Discussion Topic
The dramatic tension in Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" is achieved through his handling of dialogue and literary situations
Summary:
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 of the abortion create an atmosphere of tension and ambiguity, engaging readers to infer the true nature of their conflict and emotions.
How does Hemingway handle dialogue in "Hills Like White Elephants"?
Interestingly, much like Hemingway's story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," his story "Hills Like White Elephants" is predominantly composed of dialogue. This dialogue between the American, referred to by Hemingway simply as "the man," and Jig, his girlfriend exemplifies what has been called "the Iceberg Effect" of Hemingway's writing. That is, there are deeper meanings encrypted in the words of the speakers.
One way that Hemingway gives the dialogue between the American and Jig more meaning is through the use of symbols in the brief narrative. For instance, Jig looks at the sterile land on one side of the railway and comments that the hills look like white elephants, a symbol of something unwanted that a person is burdened with. The white, rounded shape of the hills also can suggest the rounded abdomen of a pregnant woman while the infertile land presages what Jig may become. On...
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the other side of the tracks, the ground is fertile; there is grass and the land is productive. All these symbols, then, in conjunction with the somewhat ambiguous dialogue serve to clarify meanings for the reader. For example, Hemingway writes,
The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees.
‘And we could have all this,’ she said. ‘And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible.’
Thus, the reader comes to understand that Jig tells her American boyfriend that they can be happy with a baby if they love each other, for the baby will add life to their relationship.
With such abbreviated paragraphs and so much dialogue, the reader is obliged to carefully analyze the dialogue in conjunction with the symbols that lend meaning to the conversations between Jig and the American.
Why are Hemingway's literary situations in "Hills Like White Elephants" more dramatic than his dialogue?
Anyone reading a Hemingway short story must be willing to work because most of the story will be found lying below the surface details. As a realist, Hemingway created characters, placed them in situations, and told us what they said and did, but he did not tell us much about how they felt, and he told us nothing about how we are supposed to feel. His stories are not full of imagery to heighten emotion or suggest drama. As a former newspaper reporter, his favorite words were nouns and verbs, not adjectives and adverbs. This is the case with "Hills Like White Elephants."
This story is Hemingway at his most controlled and concise. With the exception of a very few paragraphs, the entire story consists of dialog between two lovers as they wait for a train. Through their conversation, however, we come to recognize their personalities, their values, and their relationship. Lying below their exchanges we find a serious situation, full of conflict: He wants her to have an abortion; she doesn't want to have it. The very real drama of their situation is deliberately understated, however, through Hemingway's economy of language.
Over the years, Hemingway's style has been studied, interpreted, criticized, praised, dismissed, and frequently copied (poorly) by aspiring young writers. During his lifetime, he was frequently asked to explain a particular work or his writing, in general. Like most writers, he usually dismissed such questions out of hand. On one occasion, though, he was asked about the symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea. His response gives at least a bit of insight into his style. He said that if he were able to create an old man, a boy, and a fish that were real enough, they would have meaning. The characters in "Hills Like White Elephants" are portrayed realistically. He left it up to the reader to find something meaningful in what they say to each other.