In the short story Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway, the setting of the story plays a significant role. The entirety of the story is told in one location: the bar at a train station, looking out at the tracks, the hills, and the valley. The location of the train station represents how the man and woman are at a crossroads. They need to make a huge decision: whether or not to get the abortion. They are at a crucial time for decision-making, and using a train station as the setting enhances this pressure. The man wants to take the train to get the abortion, but the woman isn’t as sure. The two train tracks going in different directions represent the two choices, one being what the man wants, and the other being what the woman wants.
Additionally, the scenery outside of the train station plays a key role. When the man and woman are arguing about the abortion, the girl turns away and looks out on the surroundings: “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” (3). After looking at the lush, vibrant, diverse, and lively nature, the girl blurts out, “we could have all of this,” meaning that she could have the baby (3). Later in the story, the girl again looks out on the scenery: “the girl looked across at the hills on the dry side of the valley” (6). The lush, beautiful side of the valley contrasts directly with the dry, dead side of the valley. These sides represent the two choices the girl can make in this situation. It seems that the girl wants the beautiful side full of life, but it’s unclear what she decides in the end.
Overall, the setting is pretty stagnant. It is described as being “very hot” with “no shade and no trees” and a “warm wind” (1, 2). There isn’t much excitement going on; it’s not like there are trains whizzing by or people bustling around. The scene is hot, dry, and dull. This stagnant, sluggish setting represents the man and the woman’s situation. They each have different opinions, and have reached a standstill. They have exhausted the topic of abortion so much that the woman desperately begs the man, “would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” (6) In many ways, the setting both represents and enhances what is going on in the story. By examining the setting, we allow for a deeper reading of Hills Like White Elephants.
Overall, the setting is pretty stagnant. It is described as being “very hot” with “no shade and no trees” and a “warm wind” (1, 2). There isn’t much excitement going on; it’s not like there are trains whizzing by or people bustling around. The scene is hot, dry, and dull. This stagnant, sluggish setting represents the man and the woman’s situation. They each have different opinions, and have reached a standstill. They have exhausted the topic of abortion so much that the woman desperately begs the man, “would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” (6) In many ways, the setting both represents and enhances what is going on in the story. By examining the setting, we allow for a deeper reading of Hills Like White Elephants.
I totally agree. And especially in a story like this, where we are given the bare minimum and left it to interpret it as we will, the setting plays in a crucial role in dissecting and understanding the story.
ReplyDeleteI definetely think that the setting plays a huge role in Hemingway's story. The way that he depicts the tension between the man and woman not only in their words but in the place and time they are having their conversation in. I don't know if you're familiar with any of Hemingway's other works, but last semester we read "The Sun Also Rises", and in that, he was also very keen on scenery. As Ha II said, on the outside, Hemingway's writing style seems to take a minimalistic approach. But if you dig deeper and take in every single detail he gives you, his stories become a lot of in depth and complex.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments above and I think we can be confident in the assumption of the importance of setting because of Hemingway's repetition. He's very selective with his words and is very intentional with each word- nothing extraneous just for the fun of it. The fact that he brings certain words up many times like we discussed in class ("beaded curtain", "hills" etc.) can only mean that he really wants us to recognize them. Additionally, since the plot of the story doesn't advance very dramatically, we can assume that the emphasis on the setting can be used to infer events/emotion that isn't explicitly stated in the story.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that there is not much physical action or movement in the story, and that the whole story revolves around one major, binary decision prompts us to take as much from the setting as we can. The setting is especially important here because the characters, mainly the girl, turn to nature and use it to formulate thoughts to argue their position on what to do. The two train tracks at the beginning express the decision well, as you state. In a story that is so short and so much resides on one decision, the smallest, seemingly insignificant factors, such as nuances of the setting, can play a huge role.
ReplyDeleteHemingway is notorious for his "tip of the iceberg" style of writing; he gives us the tip of the "iceberg" and we need to decipher the rest of the "iceberg". There are so many subtle things in this story that add to its depth. For example, the characters' views of the hills shows how they may view the world in different ways. And the way that the characters interact is filled with nuances that can help the audience understand what each of the characters is feeling.
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