文学分析

Analysis of symbolic description

Analysis of symbolic description on Hills Like White Elephant

It is common for Ernest Miller Hemingway, the outstanding writer in American literature history, to use plenty of symbolic description in his works. Through implicit, concise and sophisticated diction, the symbolic description is introduced to guide readers the profound meaning. Therefore, as one of renowned short stories, Hills Like White Elephant is characterized with implicit environmental description, simple plot and concise but dramatic conversation. In a word, they are the symbolic description. 

Symbolic description on environment

As many other fictions of Hemingway, the background of this passage is also in a foreign place, a railway station in Spain. Firstly the exoticism sets the strange and curious tone for this passage. In this short story, there are three concise descriptions on environment. Sentences like “there was no shade and no trees” drive our tension, while section like

“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 tree”

They give us comfort and peace. This opposite but symbolic environment description impresses us and paves the road to the contradictory emotional confrontation between the two main characters, the man and the girl.

Symbolic description on plot and conversation

The main plot of this story is that man and girl are waiting train to Madrid where they will have abortion. (In fact, this story never told us what kind of operation they would take. Abortion was the ratiocination based on the symbolic conversation) However, the girl wasn’t completely persuaded to take abortion. At the bottom of her heart, she wasn’t willing to do that. The man came to the realization and tried his best to persuade her. He repeatedly highlighted “it would be a convenient surgery”, and “I won’t let you do that if you don’t want“. Actually, even though the girl was unwilling to take abortion, the man insisted she should. 

In these symbolic description of conversation, there aren’t any commend and explanation. However, readers can easily witness the indifference and perfunctory of the man. The symbolic description have the magical power to sharp the characteristic.   

After listening to man’s annoying and repeated excuse, the girl burst into desperate bellow then kept silence. They were waiting for beers silently, but there was tension and anxiety in their mind. Even though they sat closely, obviously there was insuperable blank in their mind. At this moment, the vital symbolic description hills like White Elephant was frequently cited.

The hills like White Elephant, actually was the symbol of insuperable blank.      

The original meaning of White Elephant comes from India. In Indian society, white elephant is considered as divine creator, they are inviolable and should be carefully fed. However, white elephant will eat a great number of food. Massive expense and carefulness were indispensable to feed them and as the result, white elephant become the unwelcome gift. Apparently to the man, the fetus is “white elephant”. The selfish and irresponsible character of him reveal on the symbolic plot. On the contrary, the girl considered “white elephant” as the past irresponsible life style, which she had lost interest. The symbolic description of White Elephant fully discloses their opposite standpoint of the surgery and understanding of life.

What’s more, two measure words also endow symbolic and ironic meaning. First is “everything”（”And I'll do it and then everything will be fine” “And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible” “I said we could have everything” “That's the way with everything“ ”Everything tastes of liquorice”）. Everything is a symbolic description which reveals their different understanding of life. They can’t effectively communicate because there was the contradictory between an emotional girl and a practical man. “Two” is the second symbolic measure word. It frequently appeared in the passage, there by symbolized that unexpected pregnancy and ironic sign for their past irresponsible life style. 

It is the symbolic description that embraces profound charm of literature. The usage of symbolic description by Hemingway not only increases the sense of reality of this story, but also deepens the theme of it, which drive reader endless association and interpretation.