...The Future Lies Just Beyond the Hills Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” uses symbolism to draw the reader beneath the tense, yet cryptic dialogue about a forbidden choice: Jig’s impending decision to abort or bear her unborn child. It is a topic so intensely personal and scandalous for its time that it cannot be discussed in explicit terms. In fact, the word “abortion” is never even spoken. Yet Hemingway literally paints the picture of a divided landscape capturing the intense internal struggle raging in the heart of young Jig. Symbolically sitting at a train station between “two lines of rails in the sun,” (Hemingway) Jig must decide which direction she will head. Her decision will be final, and there will be no turning back. The train heading home will mean the birth of her child and a future of being a mother. “The express from Barcelona” (Hemingway) heading to Madrid will allow her to continue a carefree life and forget her unborn child ever existed. The dilemma is complicated, but her options are not. To abort or not to abort, there is no middle ground. They are tracks which will never cross. Her male companion, who we know only as “The American,” is pushing Jig to have the abortion, but for Hemingway this is not a political debate, it as deeply private human struggle. “Abortion” is never mentioned. It is only alluded to through the couple’s cryptic dialogue. The American assures Jig “It’s not really anything. It’s just to let the...
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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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...In “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway (1927), the theme is overcoming challenges during major life decisions and the importance of communication and courage during a time of crisis. A few of the symbols in the story were hills, white elephants, and a railroad. This was a story of a couple’s struggle with a life changing decision to have or abort a baby. As they both sat at a train station, they discussed the American’s desire for an abortion and Jig’s want for the pregnancy. She gazed in the distance at the hills on one half of the valley, which were dry, hot, and lifeless. “The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry.” I feel this may have symbolized the couple’s challenges, Jig’s fear of her dead baby, being barren and the American’s desire for their lives to remain the same, stationary, and permanent (or the permanence of a baby). The hills on that side of the valley were compared to white elephants. White elephants are an ironic symbol of an awkward topic needing to be discussed and/or a useless gift. In the white elephant game, a gift is given as a joke and may be of no use to the recipient. As the American and Jig continue to discuss their wishes with the pregnancy, Jig sees the other side of the valley and it’s hills. They are described as alive, growing, and full of life. I feel this is a symbol of Jig seeing this crisis as an opportunity, life, growth, and a renewal for what seems...
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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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...Kelley Douglas Literature 2120 Essay 2 April 5, 2015 I chose to write about Jig in Ernest Hemingway’s story “Hills Like White Elephants”. Jig is struggling with her values and beliefs regarding a pregnancy that her boyfriend is unhappy about. During the story it is evident that Jig is being pressured to have an abortion. Her boyfriend tells her that, “it’s really an awfully simple operation”, (Hills Like White Elephants, Hemingway). Her reply is nothing. She simply looks at the ground. To me that shows she is struggling inside. During the story she questions her boyfriend as to whether they will be happy after she has the abortion and will everything be ok. It is obvious that she is grasping to find a reason not to have the abortion. She tells him that she no longer “cares for herself” and is going to have the abortion and “then everything will be fine.” (Hills Like White Elephants, Hemingway). It is difficult for me to relate to this character because I cannot imagine choosing to have an abortion to make someone happy. Part of this assignment is to compare to someone that may have fought a similar battle. I did some research on forced abortion and found that “lack of emotion support” (abortionfacts.com) was a high risk category of women who feel they have been forced into have an abortion. Going further into the story by Hemingway it is obvious that Jig wants to please her boyfriend and has not regard for herself or her unborn child. She becomes angry with...
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...Ernest 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,...
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...overcome it or learn from it if it cannot be resolves. It express the hardships and struggles from the experiences of the writer that reader can establish connections or may acknowledge it as a worldly or personal crisis. In short story, “Country Lovers” by Nadine Gourdime and “Hills Like White Elephants” by Elswell Hemmingway, both centers around the conflict that involves the issues of forces that may threaten to end love relationships in way both couples didn't want, by exploring the use of literary techniques such as symbolism, climax, and setting. Both stories deal with forces that is causing a love crisis between each other. The theme in “Hill Like White Elephant”, the couples are dealing with the topic of their unborn child and abortion and in “Country Lovers” focus on the love of childhood friends that turn into sexual curiosity that is against society rules and expectation between blacks and whites. Hills Like White Elephants, the whole story is consist of dialogue between a young woman who is nicknamed “Jig” and the unnamed American lover, trying to talk to each other but neither are listening or viewing each other point of views. The “white elephant” symbolizes to Jig's unwanted pregnancy that in her perspective, is proving to be a unwanted gift but precious because of her statement about the setting she residing in where the “hills” located in Eros across a valley that “look like white elephants” are “lovely”, which enlightens the statements to be more of something...
