Hills Like White Elephants Questions and Answers
Hills Like White Elephants
What is the relationship between the two characters in the story "Hills Like White Elephants"? What is the point of...
To say the least, the relationship between Jig and the unnamed American man waiting for the train with her is complicated. They have clearly been in a romantic and sexual relationship, which has...
Hills Like White Elephants
What is the main conflict in the story "Hills Like White Elephants"?
The main conflict in the story “Hills Like White Elephants” is the debate between the man and his girlfriend Jig over whether or not to abort their unborn baby that Jig is carrying. The man...
Hills Like White Elephants
What is so important about the setting in "Hills Like White Elephants"?
There are several aspects of the setting in this story that carry meaning or produce significant effects. First, the young woman called "Jig" and the "American" man are at a train station, a place...
Hills Like White Elephants
What does the name Jig mean in "Hills Like White Elephants" and why does he call her that?
The jig is a dance in Ireland. Giving the girl the nickname of Jig may suggest that she is from Ireland and that she is, or has been, a lively, spirited girl, since the jig is an extremely lively...
Hills Like White Elephants
In "Hills Like White Elephants," what is the tone of communication between the two main characters?
Tone of communication refers to the way in which what one is saying comes across. I would argue that, in "Hills Like White Elephants," the woman's tone is imaginative and lighthearted, showcasing a...
Hills Like White Elephants
Why does Hemingway use the title "Hills Like White Elephants" in the short story "Hills Like White Elephants"?
To understand the title of the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway, it is important to isolate the central conflict in the story. A man and a woman are waiting for a train...
Hills Like White Elephants
What does a white elephant symbolize in the story?
It's notable that Jig later changes her mind about the surrounding hills looking like white elephants. As has already been noted elsewhere, a white elephant is something that no one wants....
Hills Like White Elephants
From what point of view is "Hills Like White Elephants" told?
This story is narrated form a third-person objective point of view. This means that the narrator is not a participant in the events that take place and does not use first-person pronouns like I or...
Hills Like White Elephants
Why is Jig given a name but not the American in "Hills Like White Elephants"?
Ernest Hemingway's short story “Hills Like White Elephants” concentrates on a conversation between an American man and Jig, his girlfriend. Jig, apparently, is a nickname of some sort, but it is...
Hills Like White Elephants
What is the end of "Hills Like White Elephants"?
To be able to understand the ending of the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway, it is important to grasp the relationship between the two main characters and the style that...
Hills Like White Elephants
Are there any metaphors in the story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway?
There are several metaphors and similes in Hemingway's story. The most prominent one is the hills, which Jig compares to white elephants. The hills represent many possible things, one of which is a...
Hills Like White Elephants
Rewrite the ending to "Hills like White Elephants."
The ending of Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” is a bit ambiguous. While it is implied that the couple’s conflict was resolved, it is open for interpretation and thus one could...
Hills Like White Elephants
What is the irony in "Hills Like White Elephants"?
I think another irony in the story has to do with the fact that these two individuals, Jig (the girl) and her lover, only known as "The American," have clearly been physically intimate with each...
Hills Like White Elephants
How can I use the lack of or the presence of names in "What We Talk About" and in "Hills Like White...
The female character in "Hills" actually does have a name -- "Jig" -- but it is used very sparingly by the male, and it may be a nickname rather than a proper name. Hemingway...
Hills Like White Elephants
What do the 3 different landscapes in “Hills Like White Elephants” symbolize?
In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway uses the three different terrains to symbolize the state of the couple’s relationship and in particular Jig’s illusions about her life. When the story...
Hills Like White Elephants
The number two is used many times in "Hills Like White Elephants." What is the significance of this repetition?
Hemingway use the number two for two purposes (no play on words intended). The first relates to the American man and the girl, whom he calls Jig, being a couple. This reinforces the man's...
Hills Like White Elephants
In "Hills Like White Elephants," does the sympathy of the author lie more with one character than with the other? The...
The narrator conveys more sympathy for Jig, the woman, than for the man. Jig wants to give birth to the "elephant" in the room, which is her unborn child. She has made this clear to her partner but...
