Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

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A thorough evaluation of the short story, “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway reveals a young woman blossoming to a decision maker in her life after finally getting out from under the adverse influence of a relationship with a man she previously thought loved her unconditionally. She finally gets fed up with living under the man’s shadow; allowing him to make all the decisions, letting him talk ceaselessly as he tries to convince her of the rights of his ways, and even letting him decide when and where to travel. Hemingway allows for the transformation of this young lady to become more independent. The transformation of characters in a literary work is one of the most significant themes in contemporary literature. Audiences love…show more content…
The transformation of a character differs in each literary work, and the process of conveying a change in a story depends on the writer’s objective for producing the work. There are, however, standard, non-superficial questions that act as a guide to portraying change in a character. These questions are involved and have consequences for every facet of the story; “each question directly involves the very core identity of the story’s character and make the assumption that this core transforms by the end of the story” (Phillip). The standard questions are: “What element outlines the character’s individuality that he or she moves toward seeing inversely by the narration’s ending? What does the personality discover that leads him or her perceive the world in a different way? What element of the character’s fundamental identity does he or she discover something different about which transforms him or her into a different person at the end of the story?”…show more content…
In essence, authors utilize change as the theme to promote other more significant themes, which could either be both inspirational and perilous. Change in a character can either be psychological or physical in nature. Physical change is mostly demonstrated in horror stories involving gender or in science fiction where shape shifting is involved. The change in physicality can either be at the character’s self-control or involuntary as in cases of stories involving werewolves. Another aspect of transformation fiction is that of gender change. “This process might involve supernatural and mystical capabilities concomitant with shape shifting, predominantly in folklore legends and mythology” (Carrier). Psychological transformation encompasses situations where character feel like they are trapped in the wrong body or personality. On a more refined outlook, psychological transformation involves a character progressively changing internally in terms of temperament, values, and the general attitude on
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