A Hills Like White Elephants English Literature Essay

Hills Like White Elephants. Ernest Hemingway narrative “ Hills Like White Elephants, ” has plentifulness of symbolism throughout the narrative. Symbolisms are physical things that are of import and bases for something else. In this narrative, the symbols are the hills, white elephants, railway paths, and the felt tablets. Hemingway uses these symbols to bring forth the subject of the narrative. The subject is about how alteration will convey felicity for Jig by holding the babe while the adult male does n’t see what the hereafter holds for him if Jig has the babe and he tries to carry her to travel with an abortion

In the beginning of the narrative, the American and the miss, Jig, are at the rail station waiting for a train to travel to Madrid. While waiting for the train the two sit at a tabular array at the saloon holding some drinks. “ The adult female brought two spectacless of beer and two felt tablets. She put the felt tablets and the beer spectacless on the tabular array ” ( 294 ) . Felt tablets will be a symbol of protection from gestation. In the quoted beginning, the server did n’t set the spectacless on top of tablets bespeaking that there were n’t that much protection prior to coming to the train station. That ‘s when the two started speaking about abortion.

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They started to hold an intense conversation on what she was traveling to make with the babe. The adult male wants her to acquire an abortion while she does n’t. He stated that “ you do n’t hold to be afraid. I ‘ve known tonss of people that have done it but if you do n’t desire to you do n’t hold to. I would n’t hold you do it if you did n’t desire to. But I know it ‘s absolutely simple ” ( 295 ) . In that quotation mark, the American seeking to carry the miss, Jig, into holding an abortion but utilizing different words alternatively of merely stating the existent fact. Hemingway made the adult male more of a 2nd guesser who tries to happen the easy manner out in life state of affairss ; in this instance the abortion is his pick. While on other custodies Jig thinks of it as an experience in life manner she can experience more of a adult females. As the conversation went on tenseness grew between them doing the adult male to carry more. The adult male said “ I do n’t care anything about it. I ‘ll shout, the miss said ” ( 297 ) . His thought that she ‘s traveling to hold this kid so he starts to panic. “ He pick up the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other paths. He looked up the paths but could non see the train. Coming back, he walked through the saloon, where people waiting for the train were imbibing. He drank an Anis at the saloon and looked at the people. They were all waiting moderately for the train ” ( 297 ) . The adult male had to go forth the tabular array because he was holding problem with the state of affairs he was in. As the adult male drank that beer in the saloon, Hemingway created the character anxious other than being forbearance as the other characters are moving around him. The adult male is trusting on that while he was gone traveling the bags that the state of affairs would hold been solved. So he returns an asks “ Do you experience better? I feel all right, she said. There ‘s nil incorrect with me. I feel all right ” ( 297 ) . He finds out that nil alteration in his clip yesteryear.

While the two are imbibing, Jig looks out at the hills and says “ they look like white elephants ” ( 294 ) . The adult male stated “ I ‘ve ne’er seen one ” ( 294 ) , Jig responds “ no, you would n’t hold ” ( 294 ) . Jig sees the white elephants as the babe and the adult male does n’t see them in the shadows of the hills because he does n’t desire her to hold it and goes with the abortion. The adult male says “ it ‘s absolutely simple ” ( 295 ) , intending by holding an abortion will convey felicity and things would travel back to normal for us but Jig thinks of holding this babe is a beautiful fact of life.

Jig has many obstructions in her life. Hemingway uses the hills to typify those obstructions. The hills represent the obstructions by being large and people would hold to mount their manner through them to steer through the obstruction. In this narrative, Jig biggest obstruction is the babe. She has to do a determination on if she willing to maintain the babe or non. The hills are point of views to look at. Jig sees the hills as an chance to maintain the babe conveying a new experience in her life while the adult male position is blocked by the babe because he does n’t desire to turn up so he looking for an easy manner out of non taking attention of a kid.

The hills are a stationary object which represents that when holding a babe the parents would hold to settled down to take attention of their kid and besides that being pregnant is n’t easy to get the better of. Jig says “ we could hold all this and we could hold everything and every twenty-four hours we make it more impossible ” ( 296 ) . This is where she sees chance. She believing about a new life for her and holding a newborn babe in her life. Jig ever wanted alteration. That ‘s why the two are holding different drinks all the clip and non holding the same thing over and over once more. Jig does n’t wish making things over and over once more. She wants to seek new things and that ‘s how by holding a babe she will see alteration in her life.

At the station, there were two railwaies. Those railwaies symbolize as being alteration of life. The two railwaies were parallel to each other for being way on what path the two will make up one’s mind on holding the babe or non to hold. It ‘s a clip of crisis for them because they have to do a determination fast. They ca n’t remain in the station everlastingly ; they have to acquire to Madrid. Towards the terminal, the adult male “ picked up the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other paths ” ( 297 ) . This mentioning to on the way the two will be traveling. “ Do you experience better? He ask. I feel all right, she said there ‘s nil incorrect with me. I feel all right ” ( 297 ) . Jig did n’t do her determination yet coercing the adult male hope of traveling on with his life delayed until she makes a determination.

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