Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway - Short Story Summary, Analysis, Review

Welcome to the CodeX Cantina where our mission is to get more people talking about books! Today we look at Ernest Hemingway's most popular short stories, "The Hills Like White Elephants." It can be difficult to talk about but let's talk about some of the literary aspects of how Hemingway writes his stories and characters.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
0:00 Introductions
0:41 Publication Info
0:55 Hemingway's Style
3:32 Summary
3:57 Analysis
16:30 Wrap Up and Ratings
====Copyright Info====
Song: Infinite
Artist: Valence
Licensed to KZbin by: AEI (on behalf of NCS); Featherstone Music (publishing), and 1 Music Rights Societies
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[@TheCodeXCantina]

Ernest Hemingway Playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6eXfIaLbLSXna8 TABLE OF CONTENTS: 0:41 Publication Info 0:55 Hemingway's Style 3:32 Summary 3:57 Analysis 16:30 Wrap Up and Ratings

[@marylyons1881]

I discovered Codex Cantina just a few days ago and I'm loving these discussions, regardless of whether I've read the text or want to. I hope you cover The Old Man and the Sea. There's something about the very ending that is so enigmatic for me that it's like a puzzle I can't quite solve. Thank you both for these great discussions!

[@TheCodeXCantina]

That one and The Sun Also Rises I've been wanting to get in on the channel

[@CourtneyFerriter]

Loved your discussion of this story! I will never forget one of the first times I ever taught this story because it taught me about how we as readers tend to sympathize with the characters that are more like us. As a woman, it seemed so obvious to me that the girl didn't want to have the operation but was feeling pressured by the man to do so. One of my male students, who more naturally sympathized with the man in the story, felt like the man was trying to solve a problem that had come up in the relationship so that it could return to how it was before and they could both be happy. I do think based on the language of "the man" and "the girl" that he is older than she is and is trying to manipulate her decision, rather selfishly, as you point out.

[@RaisedtoWalkTV]

Yes, that has always been my take on it too

[@TheCodeXCantina]

So true! I remember that experience happening for me too but I can't recall the story. As always, you're a great teacher for listening and encouraging discussion.

[@BookishTexan]

I had never considered that there was an age gap between the man and the woman in this story. It definitely makes the man's manipulation even more sinister. Not sure I think there is an age gap, but it is a really interesting idea. You guys did a great job pointing out the key to Hemingway's style. I think that style has become such a standard (if modified) part of American writing that it is hard to remember that Hemingway was a modernist, he was an innovator. At the time he started writing his stripped down style was pretty revolutionary. Another great job gentlemen.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Always taken for granted when you're first sometimes!

[@noellyserrano7753]

OMG, I was baffled reading this story. It's my first time reading Hemingway, and oh boy! However, this video has helped me a lot in understanding the story; great work, guys!.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Glad it was helpful!

[@commiegobbledygook3138]

Sweeeeeeet! One of my absolute favorite writers of all time writers who write the best writings I've ever read. I read his collection of short stories every few years. Says so much with so little. In school people said he was just lazy, overdramatic, sexist racist stupid etc etc. I simply could not understand how they didn't see the subtext. Then I realized some brilliant people really just do not understand literature.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Well, literature definitely speaks to people in different ways. I'm still trying to understand how varied the reactions can be but it's a journey!

[@commiegobbledygook3138]

@@TheCodeXCantina Well I'm just being judgmental

[@gunseliunsal9100]

Thank you for this amazing video. It really helped me about understanding this short story.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kimberlyfloyd1009]

Reading this for the FIRST time in graduate school... I would have totally been a groaner, at least the younger me! I actually liked this story as an adult. So much going on... Beautifully restrained but sad!

[@DarkBetweenPages]

Nice. I believe this story was in a collection I read of hemmingways a few years back. Some of hemmingways stories can get pretty dark and disturbing. Great video!

[@TheCodeXCantina]

They sure can! This one particularly has stuck with me.

[@thefont4345]

Excellent chat! I might do some Hemingway, I'm working on Trollope at the moment and I really need fewer words in my life 🤓🤪

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Whoever decided to serialize the Victorians really didn't appreciate their reader's time...

[@Rajathon]

I plan on reading some Hemmingway this year. I haven't found this one but did find The Green Hills of Africa.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Is that a collection? I'm not sure what's in that one.

[@TheNerdyNarrative]

I absolutely love Hemingway. I wrote my 12th English Lit term paper on him. We actually didn’t read this particular one in school, so I’ll have to read the full version.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

I'd imagine it could be too edgy for some teachers. But at like three pages, it doesn't take long to investigate.

[@elfenheinreichh2930]

at first i was still half hearted about my decision on reading this piece. Because anything the school gives me i immediately hate it. I went like "arghhh". But after reading the whole text and listening to an audiobook about it, this is just too deep.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@Starscreamlive]

At first I thought they were talking about marriage, but I slowly realized they were actually taking about getting an ... well, better not say that on KZbin. When I made it to the end, I thought I was missing a page in my PDF. I redownloaded it a couple of times to make sure I wasn't missing anything. 😅 An aprupt ending if there ever was one. My overall enjoyment is low, but I'll rate it an 8/10 just because Hemingway wrote this merely as an art for art's sake peice, and it really is a superb example of technique and craft to use to teach young writers.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Right tool for the right job.

[@lostinabookcase3796]

I was one of those students that went "arrrrrghhhhh" XD

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Keeping someone's attention can be hard. I'm sure many a people don't like digging in to texts.

[@gabrielotero3772]

Should check out In Another Country by Hemingway. I think it shines a bit more light on reason for his masculine style of writing and way of living life. He wasn't able to join the Army and fight, so he became an ambulance driver and was wounded indirectly rather than in direct combat. I think that kinda led to him becoming disillusioned and somewhat disappointed with his war time experience, which contributed to his writing and life style. Coupled with the childhood fashion choices of his mother lol.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

I've heard his war stories were great inflated :D Thanks for the recommendation.

[@zan8152]

haven't read this or any Hemingway (yet! Interested to track this down), so could be talking out of my ass here or reading modern internet-y tendencies into it, but with the different ages/maturity implied through man and girl, how about them *not* being that different in age, but the "girl" (read: woman) being purposefully juvenilized in order to remove agency from her decision?

[@TheCodeXCantina]

No worries. Yeah, I think that can absolutely come up in a line of inquiry.

[@huntercoleman460]

It felt like the girl was being pressured to do the operation by the man. It seemed like the man saw their child as a nuisance in their relationship rather than a blessing. It also feels like the girl wants to stand up to the man but doesn’t have the guts to do so. I never thought there was an age gap between the two. It also seems like their relationship is based more on lust than love.

[@RaisedtoWalkTV]

This has always been a disturbing story to read. I took the man to be older than the woman

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Can be a touchy story. Somehow the story tends to stay with people.