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Use Of The Iceberg Theory In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

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There are many different ways to shed light on a problem that an author is writing about. One way is known as the Iceberg Theory, which was created by the well-known author Ernest Hemingway. The Iceberg Theory is a style of writing that brings the point across without mentioning the topic. A popular work by Hemingway, titled Hills Like White Elephants, was written to discuss abortion but never actually mentions abortion in the text. Instead Hemingway used the character’s conversation and the setting of the story to tell the reader what he is trying to say. In the Hills Like White Elephants, Hemingway symbolizes important things through everyday things such as the hills, the station, and Jig’s name. The hills that are mentioned in the story …show more content…

The tracks that run beside the station could symbolize the path that everyone walks through his or her life. One important symbol is the station’s location. Hemingway writes, “the station was between two lines of rails” (Roberts 350). The station being placed between the tracks symbolizes that Jig can take two paths, and she is at a crossroads in what to do. On one side of the tracks, the beauty of the hills represents having the child and raising it, the other had “no shade and no trees” (Roberts 350) showing the barrenness of aborting the child. Hemingway also describes the land on the bad side of tracks as “brown and dry” (Roberts 350) showing that if Jig aborts the child her life will also be dead and dry. Also at the station all the other people speak a foreign language representing that the couple has no one to talk to and could possibly feel like outcasts for the decision they make. Jig’s name in the story can also be very important for symbolizing other things. First, a jig saw is a tool that people use, symbolizing that maybe Jig is being used by the man in the story. A jig can also be another name for a dance, meaning Jig and the man are dancing …show more content…

Multiple times the man mentions Jig having an abortion, but always refers to the surgery as it, such as “it’s an awfully simple operation… It’s not really an operation at all” (Roberts 351). Also a jig is used to make an item the same every time, almost like a model, so Jig is a model for the couples that are McCauley 3 having to make this decision. This shows there are other people that are at the same station she is and are also trying to decide between two tracks. In Hemingway’s story Hills Like White Elephants, small everyday things are used to represent much more important things. In Hemingway’s style of Iceberg Theory, he uses everyday objects to symbolize a larger topic and never mentions the actual topic he is writing about. The hills that are mentioned throughout the story represent different parts and challenges of keeping the child. The station between the tracks represents where Jig is with the decision to keep the child or have it aborted, one side of the tracks is beautiful the other side is dry and desolate. Lastly, Jig’s name represents how she and other people feel, that they are going through the decision, wanting to dance around the topic and feeling like they are being

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