illustration of train tracks with low hills in the background and one of the hills has the outline of an elephant within it

Hills Like White Elephants

by Ernest Hemingway

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Hills Like White Elephants Questions on Jig

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Hills Like White Elephants

In Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," Jig's character is explored through her interactions and symbolic naming. Her nickname, "Jig," suggests a lively past and reflects the burden of her...

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Hills Like White Elephants

Jig says everything tastes like licorice to express her bitterness about her boyfriend's insincerity regarding her pregnancy and the abortion he pressures her to have. This sarcasm annoys him because...

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Hills Like White Elephants

The main conflict in "Hills Like White Elephants" is the couple's disagreement over whether the woman should have an abortion. The story focuses on their indirect and tense conversation at a train...

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Hills Like White Elephants

The purpose of the trip in "Hills Like White Elephants" is for Jig to get an abortion. While the text never explicitly states this, the dialogue and context imply it. The American pressures Jig into...

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Hills Like White Elephants

At the end of "Hills Like White Elephants," Jig appears to decide to have the abortion. The narrative suggests this conclusion through Jig's vacillation and the man's persistent persuasion. Jig's...

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Hills Like White Elephants

In Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," the narrative style, largely composed of dialogue, leaves readers to interpret character sympathies and reasonableness. The story suggests greater...

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Hills Like White Elephants

Possible alternative endings for "Hills Like White Elephants" could include the couple deciding to stay together and raise the child, or perhaps the woman choosing to leave the man and keep the baby...

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Hills Like White Elephants

Besides the licorice reference, Jig uses sarcasm when she responds to the American's comment, "You don't have to be afraid. I've known lots of people that have done it," with "And afterward they were...

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Hills Like White Elephants

The dramatic tension in Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" is achieved through his use of sparse dialogue and subtext. The characters' indirect communication and the underlying, unspoken issue...

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Hills Like White Elephants

The characters and narrator in "Hills Like White Elephants" avoid explicitly discussing significant topics to reflect the tension and miscommunication in their relationship. The story's minimalist...

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Hills Like White Elephants

The trivial conversation in "Hills Like White Elephants" underscores the underlying tension and unresolved conflict between the characters. Hemingway's minimalist style, with its "iceberg effect,"...

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Hills Like White Elephants

In "Hills Like White Elephants," the word "fine" is used by Jig to conclude a tense conversation with the American about her pregnancy. While the American uses "fine" to imply a return to a carefree,...

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Hills Like White Elephants

The first sign of discord between the characters in "Hills Like White Elephants" occurs when Jig compares the hills to white elephants, and the American dismisses her observation. His argumentative...

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Hills Like White Elephants

The names in "Hills Like White Elephants" suggest a power imbalance and emotional disconnect. The man is referred to as "the American" or "the man," indicating maturity or authority, while the woman...

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Hills Like White Elephants

Jig's psychological profile in "Hills Like White Elephants" evolves from uncertainty and dependence to a clearer sense of self-awareness and assertion. Initially, she relies on her partner's...

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