Hills Like White Elephants赏析
Hills like White Elephants
Hills like White Elephants <白象似的群山>白象似的群山》是海明威短篇小说的经典之作，它写于1927年，收入海明威小说集《没有女人的男人》。
小说情节可以用一句话来概括：一个美国男人和一位姑娘在一个西班牙小站等火车，男人设法说服姑娘去做一个小手术。
是什么手术小说没有直接交代，但根据现实生活中的经验我们能够猜测那是一次人工流产。
整部小说基本上是由男人和姑娘的对话构成，开始的时候，姑娘似乎突发奇想，说远处群山的轮廓在阳光下“看上去像一群白象”。
但男人有些心不在焉，他开始了他自己所关注的话题――姑娘是否愿意去做手术。
姑娘对于这个话题显然是有所躲避的，男人一再解释和安慰：“那实在是一种非常简便的手术，没有什么大不了的。
”他以为这是最妥善的办法，但如果姑娘本人不是真心想做的，他也绝不勉强。
姑娘终于急了：“你再说我可要叫了。
”在这里，小说的内在紧张达到了高峰，男人就去放行李包等列车进站。
回来时问姑娘：“你觉得好些了吗？”姑娘向他投来一个微笑：“我觉得好极了。
”小说就这样在高峰处迅速滑下，戛然而止。
有评论者指出这这篇小说表现出了一种道德主义倾向，有人甚至说：“这个短篇是海明威或者其他任何人曾经写出的最可怕的故事之一。
”“堕胎”这二字未曾在小说说出，但堕胎的感觉――失落、困惑、发呆――渗入每个细微的、讲究风格的动作和字里行间。
米兰·昆德拉在《被背叛的遗嘱》一书中分析了《白象似的群山》，介绍了一本一位美国大学教授1985年写的海明威传记，传记把小说解释为一个自我中心的男人正强迫他的妻子去做流产，这些解释背后都隐含了道德判断，人们普遍同情姑娘，而谴责美国男人。
这些解释是否可靠呢？不尽然。
我们且看文本分析――小说是这样开始的：埃布罗河河谷的那一边，白色的山冈起伏连绵。
这一边，白地一片，没有树木，车站在阳光下两条铁路线中间。
紧靠着车站的一边，是一幢笼罩在闷热的阴影中的房屋，一串串竹珠子编成的门帘挂在酒吧间敞开着的门口挡苍蝇。
Hills Like White Elephants原文
Hills Like White Elephants原文The hills across the valley of the Ebrol(埃布罗河:流经西班牙北部，注入地中海，全长约756公里)were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the building and a curtain, made of strings(绳、线)of bamboo beads(有孔的小珠子), hungacross the open door into the bar, to keep out flies. The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express(快车)from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction(公路或铁路的连接处)for two minutes andwent on to Madrid."What should we drink?" the girl asked. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table."It's pretty hot," the man said. "Let's drink beer." &"Doscervezas(西班牙语:意为"来两杯啤酒")," the man said into the curtain."Big ones?" a woman asked from the doorway(门口)."Yes. Two big ones."The woman brought two glasses of beer and two felt pads(杯垫). She putthe felt pads and the beer glasses on the table and looked at the man and the girl. The girl was looking off(眺望)at the line of hills. Theywere white in the sun and the country was brown and dry. "They look like white elephants," she said."I've never seen one," the man drank his beer."No, you wouldn't have.""I might have," the man said. 'just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything."The girl looked at the bead curtain. "They've painted something on it," she said." What does it say?". It's a drink." "Anis del Toro(西班牙语:茴香酒)"Could we try it?"The man called "Listen" through the curtain. The woman came out from the bar."Four reales(雷阿尔:旧时西班牙和拉丁美洲国家通用的一种银币).""We want two Anis del Toro.""With water?""Do you want it with water?""I don't know," the girl said. "Is it good with water?""It's all right.""You want them with water?" asked the woman."Yes, with water.""It tastes like licorice(甘草)," the girl said and put the glass down."That's the way with everything(样样东西都是如此).""Yes," said the girl. "Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for, like absinthe(艾酒).""Oh, cut it out(别说了).""You started it," the girl said. "I was being amused. I was having a fine time.""Well, let's try and have a fine time.""All right. I was trying. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn't that bright(这比喻难道不妙吗)?""That was bright.""I wanted to try this new drink. That's all we do, isn't it--look at things and try new drinks?""I guess so."The girl looked across at the hills."They're lovely hills," she said. "They don't really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees." "Should we have another drink?""All right."The warm wind blew the bead curtain against the table."The beer's nice and cool," the man said."It's lovely," the girl said."It's really an awfully simple operation(手术), Jig," the man said."It'snot really an operation at all."The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on(桌腿下的地面)."I know you wouldn't mind it, Jig. It's really not anything. It'sjust to let the air in."The girl did not say anything."I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural.""Then what will we do afterward?""We'll be fine afterward. Just like we were before.""What makes you think so?""That's the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy."The girl looked at the bead curtain, put her hand out and took holdoftwo of the strings of beads."And you think then we'll be all right and be happy.""I know we will. You don't have to be afraid. I've known lots ofpeople that have done it.""So have I," said the girl. "And afterward they were all so happy." "Well," the man said, "if you don't want to you don't have to. Iwouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to. But I know it's perfectly simple." "And you really want to?""I think it's the best thing to do. But I don't want you to do it if you don't really want to.""And if I do it you'll be happy and things will be like they were and you'll love me?""I love you now. You know I love you.""I know. