Hills like White Elephants Analysis

Ernest Hemingway in “Hills like White Elephants” uses third person objective to show the inadequacies in the relationship. I will be focusing on the inadequacies in the relationship between the couple through Jig.

The third person objective writing style is normally used to portray a situation in a short story by its details. Each detail is used as a symbol or metaphor. A third person objective narrative can only be seen through the actions of each of the characters because the thoughts and the emotions are not known, but felt by the reader. The lack of emotions leaves the reader feeling left out and disconnected from the story. Hemingway used this technique to perfection. The inadequacies of the relationship are felt through this disconnection.

One instance of the story that is really vivid through the actions of the American boyfriend in the end of the narrative is after there is a huge climax to the couple’s discussion. The discussion is interrupted when a lady states that the train is five minutes away. At this point it seems as if the void that was created by the discussion is truly shown. The American boyfriend gets up and moves across the train station with the bags alone. Solitude is not good in this circumstance. Not being with the person you love is the epitome of miscommunication and relationship inadequacies.

Once the boyfriend returns from his solitude journey across the station, Jig responds to the guy in a manner that shows definite miscommunication issues. “‘Do you feel better?’ he asked. ‘I feel fine,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.” (Hemingway, 233) From the whole discussion between the couple, Jig is unwilling to continue. She leaves the discussion still in the air. While the boyfriend opens the discussion once again. It is sad as a couple that they are not willing to work through this.

Not much is stated about Jig, but her actions truly define who she is. She tends to be immature. I say this because in the beginning of the story she asks to taste a new alcohol. Once she tastes this beer, she refers to its taste as licorice. (Hemingway, 230) Another instance of immaturity is seen through the response of how the couple talks. They do not talk about sex in the open, yet they feel free to have it. Though they are talking about an abortion, they don’t feel comfortable enough to be frank with each other. The way the couple handles the situation of the pregnancy shows a great deal of immaturity because both are selfish. Both want happiness at the cost of a child.

Jig throughout the story tries to get the point across to her boyfriend about how she feels. Throughout page 232 in Literature and Its Writers, Jig pushes the idea that this child is a gift that is a curse. She gives the impression that even though this pregnancy is something that wasn’t planned she doesn’t want to have it terminated. “‘No it isn’t. And once they take it away, you never get it back.’” (Hemingway, 232) But the American boyfriend never saw this, and kept using reverse psychology against her.

The fact that he used reverse psychology against her truly shows the inadequacies in the relationship. There was no true communication declaring to each other what their true feelings were. This is where the third person objective comes into play. It creates a feeling of confusion. This would be the same confusion the couple would be feeling at the same time. The couple spoke in metaphors and symbols. Which I think really assumes upon the other person in the relationship to understand what the true meanings are.

“Hills like White elephants” is a short story of inadequacies in relationships. It makes use of the third person objective. It takes into consideration a girl who is immature, but thrust in a situation which a guy is not understanding his girlfriend. Through this short story we should learn that we should be careful with how we communicate with others.

Work Cited

Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills like White Elephants”. Literature and its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama 3rd Edition. Charters, Ann and Samuel, Editors. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2004. 230 – 233

Sonnets

Shakespeare uses elements of a poem such as imagery and symbolism in “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” and “My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing like the Sun” to bring out the theme of a man’s love toward a woman. The two sonnets have a similar theme, but the author describes two different women at two separate times in their lives.

            The two sonnets use objects in our world to relay facts about the women. The first line of sonnet eighteen asks a question “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”  This question is a good elicitor of emotion and imagery. (Shakespeare, 943) A person could read this question and feel warmth because of the natural idea of the sun creating heat. This imagery not only creates warmth but also the ideas of youth and beauty. The next line of the poem pushes these ideas further. It reads, “Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” (Shakespeare, 943)

One understands the beauty associated with the sun; but with the second line, a person can imagine that this young woman is gorgeous. The author goes on in the next few lines: “And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; and every fair from fair sometime declines” (Shakespeare, 943). We understand that the sun does not always shine; there are times when it sets, and by comparison, a young woman’s fairness tends to decline over time. Shakespeare then states in the sestet, 

But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (Shakespeare, 943 – 944)

Those lines are an interesting response to the first octave. The summer fades, but this young woman’s “eternal summer” shall not fade because the lines of the poem described her beauty. It is also interesting to think Shakespeare hints at the idea that death cannot hold a person if she is remembered. This is not saying that a person does not die, but that remembrance in literature is the key for eternal posterity. The lines ironically give life after death.

        Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, “My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing like the Sun,” also compares a woman to objects in the world. (Shakespeare, 944) This sonnet is designed and written in a way that pushes the reader’s mind to understand true love. Understanding true love comes from questioning. One such question is, whether there is a connection between love and beauty.

               Shakespeare begins the sonnet with a negative outlook. From the first line of the poem, one should realize that this poem is about an older woman. If one’s eyes are nothing like the sun, the youth most likely has passed. In addition, line five and six hold a clue of the woman's older age. 

I have seen roses damask'd, red and white, 

But no such roses see I in her cheeks; (Shakespeare, 945)

We can see imagery in these lines. One imagines rosy cheeks of a youthful young woman, but when imagining an older woman those rosy cheeks are no longer rosy. This is quite amazing how Shakespeare writes a sonnet that completely goes against traditions. Writing of any woman and not exaggerating her beauty or her features is not traditional. Instead, Shakespeare writes of her plainness and of her beauty that has faded. This gives a true image of her, and gives more respect to the author when one reads lines thirteen and fourteen.

               Line twelve and thirteen states 

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare 

as any she belied with false compare”. (Shakespeare, 945)

After describing the woman as she is, Shakespeare uses these final two lines to bring a brilliant concept to the forefront of the mind: love is not intrinsically connected to beauty. The idea of true love emanates when we love people no matter how old they are or how they look 

               Sonnet 130 is in reality the love of a man for an imperfect woman. Shakespeare says that this man finds his love rare and special. The lines that contain the imagery and symbolism of Sonnet 130 contain insulting remarks, but in the sestet, the author redeems himself by stating he loves to hear her speak. The only problem is the next line after stating he loves to hear her speak, the author says that music is far more pleasant to hear.       

            After an analysis we see that both sonnet eighteen and 130 use imagery to accomplish its own theme. Though one sonnet uses the negative imagery and the other uses positive imagery, both sestets of the sonnets redeem the author. Sonnet eighteen’s redemption is in line nine, which states that the woman’s eternal summer shall not fade; but in Sonnet 130 we see the redemption in line thirteen and fourteen. Therefore, in the end, we see that Shakespeare uses the same elements to show the themes, but ends up showing two different aspects of similar themes.

Work Cited

Shakespeare, William. “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”. Literature and its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama 3^rd Edition. Charters, Ann and Samuel, Editors. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2004. 943 – 944

{Do not use two end marks – use the question mark after the poem title if you make the citation this way.}

Shakespeare, William. “My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing like the Sun”. Literature and its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama 3^rd Edition. Charters, Ann and Samuel, Editors. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2004. 944 - 945