Hills like White Elephants Analysis Essay Example

Hemingway has used imagery to distinguish between the welter of emotion of Jig and the man’s simplistic feelings about the operation, yet the existence of man in the story can be understood as representative of the post – WWI expatriates. Developed as a reaction to the merciless, new, and technology laden warfare in the WWI, Hills Like White Elephants raised inspiration among the writers to explore new styles and perspectives of the techniques of writing literature including objectivism and imagism. Hemingway’s use of images imbued with meaning to convey the story instead of using words and explanations as done in the literature traditionally raised motivation among the artists to capture the feelings and emotions of confusion and isolation from the WWI and reflect them in their work.

One of the most defining features of the short stories is their ability to entertain fast readers, and such authors as Hemingway did a great a job integrating modernism techniques into the short stories. Hemingway served as a driver of ambulance in the days of the WWI. While the War was on, Hemingway had had some gruesome experiences that affected his outlook on the world and life so much that the change also reflected in his literature. This is particularly evident in Hemingway’s serious and realistic writings containing honest, real, and strong characters. The drama, when viewed analytically, can be thought to be divided into four parts, one leading to the other; “In the first movement we are shown the stereotypical passive female,…In movement two she comes to a dramatic realization of her own mind-her own welfare, dreams, and values. In movement three she asserts herself for the first time. And in the final movement we see…the reluctant and still somewhat resentful capitulation of her male companion” (Renner).

His excellent ability of narrating the story as a film rather than a compilation of words can also be attributed, at least in part, to the overwhelming effect of WWI on Hemingway’s sense of imagination and narration. Throughout the story, Hemingway has kept the words “baby” and “abortion” intentionally out of conversation in his attempt to develop the feelings of confusion and ambiguity, which are frequently observed in modernism. Around the same time that Hills Like White Elephants was introduced by Hemingway, Francisco Franco was the dictator of Spain. His dictatorship and tendency to assassinate thousands of people reflect in the character over Jig of the man; “his dictatorship over the people and actions that led to the killing of thousands mirrors the dominance that the man holds over Jig, and the issue of abortion many believed his new regimen would be beneficial at first but could not see the bigger picture behind the takeover like the hidden message of abortion behind the couples conversation in Hills Like White Elephants” (Le).

After the WWI and throughout the decade of 1920’s, Hemingway was amongst a group of American writers called the Ex-Pats as he lived in Paris with his first wife and son (Funari). Many of these American writers did not approve of the traditional values of America and used alcoholism to seek escape, just like the characters do in Hills Like White Elephants.

Works Cited:
Funari, Anthony. ““Hills Like White Elephants””. 2014. Web. 30 May 2014.
Le, Thomas. Modernism and “Hills Like White Elephants” 28 Sep 2012. Web. 30 May 2014.
Renner, Stanley. “Moving to the Girls Side of Hills Like White Elephants”. The Hemingway Review. 15.1 (1995): 27-41.