An analysis of Ernest Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants"

出版者:GRIN Publishing

作者:Anonym

页数:20

出版时间:2009-11-12

价格:GBP 14.90

装帧:Paperback

isbn号码:9783640469369

具体描述

The story takes place at a train station in the Ebro River valley of Spain. The year is not given, but is almost certainly contemporary to the composition (1920s). This particular day is oppressively hot and dry, and the scenery in the valley is barren and ugly for the most part. The two main characters are a man (referred to only as "the American") and his female companion, whom he calls Jig.

While waiting for the train to Madrid, the American and Jig drink beer and a liquor called Anís del Toro, which Jig compares to licorice. Their conversation is mundane at first, but quickly drifts to the subject of an operation which the American is attempting to convince Jig to undergo. Though it is never made explicit in the text, it is made clear (through phrases of dialogue such as "It's just to let the air in" and "But I don't want anybody but you," among numerous context clues) that Jig is pregnant and that the procedure in question is an abortion.

After posing arguments to which the American is largely unresponsive, Jig eventually assents to the operation, giving the final justification: "I don't care about me." She attempts to drop the subject, but the American persists as if still unsure of Jig's intentions and mental state. As the train approaches, it is important to note that he carries their bags to the opposing platform and has a drink alone before rejoining Jig. She smiles at him, assures him that she is "fine," and the story ends.

Jig's reference to white elephants could be in reply to the baby. The American could see the baby as a white elephant and not want to raise it because of the cost, while Jig could see the child as an extraordinary addition to her mundane life of drinking and mindless traveling

作者简介

"Hemingway" redirects here. For other uses, see Hemingway (disambiguation).

Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway in 1939

Born Ernest Miller Hemingway

July 21, 1899(1899-07-21)

Oak Park, Illinois, United States

Died July 2, 1961(1961-07-02) (aged 61)

Ketchum, Idaho, United States

Occupation Author

Nationality American

Notable award(s) Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1953)

Nobel Prize in Literature (1954)

Spouse(s) Elizabeth Hadley Richardson (1921–1927)

Pauline Pfeiffer (1927–1940)

Martha Gellhorn (1940–1945)

Mary Welsh Hemingway (1946–1961)

Children Jack Hemingway (1923–2000)

Patrick Hemingway (1928–)

Gregory Hemingway (1931–2001)

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Signature

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American author and journalist. His distinctive writing style, characterized by economy and understatement, influenced 20th-century fiction, as did his life of adventure and public image. He produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Hemingway's fiction was successful because the characters he presented exhibited authenticity that resonated with his audience. Many of his works are classics of American literature. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works during his lifetime; a further three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published posthumously.

Hemingway was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After leaving high school he worked for a few months as a reporter for The Kansas City Star, before leaving for the Italian front to become an ambulance driver during World War I, which became the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms. He was seriously wounded and returned home within the year. In 1922 Hemingway married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives, and the couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent. During his time there he met and was influenced by modernist writers and artists of the 1920s expatriate community known as the "Lost Generation". His first novel, The Sun Also Rises, was written in 1924.

After divorcing Hadley Richardson in 1927 Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer; they divorced following Hemingway's return from covering the Spanish Civil War, after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940, but he left her for Mary Welsh Hemingway after World War II, during which he was present at D-Day and the liberation of Paris.

Shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea in 1952 Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in a plane crash that left him in pain or ill-health for much of the rest of his life. Hemingway had permanent residences in Key West, Florida, and Cuba during the 1930s and '40s, but in 1959 he moved from Cuba to Ketchum, Idaho, where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961.

