The theme analysis about Hills Like White Elephants

錢逸

Hills Like White Elephants， by Ernest Hemingway， tells about a conversation around an “operation” between an American man and a girl at a Spanish train station under the scenery of hills like white elephants. Its themes are intended to be broad-based， and here I will mainly focus on three points among them： the estrangement， the discourse communication of both sexes， and the despair of the “Lost Generation”.

Firstly， Hemingway wanted to represent the theme of estrangement. Conversations between protagonists were ambiguous. The girl insisted repeatedly and tried to make him understand her pains， she didnt want to induce abortion， but the man made an utmost effort to let the girl know that “It's really an awfully simple operation” the man said. “It's not really an operation.” From the perspective of deeper level， the man didnt concern whether abortion carry authority on a girl， he was numb about her problem and ignored the future prospect. He thought the girls pregnancy was a trouble in their life. It was necessary to settle down and live the family life， as long as they had a body. This would change their life， while he was afraid of this change. The estrangement of the entire story is externalization between both parties.

Secondly， Hills is a classic version of obstructions existing in the discourse communication of both sexes described by the author. Although both sexes are puzzled about whether they should receive the abortion， Jig's only comment about the relationship between them， which is a little resentful， is nothing but a long shot gamble， and a last move to save their relationship， which is about to collapse. Unfortunately， however， under her obscure language and ambitious form of expression， the other person hasnt figured out her anxiety or disappointment. The man， who brought up the topic five times， is actually the opposite of Jig. The abortion was directly involved in four of them. It seems that he has made up his mind to persuade Jig to receive this surgery. On the one hand， he emphasized the simplicity of this surgery again and again. On the other hand， he said repeatedly that “I wouldnt have you do it if you dont want to”， and something like that. From the beginning to the end， he has been so calm， rational， logical and patient.In his male discourse， we can feel the implicit toughness and perseverance. Therefore， although both of them were desperate， they felt helpless in front of each other because of the obstructions in spirit and discourse communication， which finally led to the failed communication.

Thirdly， the theme of the “Lost Generation” is in the embodiment of the novel. “Lost Generation” means the persons not vanished but disoriented， wandering， directionless — a recognition that there was great confusion and aimlessness among the war's survivors in the early post-war years （Wikipedia Lost Generation）. In Hills， the youth were indulged in drinking and lust， and a feeling of nothingness was decadently fleshed out， Hills was closely related to the status of the western countries of that time. The war had destroyed human civilization， also values based on humanitarian. The story between the characters， filled with an atmosphere of nihilism and anxiety resulted from peoples impendency to seek new ways， and the most complex symbol “white elephant” seems rosy， but in reality frustrated with no support of spirit， the whole world was in “intersection”， where to go， how to choose， is the subject of the people widely concerned about.

Hills is acclaimed for its being concise， direct and also suggestive and illuminating， in which subtle words make the theme profoundly revealed the estrangement between characters ， rooted in traditional ideas， hard to be reconciled， and the discourse communication of both sexes and the despair of the “Lost Generation”.

Reference：

[1]Wikipedia： Lost Generation.Wikipedia，n.a.Web.4 Jul.2015.