Hills Like White Elephants
In Ernest Heminway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants," why does Jig often express herself sarcastically...
In Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” the young woman called “Jig” is being pressured by her older male companion, usually called simply “the man,” to have an abortion....
Hills Like White Elephants
Describe the setting of "Hills Like White Elephants" and try to explain its function.
"Hills Like White Elephants" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway that is ultimately about whether or not one of the two main characters will get an abortion. Most of the story is told through the...
Hills Like White Elephants
What is the symbolism of the anise / licorice / absinthe ?
The short story “Hills like white elephants” talks about a girl called Jig who is waiting to take the express to Madrid with her American boyfriend. As they wait, they talk about an operation that...
Hills Like White Elephants
I need help with this quote from "Hills Like White Elephants": " 'Yes,' said the girl. 'Everything tastes of...
To understand why the woman, Jig, makes the comment about everything tasting like licorice and why this annoys her boyfriend, we have to understand that Jig is bitter. She is pregnant. Her...
Hills Like White Elephants
How do the descriptions of the landscape relate to the conversation between the two travelers? What about the...
A woman named Jig and her unnamed boyfriend are waiting at a train station in Spain for their next train. In the distance, the hills in the valley are described as long and white. The location of...
Hills Like White Elephants
In "Hills Like White Elephants," the American orders two big beers. The price is "four reales." How much would that...
Now, this is an interesting question. The Real (plural: Reales) is a unit of Spanish currency used from the mid-14th century to 1864, when it was replaced by the escudo, and then by the peseta in...
Hills Like White Elephants
Why do you think it is about an abortion?
The reason we can claim this story conversation, or dialogue, is about an abortion is because the American man gives a clue to the topic substance. He says, "It's just to let the air in." "It's...
Hills Like White Elephants
What's the purpose of the trip the two travelers are taking in "Hills Like White Elephants"?
The American and Jig have been leading a casual lifestyle in which they travel leisurely and party. As Jig notes, "I wanted to try this new drink. That's all we do, isn't it--look at things and...
Hills Like White Elephants
Are Jig and the American married? Most readers seem to take it for granted that the couple in "Hills Like White...
Though it is never said explicitly either way, there are many reasons to believe that the American and the “girl” in Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” are married. Their conflict is...
Hills Like White Elephants
In "Hills Like White Elephants," why is the man called "the American"?
The American seems to be referred to in this way to emphasize the idea that he is somehow representative of America and American values during this time period. He is interested in drinking,...
Hills Like White Elephants
In "Hills Like White Elephants," does the American man love Jig?
In “Hills Like White Elephants,” the relationship between the American and Jig seems to be based more on emotional dependency than authentic love. Consider how Jig asks the American if he loves...
Hills Like White Elephants
What is the couple arguing about in Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants"? How does the iceberg technique affect...
Jig and the American never actually name the subject of their conversation. The closest they get is by referring to some kind of medical procedure, what the man calls "an awfully simply operation."...
Hills Like White Elephants
In "Hills Like white Elephants," how does Hemingway indicate the characters' tone for insincerity, self-deception,...
Tone in literature can have two manifestations. The first, and most often referred to, is the author's tone. This expresses the author's feeling for the subject at hand. It is usually made clear in...
Hills Like White Elephants
How does the railroad station setting parallel the message or concerns of the story?
I like to read the train station setting as a metaphorical parallel to the situation of the couple. The young woman in the story is pregnant and so is dealing with a "scheduled arrival". Unless...
Hills Like White Elephants
What is the "awfully simple operation"? Why is it not named? What different attitudes are taken toward it by the man...
This story has often been discussed in eNotes. I think most readers have agreed that the man and woman are going to Madrid for her to get an abortion. They have evidently been discussing the matter...
Hills Like White Elephants
Is the title "Hills Like White Elephants" symbolism or a metaphor?
In order for something to be a symbol, it must be have both literal meaning and figurative meaning. Therefore, there would actually have to be white elephants present in some literal way, and then...
Hills Like White Elephants
What is meant by "we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible" in Ernest Hemingway's "Hills...
