Ernest Hemingway is a renowned author and journalist who used his personal experiences into the characters he creates in his stories. He focuses on their challenges when they give up and lose hope when the challenges get tough (Nobel Prize). In 1927 the short story by Ernest Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants,” was published. It is about a couple who are waiting at a train station for the next train to Madrid from Barcelona. Ernest Hemingway gives a more realistic example about Abortion, using the conversation between the couple who are on their way to a possible Abortion clinic. Hemingway was trying to establish the topic of Abortion because he felt as though it was important address the different reactions on both sides of the conversation.
Hemingway was known in all part of Spain, he was very familiar with Spanish cultures traditions, values, and lifestyles of Spanish lives. When Hemingway’s first wife named ‘Hadley’ become pregnant in 1923. At that that, the responsibilities and duties it comes along being a parent, he was not ready. Hemingway was overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being a parenthood could have on him. After two years later, he published a short story “Hills Like White Elephants” in 1925. It could be inferred the story was an adaptation based upon his conversation with Hadley.
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Hemingway chose to title this short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” because it represents how the couple felt like they had a burden hanging on their shoulders. The White Elephants have a positive representation of longevity and a negative representation for an unnecessary burden (Crystalinks).
Hemingway gave many uses of symbolism in “Hills Like White Elephant” including such as the lonely station, the hills itself, the lonely room and the white elephant. The character in the story is at a certain point where they are about to take on of their biggest decision of their life. This could cost them nothing or they could live with regret for rest of their lives. Incontrovertible themes are arising from this short story such as the relationship between a men and women and what could be consequences of the abortion or the decision they make.
White Elephant world’s largest land mammal is being used as a symbol of its magnitude, but with diverse meanings. In “Hills like White Elephant” by Ernest Hemingway represent White Elephant as the weight being placed on the shoulders of “the girl”. The weight of the White Elephant is not effortless, and its something that cannot be endure by human. The girl feels pressured of White Elephant on her shoulders, because she does not know whether to keep the baby or do. It may be uncomplicated decisions to make for others, but Hemingway’s short story allocate with weighty and composite sentiments bewildering a couple who faces an unforeseen turn of even in their lives.
Hemingway uses lot of representation in this short story “Hills Like White Elephant.” The author shows a lonely railway station which could represent the girl’s own desperate loneliness and an important decision she has to make alone. The girl is feeling lonely and lost in her own thoughts even though she is being companied by a boy. With the use of railway station, it illustrates that “the girl” is in the verge where she has to make a decision, whether to keep the baby or not.
In context of the couple’s conversation they refer back to doing the operation in order to become happy again. “That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy,” this explains the symbolism of the white elephants the girl pictures. This further shows their feeling’s as though if they don’t go through with this then they will be unhappy for the rest of their lives.
Hemingway gave this conversation a realistic view on how certain couple’s view this topic. He creates a reassurance between the characters on how they should face this issue before they board the next train to Madrid. He also shows the relationship between them by showing their support for their final decision and their commitment to each other. The author decided to show their relationships during this challenging decision because this can become a real-life situation.
The characters had felt a bit of doubt and to distract themselves they went shopping and drank liquor to distract themselves. This doubt also leads them to reconsider their primary decision and what each of them felt personally about the topic. Hemingway wrote this conversation in the story because it created a visual conflict between the characters and their personal wants.
The reason behind the conflict was to show that each of them cared about each of their opinions. The male character in this short story repeatedly mentioned “I don’t want you to do it if you don’t really want to,” this shows his concern towards the girl he was with. Hemingway also added how the girl wanted to stop talking about the topic and expressed it through her frustration towards the man she was with.
The author used more of a conversation style throughout the text to give a visual of the relationship and effects of a sensitive topic. In addition, the details of the emotions of the characters in the story aid in expressing the emotional toll the topic has on them. It tends to show frustration and desperation to avoid talking more about it and change their minds. The technique he used made it easier for the readers to understand the interactions between the conflict and moral idea of the text. The female character stated she doesn’t care about herself and implies that their happiness between them is more important than anything. Towards the end of the text Hemingway created a sense of a facade created by the girl in order to forget about considering her options. When the female character stated “I feel fine. There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine,” gives the sense of both a facade and the idea she already made up her mind and nothing can change it.
Hemingway wrote this short story to give readers a simpler yet complex insight about Abortion and its emotional toll on couples. Hemingway expressed Abortion this way not to persuade the reader to go for or against abortion. He wrote it to show that major decisions can emotionally drain a person to where they feel okay with their original choice and evade the other choices. In the text Abortion is a major burden to have in the couple’s lives. However, both characters were unsure about how they truly felt when going through with the operation. The couple was an example of a real-life situation that happens in most real couples. Hemingway intended to have the readers gain some exposure to the emotional effects of Abortion instead of creating an average conversation about a couple’s life.
Citations:
- Nagel, James. “Hills Like White Elephants: Overview.” Reference Guide to Short Fiction, edited by Noelle Watson, St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com.ezproxy.cpcc.edu/apps/doc/H1420003898/LitRCu=centralp&sid=LitRC&xid=8c056553. Accessed 12 Mar. 2019.