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...I chose the story "Hills Like White Elephants," by Ernest Hemingway. The reason I chose this story is because it was complex and confusing at first. I first thought it had to do with sex. I then realized they were talking about an abortion, Or at least I think. This story shows and describes the topic of gender role. The author does not reveal the source of conflict between the young man and young woman in the story, but it is implied that the conflict is centered on the decision of abortion. The goal of the man in the story is to convince the young woman to have an abortion procedure. The goal of the young woman is to do whatever it takes to make her partner happy and thus preserve their relationship. The young woman in the relationship is definitely the "giver," while the man is definitely the "taker." The woman, Jig, shows herself to be very dependent upon her male counterpart throughout the story. She asks for his input on even the simplest of tasks, such as the choice and number of her beverages. She asks him, "What should we drink? ...Should we have another drink? ...Is it good with water?" Her behavior can be interpreted to be a sign of insecurity more than anything else. Jig trusts his judgment, feels secure in his company and seems willing to do anything to keep him around. When pushed on the issue of the operation, Jig shows no real concern for her own health or mental well-being, stating categorically, "I don't care about me." Jig's main concern is whether or...
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...1 Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie CHAPTER I CHAPTER I CHAPTER II CHAPTER II CHAPTER III CHAPTER III CHAPTER IV CHAPTER IV CHAPTER V CHAPTER V CHAPTER VI CHAPTER VI CHAPTER VII CHAPTER VII CHAPTER VIII CHAPTER VIII CHAPTER IX CHAPTER IX CHAPTER X CHAPTER X CHAPTER XI CHAPTER XI CHAPTER XII CHAPTER XII CHAPTER XIII CHAPTER XIII CHAPTER XIV CHAPTER XIV CHAPTER XV Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie 2 CHAPTER XV CHAPTER XVI CHAPTER XVI CHAPTER XVII CHAPTER XVII CHAPTER XVIII CHAPTER XVIII CHAPTER XIX CHAPTER XIX CHAPTER XX CHAPTER XX CHAPTER XXI CHAPTER XXI CHAPTER XXII CHAPTER XXII CHAPTER XXIII CHAPTER XXIII CHAPTER XXIV CHAPTER XXIV CHAPTER XXV CHAPTER XXV CHAPTER XXVI CHAPTER XXVI CHAPTER XXVII CHAPTER XXVII CHAPTER XXVIII CHAPTER XXVIII CHAPTER XXIX CHAPTER XXIX Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie Project Gutenberg's Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, by Andrew Carnegie This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie Author: Andrew Carnegie Editor: John C. Van Dyke Release Date: March 13, 2006 [EBook #17976] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ANDREW CARNEGIE Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie ...
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...English-Russian Idioms Last updated: March 3, 2003 Please take a look at the important information about the copyright. Do not remove it. © 2000-2003 Natalya Belinsky All Rights Reserved This copy of the document was provided by the author for Educational Project FluentEnglish ( http://www.fluent-english.ru ) You have the royalty–free right to use this document as you wish. You are free to quote, copy, distribute or publish this document, but please DO NOT REMOVE this copyright information. No warranties of any kind are made to you as to this document or any medium it may be on. No liability is assumed by the author or Fluent English project for anything including but not limited to indirect, consequential, punitive or incidental damages; incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data; transcription errors; a computer virus; computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. Please send your comments, corrections and contributions to the author: natalya.belinskaya@fluent-english.ru IDIOMS Natalya Belinsky 2 ИДИОМ Ы Наталья Белинская От составителя Думаю, любому человеку, сталкивавшемуся с необходимостью освоения иностранного языка в пределах, чуть превосходящий уровень школьной «тройки», приходилось иметь дело с выражениями, представляющими на первый взгляд полную абракадабру, хотя все слова вроде бы известны. Это кажущееся несоответствие значений слов смыслу фразы обуславливается, скорее всего, одной из двух причин: либо в данном выражении имеется какой-то...
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