In Ernest Hemingway's “Hills Like White Elephants,” Jig and her partner are discussing the “operation” that Jig's partner wants her to have, and they struggle to come to an agreement about what...
Hills Like White Elephants
The number two is used ten times in the story. What is the significance of this repetition? Does it suggest anything...
The story revolves around the conflict between a man and a woman, who are faced with the decision of what to do about a pregnancy. They view the situation differently, and they communicate...
Hills Like White Elephants
In Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," why is the operation not named in the story?
In "Hills Like White Elephants," Hemingway puts the reader in the position of a voyeur and an eavesdropper. The reader can only obtain information from what is done and said by the two principal...
Hills Like White Elephants
What was Hemingway's purpose in writing the story "Hills Like White Elephants?" (For an author's purpose essay.)...
Hemingway had at least two purposes in writing "Hills Like White Elephants." First, as in all of his writing, he reacted against the ornate writing style of his Victorian and Edwardian predecessors...
Hills Like White Elephants
In Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants," what is the couple's probable final decision?
At the very end of his short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway fails to make absolutely clear the decision that the couple finally make: do they plan to have an abortion (as the...
Hills Like White Elephants
What are the characteristics of the land on each side of the tracks? Which words does Hemingway use to describe the...
In Hills Like White Elephants, the man and the girl are waiting for the train from Barcelona to Madrid at a small railway station in the Ebro Valley. Hemingway begins by saying that the hills...
Hills Like White Elephants
Where would you like to have more information (besides "he said" and "she said")? Hemingway once...
Hemingway reveals his much about his characters through his use of dialogue and description of their actions and reactions. Readers can make educated assumptions about a character's personality...
Hills Like White Elephants
What is the relationship between the man and the girl in the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest...
"The American and the girl with him" are introduced in this curiously off-hand phrase, as though it is merely an accident that they happen to be together. We are told almost nothing about them. The...
Hills Like White Elephants
Why does the girl say, “That’s all what we do, isn’t it--look at things and try new things?"
The girl obviously wants to have the baby. The man obviously does not want her to have the baby, although he knows very well that she wants to have it. She knows that he doesn't want a baby because...
Hills Like White Elephants
Is "Hills Like White Elephants" relevant today? We know that the story is set in Spain, but if you didn't know it was...
To assess the contemporary relevancy of the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway, it is important to understand what the story is really about. A couple is sitting at a...
Hills Like White Elephants
What is the significance of the title "Hills Like White Elephants"?
The title of the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Hemingway is significant because it is the topic of conversation between the two characters represented in the story, the girl and the...
Hills Like White Elephants
How would you describe the dialogue in “Hills Like White Elephants”? What does it sound like to your ear? Give an...
The conversation between Jig and her American boyfriend sounds flat, tense, angry, and jaded. They keep repeating the same statements over and over and never seem to get anywhere. For example, the...
Hills Like White Elephants
How is the American man manipulative and selfish in "Hills Like White Elephants"?
In Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," the American man is selfish because he has no interest in understanding the woman's point of view. The abortion probably needs to be discussed, and one...
Hills Like White Elephants
In "Hills Like White Elephants," what is the purpose of the trip the two travelers are taking?
The purpose of the trip is not mentioned directly in the text of "Hills Like White Elephants." As in many of Hemingway's stories (e.g. "The Killers"), the reader is put in the position of an...
Hills Like White Elephants
What are the implications of the prominent dialogue in Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants"?
Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" focuses on the dialogue between a man and a woman while they are waiting for a train. The dialogue at first appears to be innocuous small talk...
Hills Like White Elephants
In the story Hills Like White Elephants what kind of resolution does the story offer?
I think that part of the story's beauty is that it really does not offer a resolution. In a commitment to present consciousness as it is, Hemingway does not capitulate to traditional storytelling...
Hills Like White Elephants
How does Hemingway indicate tone in "Hills Like White Elephants"?
In order to understand how an author indicates tone in a work, you need to have a correct understanding of the concept of tone in literature. Tone in literature is the attitude, opinion, assessment...
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