An Analysis Of Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

Throughout elementary school reading was my biggest passion, but as I began competing on upper-level athletic teams and participating in academic competitions I lost time for reading, and my passion dissipated. I enrolled in this course because it is a required general education course for business majors, not expecting it to have the beneficial impact it did. Interpretation of Literature taught me to critically analyze novels and short stories, as well as changed my perception of poetry and readings assigned as coursework. As a first-semester freshman at the University of Iowa I did not know what to expect from college classes—specifically my general education courses such as the Interpretation of Literature. Although I knew I enjoyed reading, I also knew I did not like reading books that were assigned for classes because I found them …show more content…
While there were multiple instances where I entered class not understanding the meaning of a short story, I always left with an understanding of what the author meant in their writing. My favorite part of our discussions was the diversity of interpretations, and how literature can be understood in contrasting ways based on students’ personal experiences. These different interpretations challenged my thinking, and made me look at the story from a different perspective. The best example of this progression took place during our analysis of Ernest Hemmingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants.” At the beginning of our discussion, I was unsure about what Hemmingway meant, but I began to shape an idea as students shared their thoughts. When a student suggested the story involved abortion, a light bulb went off in my head and it all made sense. Had it not been for the engaging discussion, I would still be wondering what message Hemmingway displayed in his