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you'll like it?""I'll love it. I love it now but I just can't think about it. You know how I get when I worry.""If I do it you won't ever worry?""I won't worry about that because it's perfectly simple." "Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me.""What do you mean?""I don't care about me.""Well, I care about you.""Oh, yes. But I don't care about me. And I'll do it and then everything will be fine.""I don't want you to do it if you feel that way."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.""What did you say?""I said we could have everything.""We can have everything.""No, we can't.""We can have the whole world.""No, we can't.""We can go everywhere.""No, we can't. It isn't ours any more.""It's ours.""No, it isn't. And once they take it away, you never get it back." "But they haven't taken it away.""We'll wait and see.""Come on back in the shade," he said. "You mustn't feel that way(你不应该有那种想法).""I don't feel any way," the girl said. "I just know things." "Idon't want you to do anything that you don't want to do." "Nor thatisn't good for me," she said. "I know. Could we have another beer?""All right. But you've got to realize ""I realize," the girl said. "Can't we maybe stop talking?" They sat down at the table and the girl looked across at the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her and at the table. "You've got to realize," he said, "that I don't want you to do it if you don'twant to. I'm perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you(我甘心情愿承受到底，如果这对你很重要的话).""Doesn't it mean anything to you? We could get along.""Of course it does. But I don't want anybody but you. I don't want any one else. And I know it's perfectly simple.""Yes, you know it's perfectly simple.""It's all right for you to say that, but I do know it." "Would you do something for me now?'"I'd do anything for you.'"Would you please please please please please please please Stop talking."He did not say anything but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels(贴着标签)on them from all the hotels where theyhad spent nights."But I don't want you to," he said, "I don't care anything about it." "I'll scream," the girl said.The woman came out through the curtains with two glasses of beer and put them down on the damp felt pads."The train comes in five minutes," she said."What did she say?" asked the girl."That the train is coming in five minutes."The girl smiled brightly at the woman, to thank her."I'd better take the bags over to the other side of the station,"the man said. She smiled at him."All right. Then come back and we'll finish the beer."He picked up the two heavy bags and carried them around the stationto the other tracks. He looked up the tracks but could not see the train. Coming back, he walked through the barroom, where people waiting for the train were drinking. He drank an Anis at the bar and looked at the people. They were all waiting reasonably(宁安毋躁)for the train. He went out throughthe bead curtain. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him. "Do you feel better?" he asked."I feel fine," she said. "There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine."。
“Hills Like White Elephants”英文读后感
