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Hills Like White Elephants Analysis

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Millions of stories exist where you simply have to guess what will happen after the end of the story. The writer decided to not include the last moments and leaves it up to us, as the reader, to finish his tale. One of these open ended literature pieces is Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants. The story depicts a couple waiting for the train at a station, to kill time they decide to have a few drinks and as the reader we get to follow their conversation. Although it is mentioned nowhere, they are talking about the abortion the girl is about to undergo, but she does not seem to agree completely and at the end of the story we are left to wonder whether the girl will go through with the abortion or not. After reading and studying this short story I have determined that the girl will not have the abortion.

WHITE ELEPHANTS
First, to understand the story and the conversation between the two main characters, you must understand the meaning of the title. The sentence ‘Hills like white elephants’ is directly taken from the story. Upon taking in her surroundings the girl mentions that the hills in the distance resemble (the skin of) white elephants. You could take this resemblance literally, being the hills really looking like elephants, but there is a more symbolic meaning attached. The term …show more content…
Nowhere in the story it is mentioned she drinks from it again so it is very likely that she leaves it there. This can be compared to the abortion, just like the Anis it would be a bittersweet choice to make. Since she does not go on with the drink it could suggest that she will not go further with the abortion as well. Moreover, at the end the man decides to have a second Anis indicating that it is now his turn to have a bittersweet flavor of what he’s facing (Renner

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