Questions about "Hills Like White Elephants"

Question 1: What did you learn about writing an essay from looking at this sample 
and commentary? Your answer should list particular features of this essay that you 
find effective or things you'd like to do to avoid any shortcomings this essay might 
have. Be sure to mention or quote relevant phrases from the essay or the 
commentary as you explain what you learned.


Question 2: Based on the passages sidelined in the story by train pictures, explain 
how a train can be viewed in this story as a symbol.  Pick one of the possible 
meanings below and write an answer that explains this symbolism. be sure to 
mention relevant passages from Hemingway's story to complete your explanation.
? inevitability 
? relentlessness 
? impending doom


Question 3: There are several postings at the Ernest Hemingway Fireside Chat 
(actually a WebBoard forum, not a synchronous chat site).  What answer would you 
make to the question by Julie Stiles (1/24/98) about the setting or by Kim (1/23/98) 
about the man's last drink?  Don't forget to email your answer to your instructor if 
this is an assignment.


Study Questions for "Hills Like White Elephants"

1. Looking back on the story, list the evidence that tells what kind of operation Jig 
is confronting. How risky is it physically and emotionally?


2. Are you surprised that this story was written by a man? Why or why not?


3. How do the hills in the story spotlight Jig's decision? How does Jig see the setting 
as symbolic of her choices?


4. How does the fact that Jig sees the setting symbolically get us to identify with her 
more readily than if the author had suggested the symbolism to us directly? Note 
the symbolism of the two different landscapes on either side of the Zaragosa 
train station, plus the possible symbolism of the curtain, as suggested in the 
commentary beside the story.


5. Hemingway once suggested that his purpose in such a story is to tell the reader 
as little as possible directly yet to reveal characters' motives and their conflict. 
How does this principle operate in this story? Where would you like to have 
more information (besides "he said" and "she said")?