abortion

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