"Hills Like White Elephants" Literary Analysis Essay

Hills like a white elephant is a short story that was written by Hemingway Ernest in the 20th century to be specific in 1938. The story revolves around a poetic issue of a couple that is still young and is in the plan of terminating a pregnancy. The word abortion has not been mentioned anywhere in the text but Hemingway has tried to use some literary aspect, imagery, and settings to bring forward the inner meaning and message behind the story. The real story tell takes a brief period but the message brought forward is much bigger than itself. An American girl, 'Jig' stands outside a stop station for trains in Spain, she is trying to figure out a course of action after facing an unexpected pregnancy.

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The focus of the entire story is on the pregnant Jig, therefore, bringing in the topic of abortion through the use of different images, scenes. Hemingway reasons to create this story and the character was probably influenced by the reflective feelings he had on abortion or even seems like the look and behavior and the nature of human beings on how we go against what we stand for or is meant for us and ending up doing undesired things just to make someone be satisfied in place of our dignity. The man titled as 'The American is the only protagonist in the story, and Hemingway is trying to bring his personality in a less flattering way as compared to Jig, this is evident when he is insensitive to Jigs feelings despite the kind word he uses in the story. Different opinions may come up from the man's character, for instance, an argument can be created that the man leads up to being someone who has his interests and cares only for himself and that can be a good reason to why he has not been given a correct first name in the story like jig.

The few first lines of the story introduce the tense atmosphere that is reflective of the whole story, and one can have a clear outline of what the entire story is all about. The first case of imagery in the introduction part of the story is the Hemingway introduction of background of the story as quoted 'The hills across the valley of Ebro were long and white, on the sides there were no shades nor trees, and the station was situated between two rails with the couples setting the table under s shade in the station. The two rails that passed the station symbolizes that the two characters had only two choices and direction from which they are expected to decide as they are on the verge of making a very fundamental decision drastically. The girl seemed to be towed caring for the man to the extent of her as a character had to be adamant about two choices. The environment of the location, the landscape plays a symbolic role whereby when the girl sees the hills, she says that the look like a white elephant. The white elephant in the story is a metaphor for a very highly rated and expensive financial burden that she will be facing throughout her life. The white color of the elephant symbolizes the innocence and the unborn child. It indicates how innocent the unborn child is and does not deserve any harm.

The girl also admires the rest of the scene s she stands up, walks through the station to the end, she notices that across the other end of the station were plantations of grains and trees on the banks of the river Ebro, far away from the river she sees mountains. A shadow of clouds moved across the river and the grain fields. The field of grains in the story represents fruitfulness and fertility probably between the couples to signify the ability to conceive. The Ebro river represents life as it is the primary reason for the existence f the field of grains and the trees along its banks. The girl appreciates the scenery and the interference of shadows and clouds trying to connect the beauty and the nature of the scene to her unborn child. The thought of the clod and the shadow represents the thought of abortion which overcomes her happiness. The American man is for the idea of terminating the pregnancy as everything she says is focused on persuading the woman to accept his opinion. The girl looked across the dry side of the valley, and the hills as the man look down at the table. The girl looking at the dry side of the valley brings in connection with how her body will be after aborting the child and how sterile and barren she might be.

The main reason behind the American insisting on conducting an abortion may be the need of him maintaining his lifestyle and the unwillingness to parent. He realizes that when Jig was to continue with the pregnancy, he will have to settle down for a family which could mean a lot and even the end of to enjoying his doings in the world. The lifestyle will not be the same with a presence of the bay, or maybe it will be a bit difficult in the current situation. This evident when the man says to Jig that 'I don't want anyone but you' and 'I don't think want anyone else.' It illustrated that he is ready to keep the relationship as it is by not introducing anyone else 'the baby' in between them. The girl has doubts, but for the sake of the relationship and the lifestyle the man wants for her, she goes along with the American man. The story ends with no definite conclusion or somewhat agreement between the couples regarding the abortion. The author of the novel seems t have intentionally concluded the tale without a precise determination of the decision of the couples to create suspense and to let the readers end for themselves on what happened next for the couples.

Conclusion

The text is genuinely feministic as the girls are the dominant character of the story, and in most cases, she is seen as the key decision maker in the book. She has transformed to be a critical independent woman who cannot be quickly moved and stands up for the actual thing she wants for her life. The end of the story indicates that there is no agreement, but throughout the text, it states how one can influence you to make decisions and do things that you don't stand for.

Works Cited

Gillette, Meg. "Making Modern Parents in Ernest Hemingway's 'Hills Like White Elephants' and Vina Delmar's Bad Girl." Modern Fiction Studies (2007)

Hashmi, Nilofer. " 'Hills Like White Elephants: The Jilting of Jig." Hemingway Review (2003): 72-83.

Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants." The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. (1938): 273-278.

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