Sgs Fiction

1) Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills like White Elephants" The Mercury Reader Janie Neuleib. Pearson Custom Publishing, 2005 (293-297)

2) Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21st in 1899 in Chicago, Illinois. His father was a doctor, and his mother sang at the church which his family attended. He published his first piece of literature at the age of 17, and died at the age of 61.

3) Theme: The theme of this short story is about relationships, and how opposing opinions create a division amongst couples when dealing with the issue of birth and abortion.

4) Plot: There is an American man whom is in a relationship with a woman named Jig. They are on opposing sides on whether or not to get an abortion. She wants to have the baby, but the man feels opposite. Rather than directly saying that the story is about abortion, Hemingway uses a series of symbols to describe the situation. These symbols include white mountains, landscape and scenery. The man and woman bicker and argue throughout the story, and the woman ends up compromising her desire to keep the baby for the man's happiness.

5) Figurative Language: One of the more obvious examples that exist within this story lies in the title itself. I believe that "hills" are a symbolism for pregnancy. The curve of a hill is similar to that of a pregnant woman's stomach. Babies are represented through the concept of "White Elephants." There is a tale about white elephants that states that they are considered a blessing and a burden because of the amount of care they require.

6) Elements of Fiction:

Characters: In my opinion, the protagonist of this story is the man, and the woman is the antagonist. She is preventing him from continuing his trouble. There are no other significant characters aside from them two.

Setting: The story takes place in 1927, in Spain. It is in the afternoon, and we are informed that the weather climate is very hot. They were at a junction at the valley of the Ebro.

Point of View: This story is written in Third Person objective.

Symbols: The beginning of the story talks about the mountain, and how there is divide between the valley full of trees, and the junction which lacks shade and trees. This division