The American Revolution Analysis
The American Revolution is the decade long revolt from 1765 to1783 against the British government by the American Colonies. Also known as the American Revolutionary War, this war was won by the American Colonies against the British Government with the help of France and others. After the Revolution, the American Colonies gained independence from Britain and became the United States of America. There is not exactly one reason behind this revolution, but the seeds for the revolution were planted long ago and it grew slowly. There are many reasons and events that stacked up for years, eventually leading up to the revolution. The heavy tax by the British government against the American Colonies, lack of representation of colonies in the British Parliament, and treatment of Americans as secondary citizens are some of the reasons behind the revolution. Even though these are some reasons, history shows that the American evolution was caused by several events that took place throughout the years that pushed the colonists to fight for their rights and independence.
The root of the American revolution was planted in the beginning with the founding of the American Colonies. Even though the Jamestown was the first colony formed by the English for business and mining purpose, Plymouth colony was formed by the Pilgrims who felt that they needed to be far away from the Church of England (Brooks). And after the formation of Plymouth Colony, other people from England who held the same beliefs and wanted religious freedom came to join the Colony (Brooks). Also, the non-separatist Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay Colony and tried to reform the Church of England by creating new and Reformed Church in the New World. The early colonies were formed to escape from England. As the years went on, the revolution seems inevitable as England tried to involve more and more in the internal affairs of the Colonies.
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The Royal Proclamation of 1763 issued by Britain after the French and Indian War established a line down the crest of Appalachian Mountains, allowing British Settlers to stay only on the east coastal area (The Royal Proclamation of 1763). This way British can control, govern, and place taxes on the colonists. This act angered colonists who wanted the new rich territories of the New World. This was just the first of many acts and taxes that the British imposed on the Colonies, which eventually led to the Revolutionary War. Before 1764, there were no taxes imposed to the colonies by the British Government, but in 1764 Sugar Act was passed by the British Parliament in order to uplift their own economy, which had suffered after the war (Sugar Act). The colonists were not used to pay taxes until then. The act had negative effects on their economy because the taxes were increased on many goods. Again, in 1764 the British parliament passed the Currency Act to get control over the banking system. The colonies were angry with the parliament because the control of their economy and financial system was being placed in the hands of the British Parliament. The colonists believed that they were just used in order to profit the merchants and bankers in Britain.
Not only that, the Stamp Act of 1765 placed taxes on all paper goods like bills, newspaper, calendars, contracts, and more (The Stamp Act). Everyone was affected by this act. The British government had been placing taxes on the colonies but this one affected the colonists the most and pushed them to the edge. The colonists had to pay this large amount of tax, but they did not have any representatives in the British government, so this act pushed the colonist to cross over to violence and rebellion. At last, the parliament repealed the act. But, with the repeal of the Stamp Act, the British Parliament passed the Declaratory Act because the British parliament did not want to admit defeat. The Declaratory Act stated the British’s Sovereignty over the colonies (Declaratory Act). After then, the British government passed more acts raising tax on more products.
Many people were unsatisfied with these taxes, so they started to protest. In 1765, during one of the protests in Boston, colonists and soldiers fought, and several colonists were killed. This event was called the Boston Massacre. Moreover, in 1773 the British Parliament added more taxes on tea. Furious group of patriots, Sons of Liberty, boarded the docked ships in Boston harbor and threw all the tea in the water. This event, Boston Tea Party, enraged the UK causing them to pass the Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Act.
The Coercive Act was the main source that pushed the colonists to unite for their independence. The Coercive Act closed Boston Harbor causing trouble for market and trade. Also, the Act stopped the elections for the town official and gave judicial power to Britain and British judges (Boston Tea Party). Britain thought that these Acts would stop the protest but instead it united all the colonies.
In 1774, elected delegates from all 12 colonies met in Philadelphia for The First Continental Congress to push back the British oppression (Boston Tea Party). The First Continental Congress did not ask for independence but send a petition to the British Parliament to repeal the taxes without any representation (The Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress). The British Parliament did not send any response to this petition. Besides, in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, a fight broke out between the British soldiers and local militia in 1775. And the first shots for the great revolutionary war between the colonists and British were fired. Then, the Second Continental Congress convened to make plans for the war ahead of them.
The American Revolution is an important event in the history of the U.S.A. Many lives were lost in the Revolutionary War. But with the sacrifices of the brave people, colonies were able to gain freedom and become the United States of America. The Revolutionary War itself was inevitable. It would have happened sooner or later. There was not one reason for the war. British oppression with other events paved the path that leads to the American Revolution.
Works Cited
- “Declaratory Act.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Dec. 2017. www.britannica.com/event/Declaratory-Act-Great-Britain-1766. Accessed on 20 Apr. 2019.
- “Sugar Act.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 05 Jan. 2018. www.britannica.com/event/Sugar-Act. Accessed on 20 Apr. 2019.
- “The Boston Tea Party.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 15 Apr. 2019, www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-tea-party. Accessed on 20 Apr. 2019.
- Brooks, Rebecca B. “The History of Plymouth Colony” History of Massachusetts Blog, 28 Sep. 2016. www.historyofmassachusetts.org/plymouth-colony-history/. Accessed on 20 Apr. 2019.
- Getchell, Michelle. “The Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress.” Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/road-to-revolution/the-american-revolution/a/the-intolerable-acts-and-the-first-continental-congress. Accessed on 20 Apr. 2019
- The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The Stamp Act, 1765. www.gilderlehrman.org/content/stamp-act-1765. Accessed on 20 Apr. 2019.
- The Royal Proclamation of 1763. U.S. History Pre-Columbian to the New Millennium. www.ushistory.org/us/9a.asp. Accessed on 20 Apr. 2019.
