Hills Like White Elephants Q&A
- 1
What behaviors indicate that the American and the girl are living in a paternalistic society?
The disparity in their gender roles is evident from the beginning of their dialogue. The man behaves in an aggressive, dominant, and almost bullying manner when he tries to convince the girl to go through the operation. He refers to her as a girl, which is a juvenile moniker implying that she is less than him even though she is enough of a woman to bear his child. The girl tries most of the initial part of their conversation trying to be submissive, she even withdraws her comment about the white elephants to placate the man.
- 2
What effect does Hemingway create through his use of the third-person objective point of view?
Hemingway creates tension through the detail-deficit narrative style he adopts in the short story. The reader is never given any insight into the thoughts and feelings of the characters besides the words they speak to one another. The reader needs to piece together the narrative through the details of the story, which creates a sense of tension in the reader.
- 3
In what ways does "Hills Like White Elephants" exemplify Hemingway's iceberg technique?
The author’s iceberg technique is one of omission, which postulates that exposition is unnecessary and meaning can sometimes be better conveyed through things unsaid rather than said. In this short story, the characters never truly mention the word abortion and refer to it simply as the operation instead. This could be because of the taboo nature of abortions in early 20th century Spain, but it also is because the characters themselves are too horrified to discuss it brazenly. This omission is a perfect example of the engagement that can be created through the use of the Iceberg technique.
- 4
In what ways does the American's declaration that he "wouldn't have [the girl] do it if [she] didn't want to" invoke verbal irony?
The American’s claim that he doesn’t want her to get the operation if she doesn’t desire it is ridiculous because he quite blatantly tells her that he doesn’t care about the pregnancy. He tries to convince her to have the operation with several different arguments, as he tells her that it is a simple and natural operation and that he knows several people who have gone through with it.
