Expressing Communication Through Literary Devices in “Araby,” “Why I Live at the P.O,” and “Hills Like White Elephants
Authors use literary devices in order to convey a certain attitude, feeling, or meaning to the story. Literary devices, when used effectively, create layers and intricacies to stories that not only make the stories more interesting, but also give the stories much more depth that can be studied. James Joyce’s “Araby,” Eudora Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.,” and Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” contain conflicts pertaining to communication or the inability of communication, and they all effectively use literary devices, specifically symbolism, to subtly convey how communication is an integral part of the stories.
Joyce effectively …show more content…
Jig describes the hills across the Ebro as looking like a white elephant. A white elephant is usually a symbol representing something that is unwanted or a burden. In the eyes of the man, the baby Jig is carrying is the white elephant. Interestingly, after the abortion is indirectly brought up, Jig takes back the comment: “‘They’re lovely hills,’ she said. ‘They don’t really look like white elephants’” (Hemingway 592). By retracting this statement, Jig is indicating that maybe the baby is not completely unwanted and that she is hesitant about going through with the procedure. In addition, Hemingway uses nature as a symbol to express fertility. “Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees” (Hemingway 593). Nature symbolizes life and fertility. The shadow of the cloud over the grain field could be an ominous symbol of the man’s intentions starting to influence Jig even though she remains very hesitant to undergo the
Authors use literary devices in order to convey a certain attitude, feeling, or meaning to the story. Literary devices, when used effectively, create layers and intricacies to stories that not only make the stories more interesting, but also give the stories much more depth that can be studied. James Joyce’s “Araby,” Eudora Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.,” and Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” contain conflicts pertaining to communication or the inability of communication, and they all effectively use literary devices, specifically symbolism, to subtly convey how communication is an integral part of the stories.
Joyce effectively …show more content…
Jig describes the hills across the Ebro as looking like a white elephant. A white elephant is usually a symbol representing something that is unwanted or a burden. In the eyes of the man, the baby Jig is carrying is the white elephant. Interestingly, after the abortion is indirectly brought up, Jig takes back the comment: “‘They’re lovely hills,’ she said. ‘They don’t really look like white elephants’” (Hemingway 592). By retracting this statement, Jig is indicating that maybe the baby is not completely unwanted and that she is hesitant about going through with the procedure. In addition, Hemingway uses nature as a symbol to express fertility. “Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees” (Hemingway 593). Nature symbolizes life and fertility. The shadow of the cloud over the grain field could be an ominous symbol of the man’s intentions starting to influence Jig even though she remains very hesitant to undergo the