What is happening in Hills Like White Elephants?
“Hills Like White Elephants” is set in Spain. An American man and a girl are sitting at an outdoor café in a Spanish train station, waiting for a fast, non-stop train coming from Barcelona that will take them to Madrid, where the girl will have an abortion.
What is the focus of Hills Like White Elephants?
The story focuses on a conversation between an American man and a young woman, described as a “girl,” at a Spanish train station while waiting for a train to Madrid. The girl compares the nearby hills to white elephants.
What is the main conflict in Hills Like White Elephants?
The main conflict in the story “Hills Like White Elephants ” is the debate between the man and his girlfriend Jig over whether or not to abort their unborn baby that Jig is carrying. The man obviously wants—and pressures—Jig to have an abortion while Jig is reluctant to go through with the procedure.
What are some symbols in Hills Like White Elephants?
Hills Like White Elephants Symbols
- Barren/Fertile Land. As the story opens, we are introduced first and foremost to the setting’s barren landscape, which is described as “brown and dry,” with “no shade” and “no trees.” Yet while the story feels as though…
- Light.
- Alcohol.
- The Train Station.
What do the landscape symbolize in Hills Like White Elephants?
In his short story, “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway also uses landscape features in a meaningful way. The author’s depiction of Ebro valley in this literary work is symbolic of a choice to have a child, and the dry, treeless land on the opposite side is representative of the life after abortion.
What is the significance of the reference to white elephants in Hills Like White Elephants?
What does a white elephant symbolize in the story? A white elephant is a gift that turns out to be more like a burden. It is an allusion to a practice once used by the King of Siam. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” it symbolizes Jig’s feelings about her unborn child and the American man.
Which of the following is a major symbol in Hills Like White Elephants?
White Elephants. A white elephant symbolizes something no one wants—in this story, the girl’s unborn child.