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Hills Like White Elephants

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Suzanne

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Re: Hills Like White Elephants

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Theomanic wrote:I really enjoyed this short story. It was written so clearly and precisely I'm in awe. It is rare to read something so cleanly written and yet with subtlety. It reminds me of The Great Gatsby in the layered approach. On the surface it seems like a really simple little story, but as one examines the levels of imagery it starts to have a much deeper meaning.
I couldn't agree more, this story, to me at least, seems so different in writing style to Hemingways novels.

I asked the question, who was older, the male or female, because when I read this story and discussed it in class, my opinion was different than most of the class. Typical!

The use of the word “girl” is deceiving, and I believe it is used as a tool to show the man’s condescension towards the “girl” and the relationship. It is my belief that the “girl” may be older than the man, if not older, they are close in age. This may be her last chance to have a baby, but she realizes that the “man” wants his carefree lifestyle and she will lose him if she does in fact have the child. The “procedure” may not be what scares her, losing him may scare her more.

This of course leads me to another question. Does she indeed have the procedure? This of course requires speculation on the part of the reader, and how the reader interpreted the story. White elephants typically represent something special. The "girl" sees the train going towards these hills like white elephants, and she wants to be on that train. I think she chooses to have the baby. The relationship she will have with the child, will certainly be longer than the relationship she has with the man.

BTW, nice to hear from you Mr. P. :)
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Re: Hills Like White Elephants

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I think the girl is younger, she does seem to be seeing things with a fresher perspective, and naive-er outlook. He is a little more cynical and jaded, and he is taking a patronizing tone with her.

My first impression was of a lobotomy, which by the end of the story it was clear that I was wrong, but then it made it difficult for me to get to what it really was.
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Re: Hills Like White Elephants

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Hills Like White Elephants

The clue is in the title:

1 First recorded in 1850-55; from the perhaps apocryphal tale
that the King of Siam would award a disagreeable courtier a white elephant, the upkeep of which would ruin the courtier.

2. a possession unwanted by the owner but difficult to dispose of:
Our Victorian bric-a-brac and furniture were white elephants.
Free Online Dictionary

And we can all guess what the hill is.[/size]
Last edited by Litwitlou on Wed Nov 15, 2017 5:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Hills Like White Elephants

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Like others, I read this sotry many years ago. I was fresh out of college, and had joined the Book of the Month Club. One of my 'bonus' books was "The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway," which included this one. As to who is older, I haven't a clue; but the man is clearly more worldly and manipulative than the 'girl.' I agree the operation is an abortion - despite his protestations, he definitely wants her to have it done, and she is equivocating about it.

I agree that Hemingway is a master of using dialogue to set the scene and tell the story. He was also a master of using simple facts to set a mood; if you have never read "A Farewell to Arms," his ending, a couple of simple sentences, was one of the most powerful conclusions I have ever read.
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