HOME » WORKSHOPS » FICTION » ERNEST HEMINGWAY, "HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS" » RE-READING

Ernest Hemingway, "Hills Like White Elephants"

BIOGRAPHY

Reading » Re-Reading » Explorations

Re-Reading Questions

Text on p. 132 of the full Ninth Edition and p. 132 of the shorter Eight Edition.

Re-Reading Questions

1. There are many details in the story which bear consideration: the comparison of the hills to white elephants, the bead curtain in the doorway, the description of the absinthe, the landscape, the train tracks, and, of course, the unspecified operation. Perhaps you see others as well. Assume that these details are a kind of shorthand to the emotional landscape beneath the story. What might they be suggesting about the relationship of the two people and their particular situation at this point?

2. Carefully re-read the dialogue—perhaps even join with a friend to read it out loud. Add the emotional overtones which are only hinted at in the story. Are there different ways in which the dialogue could be read that might change a reader's sympathies with either character?

3. The story appears to be told objectively, but is it? What indication do you see of a narrator? Does the narrator seem to be male or female? Is there any sign that the narrator is judgmental of either or both of the characters? Look in particular at the word "reasonable."

4. Sometimes readers try to read this story in a contemporary time frame and thus fail to realize some of the implications of the situation posed by the time and place. What are some of the elements that could be misinterpreted by making the story contemporary? What are other elements which are not changed by the 70+ year gap in time?

5. What sort of resolution does the crisis of the story have, or does it have none? Why? Does either of the characters change? Imagine what the next paragraph or two might be.

Icon Directory
In The Portable Intro to Literature
In The Seagull Reader
In Portable & The Seagull Reader