目录信息

The title of the story, "Hills Like White Elephants," is an allegory of the innocence of what seemed to be but is not (Jig's lust towards an American man) from Jig's perspective in regards to her affair with a man who simply sees the pleasure in being with her in the flesh. Innocence is revealed when Jig orders a drink that she has never had before, and does not know the taste of. This is an allegory which develops into mixed feelings as the story unfolds. In her quote, she states that "everything tastes like licorice, especially all the things he’s waited so long for, like Absinthe." This clearly reflects that, in her innocence, she is confused of the fact that after her deliberate assurance in her decision for her love for this man, and her decision to impregnate herself with the child of this American, she is confused. She does go on to express his immorality towards her as she expresses that everything to her tastes like licorice.This reflects her intoxication which goes beyond the physical, as he abused her physically, and also emotionally. The American answers, "Oh cut it out", which is a pun intended as a nod toward abortion, and goes on saying, "Well, let's try and have a fine time."
The title of the story refers to an aspect of its setting which is symbolically important in many ways. Jig draws a simple simile by describing the hills across the desolate valley as looking like white elephants. The implication is that, just as Jig thinks the hills in the distance look like white elephants, the American views the couple's unborn child as an approaching obstacle, a hindrance to the status quo or status quo ante. To avoid this impending responsibility, he attempts to manipulate Jig into having an abortion by presenting the operation as a simple procedure that is in her best interests, a panacea for all that is ailing her and troubling their relationship.
Furthermore, this symbolism combined with Jig's question "That's all we do, isn't it--look at things and try new drinks" and her statement that even exciting new things she has waited a long time to try, like absinthe (sometimes valued as an aphrodisiac), merely end up "tasting like licorice," implies that the couple's perpetually ambling, hedonistic circus-like lifestyle has become something of a metaphorical white elephant to her. It appears that she seeks more stability and permanence in life; "It isn't ours anymore," she states of the carefree lifestyle she and the American have been pursuing from one hotel to the next.
The symbolism of the hills and the big white elephant can be thought of as the image of the swollen breasts and abdomen of a pregnant woman, and to the prenatal dream of the mother of the future Buddha in which a white elephant (in this case, a symbol of prestigious leadership) presents her with a lotus flower, a symbol of fertility.[2]
The reference to the white elephants may also bear a connection to the baby as 'a valuable possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) is out of proportion to its usefulness.'
Apart from the eponymous hills, other parts of the setting provide symbolism which expresses the tension and conflict surrounding the couple. The train tracks form a dividing line between the barren expanse of land stretching toward the hills on one side and the green, fertile farmland on the other, symbolizing the choice faced by each of the main characters and their differing interpretations of the dilemma of pregnancy. Jig focuses on the landscape during the conversation, rarely making eye contact with the American.[3]
At the end of the story, the American takes the initiative to pick up the couple's luggage and port it to the "other tracks" on the opposite side of the station, symbolizing his sense of primacy in making the decision to give up their child and betraying his insistence to Jig that the decision is entirely in her hands. This is, however, often viewed as a sign that the couple has changed their mind and decided to go back to where they came from. The argument is that they would have been going in to the city, but then when he moves the bags "to the other tracks" that he has changed their destination after the discussion they had. Also one direction of the tracks leads to the desolate "brown and dry" region while the others moves towards the river, mountains and green valleys.
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用户评价

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这本书的封面设计着实吸引眼球，那种简约而又充满留白的艺术感，一下子就把你拉入一种沉思的状态。我记得我第一次拿起它的时候，就被那种近乎冷峻的排版风格所震撼，每一个字仿佛都经过了精心的雕琢，毫不拖泥带水。它不是那种用华丽辞藻堆砌起来的“畅销书”，更像是一件精心打磨的艺术品，散发着一种低调的、内敛的光芒。阅读的过程中，我发现作者的叙事节奏掌控得极为精准，时而如同平静的湖面，让人感到一种近乎凝固的安宁；时而又像疾风骤雨，在不经意间抛出一个让你措手不及的观点或场景，迫使你不得不停下来，反复咀嚼。这种张弛有度的叙事技巧，使得整部作品读起来酣畅淋漓，但又回味悠长。你不会在其中找到冗长的人物内心独白，作者更倾向于通过环境的描绘和人物间微妙的对话来暗示深层的主题，这无疑是对读者理解力和想象力的一种挑战，也是它最大的魅力所在——它允许你将自己的情感和经历投射进去，去完成那些未尽的叙述。整体而言，这本书在视觉和阅读体验上都达到了极高的水准，让人忍不住想一读再读，每一次翻阅都能发现新的层次和光影。