“Hills Like White Elephants”英文读后感“Hills Like White Elephants”英文读后感“Hills Like White Elephants”, one of Hemingways terrific works, is a story that happens at a train station in the Ebro River valley of Spain. An American and his girlfriend are drinking beers and having a conversation when they are waiting for the train. In the dialogue, the young mans attempt of convincing the girl Jig to take an operation has caused a lot of arguments. Though they are not explicit about what this operation really is, I consider this operation an abortion.The conversation between them suggests that they are talking about an abortion. In the text, the man says it is an awfully simple operation and “it is just to let the air in”(Hemingway, 373). “To let the air in”is a process of vacuum aspiration in America in the 1920s, which is commonly used as a method of induced abortion. What is more, in their argument, Jig says, “Once they take it away, you never get it back”(Hemingway, 374). The man also makes it clear that he does not want anyone else but her. And this statement indicates a third person is involved. What could be the thing taken away in an operation that you may still want it back? Who could come to get in their life if the girl does not take the operation? All we can come up with is a baby. The man does not want a baby before they settle down, before he is ready to take the responsibility of raising a family.And Jig is still struggling about whether to take this operation or not in their debates. So this is an operation to take the unexpected babyaway---abortion.Sceneries between the two lines of the rails are also indications of their two different choices in pregnancy. On one side, there is no shade and no trees but only barren land stretching toward the hills. On the other side, the land is covered with green, fertile fields and river. Barren is used to describe a woman who is unable to produce children while fertile represents females capability of producing babies. If Jig agrees to take the operation, then the baby will no longer exist and thus making her barren. But if she chooses not to, then she will be consider as a fertile woman who is able to produce babies. That is to say the two totally opposite views symbolize their dilemma of the pregnancy --- infertile or fecund, undergo the abortion or not.The title of this story itself is a metaphor implying this is an abortion. White elephant denotes something that is completely burdensome, although it may be precious enough. And here in this text, the white elephant is the symbol of a baby—valuable but troublesome. There is no doubt that the baby is a treasure. But the fact is that they are a young couple traveling around the world without a place to settle down. They have neither enough time nor energy to take care of a baby. Even if they dont have to worry about those material conditions, they are notpsychologically ready yet. Problems like “requirements of being qualified parents”has never occurred in their minds. Based on both physical and psychology circumstances of the young couple, we can see that the baby is precious but also a burden. Hence the white elephant here is an intimation of an abortion.The phrase “to let the air in”makes it quite clear that this is an abortion. And during their debates, we can get to know someone is involved in this young couple and the American is trying to get away from this third person by requesting Jig to take the operation. Furthermore, the two different landscapes on the two sides of the rails is also foreshadowing us the outcome of Jigs choice. Take it, she is barren. Reject, fertile. And the white elephant becomes emblematic of a baby that could be a sweet burden in their life. This symbol strengthen the operation that has been talked about in the whole story is an abortion. With all these factors integrated together, we can conclude this is an abortion.。
_白象似的群山_中的隐喻映射_钱俊
隐喻是两个不同语义领域的互动，在这两个不同 的领域之间存在着某种关系，即其中某一领域用来说 明另一领域。当人们思考、行动或交际时，意义的构建 就会在域内或域际之间进行。他们认为，在这些概念 空间的连结中具有相似的联系和推理迁移( inferencetransfer) ，所有的思维形式都是创造性的，这是因为它 们会产生新的联系和构造，并由此产生新的意义和新 的概念。在隐喻的认知心理空间映射的结果上，所输 出的心理空间( 隐喻) 有概念的缺省。这是隐喻表达 的必然现象。在隐喻的认知心理空间形成过程中，牵 涉到相似性概念的提取，在一事物所形成的心理空间 投射至另一事物所形成的心理空间过程中，人类的主 观能动性发挥作用，在映射过程中对相似性的概念进 行提取。提取的概念本身是抽象的。它是用于指导一 事物心理空间投射到另一事物心理空间的前提。在输 入的两个或多个心理空间中不会出现。更不会在输出 空间( 隐喻) 中出现。所以在空间映射过程中本身就 存在概念的缺省。任何文本、话语中的隐喻都呈动态 趋势，指概念或意义的转换过程。德曼说，“叙事的意 指如果实际上是其话语的转义结构，那么，叙事就是解 释这一事实的努力。”［5］
二、“白象”: 开启谜宫的钥匙 文学隐喻的出现往往没有什么明确的信号或标 志。读者需要根据语言的字面意义在逻辑或与语境形 成的语义和语用冲突及其性质，来判断某一种用法是 否属于隐喻。在文学作品中，某种语言表达形式从语 用角度或语境角度来看，如果是异常的，或者说其字面 意义与语境明显不符，那么我们就可以从文学隐喻的 角度加以理解。当读者发现语义异常的文字时，往往 并不放弃对其意义的理解，而是根据语境文化或意境 来猜测可能的意义。最常见的办法就是把它当成隐喻 来理解。［7］男人和 Jig 的对话中多含有言外之意，虽然 在表面上看来随意而杂乱，但在深层结构上却保持着 ·10·
对《hills like white elephants》的解读
对《hills like white elephants》的解读《HillsLikeWhiteElephants》是美国现代作家爱德华.海明威（ErnestHemingway）的一篇短篇小说，故事发生在西班牙，讲述了一对情侣之间由于“安全套”话题而引发的情感冲突。
