Hills Like White Elephants

Ernest Hemingway

Group8 盧立穎 溫博翔 劉曜增 黃得奕 高志豪

Hemingway's 1923 passport photo

Ernest Hemingway• an American writer and journalist• Hemingway's distinctive writing style—known

as the iceberg theory.• he won the Nobel Prize in

Literature in 1954• “The Sun Also Rises” ,”The Old Man and the Sea”

Iceberg Theory• 「 I always try to write on the principal of the

iceberg. There is seven-eights of it under water for every part that shows. Anything you know you can eliminate and it only strengthens your iceberg. It is the part that doesn't show. 」－－ Ernest Hemingway, 1958

• First mentioned in “Death in the Afternoon”

Story line• The symbolism of the white elephants can be

thought of as the image of the swollen breasts and abdomen of a pregnant woman.

• The prenatal dream of the mother of Buddha in which a white elephant presents her with a lotus flower. (White elephant as unborn child)

• Part 9 : ”They look like white elephants.” but the American don’t agree it just Jig thinks so, and the American views the

unborn child as an obstacle to the status quoPart 50 : “That’s the only thing that bother us…”

• Part 25 : “It tastes like liquorice.” lack in her experience expressing the flavor more accurately

• Part 14 : “Anis del Toro. It’s a drink.” Part 15,33 : “Could we try it?” & “I

wanted to try this new drink.” she wants to try something new that

she has never had before : abortion• Part 27 : “Everything tastes of liquorice.

Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for, like absinthe.”this reflects that Jig is confused of her decision for her love for this man

• Part 28 : “Oh, cut it out.” a pun( 雙關 ) intended as a nod toward abortion Part 30 : “Well, let’s try and have a fine time. Part 46 : “They just let the air in and then it’s all

perfectly natural.”the American attempts to manipulate Jig into having an abortion by presenting the operation as a simple procedure

• part48:“ We will be fine afterwards.” ,” That’s the only thing that bother us.”“The only thing” here means whether to do the abortion or not.

• part55:The man comforted the girl that she can choose not to do it, however he said” I know it’s perfectly simple.• part58:The girl questioned the man if she did the operation, the man will love her as usual.

• Part72-89:An sequence of argument between the couple.

• Part93-94:The man said to her “ I don’t want anyone but you. And I know it’s perfectly simple.”

The man emphasizes the simplicity of the operation repeatedly.

• Part 98:The girl asked the man to shut up.• Part 106: “I’d better take the bags over to the

other side of the station,” the man said.

Reading comprehension• It is a story discussing about relationships

between man and woman.• Although it seems that the woman controls

the option, the man manipulated the conversation to an extent.

• Strategy: obedient to the girl→promise they would live better→a conclusion that all he did was good to her in order to maintain the life only containig two of them.

• Both the man and the girl talked in double-dealing way

• The man said” It’s a simple operation” three times, and at last he said” I don’t want you to do.

• The girl pretended to be happy→pretended that she didn’t have to do it→please the man to stop talking.