这部作品散发着一种令人不安的疏离感，这种感觉贯穿始终，像一层薄薄的、不易察觉的雾气，笼罩在所有发生的事情之上。我体会到一种强烈的“未说出口”的重量感，那些人物间的对话，表面上风平浪静，甚至有些日常得令人发指，但字里行间却涌动着巨大的、未被宣泄的情感暗流。作者似乎对人类交流中的那些“无效”或“伪装性”的语言有着深刻的洞察力，他捕捉到了人们在面对关键时刻时，如何习惯性地用空洞的客套话来粉饰太平。读到某些段落时，我感觉自己就像一个站在透明玻璃墙外的观察者，能清晰地看到角色的挣扎，却无法干预，更无法获得一个明确的结论。这种距离感并非是作者技巧的缺失，反而是一种极高明的艺术策略，它迫使我们去审视自己的沟通模式，去反思我们日常生活中那些被我们理所当然接受的交流方式是否也同样充满了这种冰冷的、象征性的空洞。读完后，那种余韵不是愉悦，而是一种深刻的、略带寒意的自我审视。

从结构上讲，这本书的巧妙之处在于它近乎完美的平衡感，尽管主题可能沉重，但阅读体验却出奇地轻盈。它避免了传统文学中常见的戏剧性高潮和低谷，转而采用一种近乎匀速的、持续的张力铺陈。这种稳定而又持续的压力，比突如其来的爆发更令人感到压抑和引人入胜。想象一下，你正在欣赏一个技艺精湛的钟表匠的工作，每一个齿轮的咬合都完美无瑕，每一个发条的收紧都恰到好处，你清楚地知道能量正在积累，但你知道它绝不会失控或发出刺耳的声响。作者似乎非常清楚如何在“展示”和“暗示”之间找到那个微妙的黄金分割点，他给予的信息量总是刚刚好，多一分则显拖沓，少一分则显单薄。这种“恰到好处”的艺术，在当代文学中是极为罕见的。它需要的不仅仅是文字功底，更需要一种对节奏和空间感近乎本能的把握，让人不禁对作者的掌控力肃然起敬。

这本书的文字密度简直令人叹为观止，与其说是阅读，不如说更像是在进行一场智力上的攀登。我必须承认，一开始的几页让人有些吃力，因为它似乎拒绝为你提供任何明确的指引或情感上的拐杖。那种克制到极致的表达方式，仿佛作者在用一种近乎外科手术般的精确度切割着每一个句子，每一个词语的选择都透露出一种近乎偏执的考究。它不像某些作品那样试图迎合大众的情绪，反而更像是在构建一个只属于作者和少数敏锐读者的私密空间。我尤其欣赏作者在处理场景转换时的那种高超手法，常常是在一个看似无关紧要的物件或一个转瞬即逝的感官体验中，完成了情节或主题的巨大跃迁。这种非线性的、跳跃式的叙事，要求读者时刻保持高度集中的精神状态，稍有分心，就可能错过一个至关重要的“暗号”。对于那些习惯了直白叙事的人来说，这本书或许会显得有些冷漠甚至晦涩，但对于渴望深度交流的读者而言，它无疑是一座富矿，等待着我们去挖掘和解读那些深埋在字里行间的哲学思考。

Damn man. 就让女主独自美丽吧。

拜托，那些說沒看懂的，不會google一下analysis？再傻也google一下中文翻譯吧…再懶我給出答案，說的是男人說服女伴去do abortion。老濕說海明威的平淡風格是因為他之前學當記者的，不過和the yellow wallpaper對比讀起來頗有意思

Damn man. 就让女主独自美丽吧。

有一句连用7个please快点赶上琼瑶阿姨了

（泪）