本文将详细分析小说主题，及其背后的暗示和内涵，以揭示作者的主旨和评价的意义。
首先，本文将阐明《Hills Like White Elephants》的主题。
故事的核心问题是男女主人公是否应该做“安全套”，这是一个深刻而重要的主题，引发了两个人的情感冲突。
作者通过谨慎的措辞和技巧，尽可能用自然而不失洞察力的方式，提出了这一主题。
其次，本文将探讨这篇文章背后的暗示和内涵。
在故事中，男主角一直试图说服女主角做“安全套”，但她仍然犹豫不决，他们之间的争斗表现了男女两性之间涉及责任的“做出选择”的问题，这些暗示背后的实质意义是关于“质量生活”的道德责任。
最后，本文将分析爱德华.海明威对该主题的主旨及其对“质量生活”道德责任的评价。
海明威提出了“责任本身并不能满足我们的情感需要，但必须去承担它”的主旨，这意味着在某种程度上我们必须要担负责任，并根据自己的感情来接受这种责任，这是道德上的要求。
同时，海明威在此还表达了一种调和的观点，即道德应该兼顾情感和责任，必须在尊重彼此的情感和满足责任的共同坚持下，才能达到最佳效果。
总而言之，《Hills Like White Elephants》是一篇关于性责任和“质量生活”道德责任的短篇小说，爱德华.海明威以谨慎的措辞和技巧，提出了“责任本身并不能满足我们的情感需求，但必须去承担它”的主旨，这是道德上的要求。
他还表达了一种“调和”的观点，即道德应该兼顾情感和责任，必须在尊重彼此的情感和满足责任的共同坚持下，才能达到最佳效果。
因此，《Hills Like White Elephants》不仅是一篇关于安全套的短篇小说，更是海明威对道德责任的重要反思和调和性评价。
Hills like white elephant 中象征手法的使用
Symbolism Used in “Hills like White Elephants”A symbol is an object, action, or idea that represents something other than itself, often of a more abstract nature. Symbolism creates quality aspects that make literature like poetry and novels more meaningful. The story is talking a very sensitive topic at that time, because of that, Hemingway does not use a word of pregnant or abortion. Hemingway is good at “Iceberg Theory.”In this way, the short story does not disclose everything, we may find that a lot of things are symbolic in it.The title “Hills like White Elephants” contains three different symbols: hills, the color white, and the white elephants. Firstly, hills can be interpreted in two ways. The shape of the hills Jig sees is just really like a white elephant. “All right, I was trying. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn't that bright?”She uses the white elephants as a metaphor for the mountains. Another interpretation----Jig is pregnant, in her eyes, the rounded enlargement of her stomach with a baby is just like the hills, and it can also be thought of as the image of the swollen breasts. White is the color of pure snow or milk. It is the color of light that contains all of the wavelengths of the visible spectrum without absorption. In Western culture, white is the color most often associated with innocence, perfection, the good, honesty, cleanliness, the beginning, the new, neutrality, lightness, and exactitude. In the girl’s eyes, the color white symbolizes the innocence and purity of her unborn child. As for the white elephant, it is a largely useless object that may be expensive to own and maintain, according to one of its definitions in standard dictionaries. From the perspective of Jig, one of the hills may represent the lifestyle of her and the American. There are also some other symbols of it. It represents a valuable possession which the owner can not dispose of. According to Asian legends, the possession of a white elephant was regarded as both a blessing and a curse. It was good because the animal was sacred and was considered to be a high-level gift. It was bad because the animal could not be used as a labor animal and would be expensive to own and maintain; It is a avoidance of a difficult topic (according to“an elephant in the room”).The phrase “an elephant in the room”is a euphemism for a topic painfully obvious that no one wants to discuss –it refers to a question, problem, or issue that is obvious but is being ignored; It symbolizes the strength and fertility. According to tradition, Buddha’s mother had a dream about a white elephant that brought her a lotus flower. The following day she gave birth to her son.The name of the girl, Jig, also implies and symbolizes a lot. A jig is a device used in wood working. Some have suggested that her name is symbolic because the man thinks of her as a tool –an object –rather than a person with emotions and feelings about her unborn child. A jig is also a traditional Irish dance. This nickname can show, in a subtle way, that the girl and man dance around each other and around the problem that exists without saying anything important or coming to any clear decision.Curtain is recurred seven times in the short story. “Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the building and a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads,”“‘Dos cervezas,’ the man said into the curtain ” . “The girl looked at the bead curtain”, etc.Without any doubt, curtain