What is the main message of Hills Like White Elephants?

The underlying theme of Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Hills Like White Elephants’ deals with the difficulties a couple, particularly the female, has in facing an unexpected and ultimately unwanted pregnancy.

Is jig submissive in Hills Like White Elephants?

This causes The American Man to finally take the submissive role, as Jig has now claimed her dominance. In Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” Jig changes her position completely when she claims her dominance over her situation, and possibly ends the relationship with The American Man.

How does jig feel in Hills Like White Elephants?

Jig is a sarcastic yet reserved woman, who desires to bring a new life into the world, even if her companion does not approve; she knows what is best. Jig can be perceived as sarcastic, which does not express how she is feeling inside about the idea of abortion.

What is compared with white elephants in Hills Like White Elephants?

The man does not want the baby and has the choice of abortion in mind, not thinking of the other problems that would occur through operation such as the girl’s health. Later on, the girl makes a melancholy remark that the hills look like white elephants.

What is the conclusion in Hills Like White Elephants?

The ending of Hemingway’s 1927 story, “Hills Like White Elephants” was interpreted for decades in one way: the female protagonist surrenders to her partner’s wishes that she undergo abortion. Around 1980, new readings of the story’s ending story began to appear.

What is the symbolic significance of the hills?

Hills carry their own significance least of which is the concept of higher and lower levels of land – the latter can contain swamps, people, darkness, fields, heat, unpleasantness, life whilst the former can suggest isolation, life, death, thin air, purity, clear views to name a few.

Is jig pregnant in Hills Like White Elephants?

So here it is: she is not pregnant at all. She has misled the man, telling him that she was pregnant, probably in order to assess his character and their relationship, perhaps to pressure him into marriage. By the end of the story, she knows all she needs to know about him.

What decision do you think jig makes?

The Decision of Jig in Hills Like White Elephants, a Short Story by Ernest Hemingway. After re-reading Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills like White Elephants” over and over, it seems to me that final decision Jig makes is to go through with the abortion.

Why did the girl say that the hills look like white elephants?

The girl’s comment in the beginning of the story that the surrounding hills look like white elephants initially seems to be a casual, offhand remark, but it actually serves as a segue for her and the American to discuss their baby and the possibility of having an abortion.

What does the river symbolize in Hills Like White Elephants?

In addition, the valley of Ebro has a river running through it, the river representing life, the life of the baby. Right now, Jig does not know if she is going to keep the unexpected pregnancy and her boyfriend wants their life as it used to be, without the pregnancy.

What does white elephant represent?

The white elephant—which was more often than not stricken with albinism, and thus more a ruddy-pink color—was, and remains to this day, a symbol of success. To possess a white elephant connoted political power, wealth and prosperity, great wisdom, and the love of one’s people.

What is the plot of hills like white elephants?

“Hills like White Elephants” is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway, which presents an idea of an “unknown operation” being taken place. There are two main characters, American man and his girlfriend, who sit at a train station in Barcelona, Spain.

What is the author’s purpose in including the idea of white elephants?

The author’s purpose of including the idea of white elephants is to indicate that the girlfriend is pregnant. The author begins the story with the girlfriend saying the hills “look like white elephants”. The only way to introduce the conversation between the two about the operation was to bring up the idea of white elephants.

How does the American manipulate jig in hills like white elephants?

Hemmingway, in his story “Hills Like White Elephants”, depicts the American’s manipulation of Jig, as well as Jig’s inner conflict and how it helped her to block out the American, by using a great amount of symbolism without overtly stating the subject of the conflict, Jig’s pregnancy and the American’s desire for Jig to have an abortion.

What does the girl’s comment about the surrounding hills look like?

The girl’s comment in the beginning of the story that the surrounding hills look like white elephants initially seems to be a casual, offhand remark, which in reality represents her desire to speak about the issue at hand.