Free Essays on Hemingway

Hemingway’s Hills â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† by Earnest Hemingway is a short story about the American and Jig’s lack of good communication. One would not understand the true meaning of this story without examining the symbolism used by the author. The story begins with a description of the setting. There were long hills, a train station, a bar, and a beaded curtain. At this point in the story, I thought that Hemingway was just trying to start another tale of his. Little did I know he was showing me, the reader, how important the setting is by talking about it first. I learned that I had to examine every physical part of the scenery to understand the story. From the beginning of â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† to the very end, Hemingway uses the various aspects of the setting as symbols to reveal things about the American, the Jig, and them as a couple. While waiting for their train, the man and woman sat outside the bar that was next to the train station. They passed the time by drinking, and the woman was observing the scenery at the same time. Jig mentions to her boyfriend â€Å"they [the hills] look like white elephants† (758). A white elephant is something that is useless. Jig is pregnant. The American boyfriend does not want her to have the baby. If she were to have the baby, it would change his lifestyle. Thus, the baby would be a white elephant to the man. This is when I learned that there is symbolism in the setting. In this case, it was in the landscape of the countryside of Spain. This is the most obvious case in the story, and it foreshadows that there is more to come. The bar in Spain that the American and Jig are sitting at is also symbolic. Hemingway mentions in the first paragraph â€Å"the American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, next to a table outside the building [the bar]† (757). He purposefully does not indicate what country the girl is from. To clarify, Hemingway is showing the ... Free Essays on Hemingway Free Essays on Hemingway Hemingway’s Hills â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† by Earnest Hemingway is a short story about the American and Jig’s lack of good communication. One would not understand the true meaning of this story without examining the symbolism used by the author. The story begins with a description of the setting. There were long hills, a train station, a bar, and a beaded curtain. At this point in the story, I thought that Hemingway was just trying to start another tale of his. Little did I know he was showing me, the reader, how important the setting is by talking about it first. I learned that I had to examine every physical part of the scenery to understand the story. From the beginning of â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† to the very end, Hemingway uses the various aspects of the setting as symbols to reveal things about the American, the Jig, and them as a couple. While waiting for their train, the man and woman sat outside the bar that was next to the train station. They passed the time by drinking, and the woman was observing the scenery at the same time. Jig mentions to her boyfriend â€Å"they [the hills] look like white elephants† (758). A white elephant is something that is useless. Jig is pregnant. The American boyfriend does not want her to have the baby. If she were to have the baby, it would change his lifestyle. Thus, the baby would be a white elephant to the man. This is when I learned that there is symbolism in the setting. In this case, it was in the landscape of the countryside of Spain. This is the most obvious case in the story, and it foreshadows that there is more to come. The bar in Spain that the American and Jig are sitting at is also symbolic. Hemingway mentions in the first paragraph â€Å"the American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, next to a table outside the building [the bar]† (757). He purposefully does not indicate what country the girl is from. To clarify, Hemingway is showing the ... Free Essays on Hemingway Throughout history there have been overthrows on governments in order to bring a new government into power. In â€Å"Chapter V† of Hemingway’s In Our Time, Hemingway implies that old governments are often replaced and a new regime ascends to power. Throughout history old governments have been deposed by a new system which is fit to rule the people of its time. In â€Å"Chapter V† Hemingway subtly hints that an old, dying government is often overthrown by a new, organized, and often militaristic regime. In â€Å"Chapter V†, Hemingway uses diction with syntax to create a gloomy, serious, and straightforward tone. The tone is important in this paragraph because it shows how Hemingway is describing this dismal scene. â€Å"There were wet dead leaves on the paving of the courtyard†(Hemingway), If this description is plugged into the symbolism of the chapter it can foreshadow what happens at the end of the passage and where it happens. Another element used in the syntax in the chapter is the word â€Å"they.† The use of the word â€Å"they† in the passage is used most when referring to the soldiers. â€Å"They† is a nameless and numberless pronoun which suggests that Hemingway wanted to keep the identity of the people who are responsible unclear. He uses this when describing the execution. â€Å"They shot the cabinet ministers at ...hospital†. This description shows how he keeps the identity of the soldiers unclear in the paragraph. Hemingway also uses the word â€Å"they† to show that the soldiers are not individuals but part of a collective and are receiving orders. Hemingway writes, â€Å"They tried to hold him up against the wall.† and continues later in the paragraphâ€Å"Finally the officer told the soldiers....†. Hemingway uses this to illustrate that â€Å"they† are following orders form a person of a higher rank. In this chapter that is important to show that the new regime is more organized than the old government. Hemingway uses ...