must have a deep meaning. It symbolizes boundaries the couple is facing at this point in their life or the separation that exists between the couple.Another one is Anis del Toro. Anis del Toro is mentioned five times in the story. "Anis del Toro. It's a drink." This new drink that tastes like licorice can represent the innocence of Jig, since she has never heard of this drink before. “Coming back, he walked through the barroom, where people waiting for the train were drinking. He drank an Anis del Toro at the bar and looked at the people.” This powerful liquor can symbolize the excitement that her American boyfriend has to offer to Jig, but the drink fails to deliver.“Railroad Tracks” in the story divides line between the green, fertile land, and the brown, dry land, representing the division that exists between the couple. These are tracks that run side-by-side, yet never meet, and could represent the relationship between Jig and her boyfriend –being together –yet never coming together.“Hills Like White Elephants”is similar to many of Hemingway’s other short stories. He uses straightforward writing, simple prose, and skeletal sentences. Hemingway knows how to trim language and has been said to “get the most from the least.”He leaves information out of this story intentionally. This allows the readers to fill in the blanks and come to their own conclusion. Hemingway uses a style that analysts call the “Iceberg Theory.”For instance, in the story the word “abortion”is never mentioned although the male character seems to be attempting to convince his girlfriend to have an abortion. “Iceberg Theory.”is very evident in “Hills Like White Elephants.”His hard facts float above the water but most of the supporting structure, filled with symbolism, operates underwater. In conclusion, Hemingway's use of “Iceberg Theory.”is well applied through the symbols as I analyzed above.Work cited:“Elephant in the Room.”Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia./wiki/elephant_in_the_room. (4/6/10).Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.”./~acpjr/Blackboard/Common/Stories/WhiteElephants.html.(3/31/10).“Hills Like White Elephants.”Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia./wiki/hills_like_white_elephants. (3/31/10).“Hills Like White Elephants: A Study Guide.”Cummings Study Guide./Guides4/Hills.html. (4/1/10).“Hills Like White Elephants Symbolism, Imagery & Allegory.”Shmoop Beta./hills-like-white-elephants/symbolism-imagery.html“Hills Like White Elephants –Literary Analysis.”Virginia Community College Systems Literature Website./blog/hills-like-white-elephants-literary-analysis/. (4/1/10). “Hills Like White Elephants: Themes, Motifs, and Symbols.”SparkNotes./short-stories/hills-like-white-elephants/themes.html. (4/1/10). “White Elephant.”Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia./wiki/white_elephant. (4/6/10).。
Hills Like White Elephants赏析
• It may symbolize the baby, too costly to keep in that it demands not only material provision but also responsible nurture.
Introduction to Hemingway
Hemingway's birthplace in Oak Park, Illinois.
Hemingway fishing as a young boy.
The Kansas City Star building, where Hemingway took his first job as a cub reporter.
• Physically it is quite dangerous for it was back in the 1920s’, when medical condition for an abortion was not what it is today. Besides, this operation is practiced illegally in Spain, a rigid, pious, roman Catholic country that equals abortion to murder.
The American: Man traveling with Jig.
The Woman: Waitress at the train station.
Study Questions for comprehension and consideration
HillsLikeWhiteElephants赏析 ppt课件
had “powerful style forming mastery of the art”.
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Iceberg Principle
• How is the "iceberg principle" used in Hemingway's works?
• Hemingway's theory of omission is widely referred to as the "iceberg principle." By omitting certain parts of a story, he actually strengthens that story. The writer must be conscious of these omissions and be writing true enough in order for the reader to sense the omitted parts. When the reader senses the omitted parts, a greater perception and understanding for the story can be achieved.
found in his desk drawer after his death in 1961.
