Hills Like White Elephants

Author

Vocabulary

Introduction

Thesis statement: "Though the word “abortion” is nowhere in the story, it is doubtlessly understood through Hemingway’s powerful use of two literary elements: setting and symbolism."

Paragraph one

Topic sentence: "From the first paragraph the setting immediately introduces the tense atmosphere that will surround the rest of the story."

Supporting evidence: "The hills across the valley of the Ebro 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. […] The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went to Madrid."

Supporting evidence: "The couple is in the middle of making a drastic decision where there are only two choices, two directions, just like the two rail lines that pass by the station."

Supporting evidence: "The openness and loneliness around the railroad station imply that there is no way to back out of the problem at hand and that the man and the girl must address it now."

Supporting evidence: "The heat turns the scene into a virtual teakettle, boiling and screaming under pressure. "

Paragraph two

Topic sentence: The main idea of this paragraph is the symbolism behind the girl saying that the hills "look like white elephants."

Supporting evidence: "As she observes the white hills she foresees elatedly the birth of her baby – something unique like the uncommon white elephant."

Supporting evidence: "The color white symbolizes the innocence and purity of her unborn child."