2020/4/12
Hemingway showing off his marlin catch with his friend, American bullfighter Sidney Franklin
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Characters
Jig: Woman traveling in Europe with a male companion. The author does not disclose whether they are single, engaged, or married; however, it appears likely that they are girlfriend and boyfriend.
The American: Man traveling with Jig.
The Woman: Waitress at the train station.
Study Questions for comprehension and consideration
• 1. What is a “white elephant ” according to the dictionary definition? What does a “white elephant” symbolize in the story?
Hills Like White Elephants
By Ernest Hemingway
Introduction to Ernest Hemingway
(1899-1961)
Introduction to Hemingway
Hemingway's birthplace in Oak Park, Illinois.
His Major Works
❖ 1925 In our time (published in Paris)
《在我们的时代里》（包括《印第安营寨》）
❖ 1926 Torrents of Spring 《春潮》 ❖ 1926 The Sun Also Rises 《太阳照常升起》 ❖ 1927 Men Without Women 《没有女人的男人》 ❖ 1929 A Farewell to Arms 《永别了，武器》 ❖ 1932 Death in the Afternoon 《午后之死》 ❖ 1933 Winner Take Nothing 《胜者无所得》 ❖ 1935 Green Hills of Africa 《非洲的青山》 ❖ 1937 To Have and Have Not 《富有与贫穷》 ❖ 1940 For Whom the Bell Tolls 《丧钟为谁而鸣》 ❖ 1950 Across the River and Into the Trees 《过河入林》 ❖ 1952 The Old Man and the Sea 《老人与海》
• Yes, otherwise she would not have drunk so much. In addition, she always uses subjunctive mood to indicate the baby thing: “we could have al this”, “we could have everything.” “we could get along.”
• Physically it is quite dangerous for it was back in the 1920s’, when medical condition for an abortion was not what it is today. Besides, this operation is practiced illegally in Spain, a rigid, pious, roman Catholic country that equals abortion to murder.
school, 1917
Hemingway in his World War I ambulance driver's uniform before his injuries.
Hemingway trying his hand at bullfighting in Spain
❖ Here, he can be seen (right of center, in white pants and dark sweater) confronting a charging bull.
• Hills like white elephant physically resemble the fat white belly of a pregnant woman, a symbol of life, in contrast to the “brown and dry country”.
• The emotional stress is also two-fold: the guilty of murdering your own child, and the preoccupation about the consequence of this “murdering”.
• 3. Has Jig made up her mind to do the abortion?
• No good writer ever prepared his symbols ahead of time and wrote his book about them, but out of a good book which is true to life symbols may arise and be profitably explored if not overemphasized.
Features of his writing
• Colloquial style: influence from Mark Twain and his journalist career
• Concrete, specific, common-found words • Simple, short, even ungrammatical sentences • Direct, clear and positive style, yet highly
A lifelong bullfighting aficionado… two tickets to the upcoming bullfights in Pamplona were
found in his desk drawer after his g off his marlin catch with his friend, American bullfighter Sidney Franklin
• White elephant metaphorically refers to some expensive presents with limited value.
• It may symbolize the baby, too costly to keep in that it demands not only material provision but also responsible nurture.
Hemingway fishing as a young boy.
The Kansas City Star building, where Hemingway took his first job as a cub reporter.
Hemingway at the time of his graduation from high
Hills Like White Elephants 《白象似的群山》
Themes, Motifs, and Symbolism in “Hills Like White Elephants”
Setting
The action takes place in the mid1920s at a train station in Zaragoza, a major city in northeastern Spain on the Ebro River. Zaragoza is approximately 170 miles northeast of Madrid. The region around Zaragoza receives scant rainfall. The greenery observed by Jig may have flourished through irrigation.
connotative • The style was described as “iceberg” • The Nobel Prize Committee praised Hemingway
had “powerful style forming mastery of the art”.
Iceberg Principle
• 2. List the evidence that tells what kind of operation Jig is confronting. How risky is it physically and emotionally?
• Since the man says “it’s a simple operation”, “just let the air in”, plus their relationship of lovers, we readers may understand this is an abortion operation.
• How is the "iceberg principle" used in Hemingway's works?
• Hemingway's theory of omission is widely referred to as the "iceberg principle." By omitting certain parts of a story, he actually strengthens that story. The writer must be conscious of these omissions and be writing true enough in order for the reader to sense the omitted parts. When the reader senses the omitted parts, a greater perception and understanding for the story can be achieved.