Hemingway WebQuest

By: Steve Angel, Stephen Aymar and Gregg Hebert

Ernest Hemingway

Hills Like White Elephants

"Hemingway’s aesthetic theory . . . stated that omitting the right thing from a story could actually strengthen it. Hemingway equated this theory with the structure of an iceberg where only 1/8 of the iceberg could be seen above water while the remaining 7/8 under the surface provided the iceberg’s dignity of motion and contributed to its momentum."--from the

Hemingway Resource Center

NYC Standards:

New York State is busting Mr. Angel's chops. He has some standards to meet so he would like me to pass this along to you:

2C: Students recognize and understand the significance of a wide range of literary elements and techniques, (including figurative language, imagery, allegory, irony, blank verse, symbolism, and stream-of-consciousness) and use those elements to interpret the work.

2D: Students understand how multiple levels of meaning are conveyed in a text.

Hills Like White Elephants

Introduction:

Hey grade tenners! This is your informant, Mr. Aymar, you have skipped English class one too many times and your truancy has finally caught up to you!! According to my subordinate, Gregg, a cunning friend of mine, you have a surprise test tomorrow in Mr. Angel’s class. Gregg tells me your classmates have been very obnoxious the last couple days and Mr. Angel’s patience is growing thin. Ernest Hemingway is one of his favorite authors and he lost his temper today when the class was acting up and barely participating. As a result of your classmate’s misbehavior and lack of appreciation for Mr. Hemingway, Mr. Angel scheduled an essay test for tomorrow’s class. The short story is not a difficult read by any means and should take you no longer than 10 minutes to finish. But, in order to understand the story, appreciate Hemingway’s craftsmanship and pass the test I suggest you do the following:

Tasks: What to do? What to do?

Start with these steps to prepare for the essay test in tomorrows class;

1^st read the story:

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/%7Econreys/101files/ Otherfolders/ Hillslikewhitepg.html.

Would you like additional help? I’ve got you covered! Read it again, the annotated version provided will help you understand some of your questions and concerns with the story.

http://www.has.vcu.edu/eng/webtext/hills/hills.htm

Answer the following questions and you will be prepared for the test:

i) Do you sympathize with the couple in this story? Is the text set up to be more sympathetic towards one character?

ii) What is Hemingway suggesting about the nature of the male/female relationship?

iii) Is the fact that the female character is a foreigner relevant to the story? Why or why not?

iv) What are the overall themes of the story?

v) What symbols does Hemingway use to illustrate his themes?

vi) Discuss the global aspect of the piece. Keep in mind that the male character is an American, in Spain who discusses Africa.

vii) How is each gender represented in the story? Discuss the name “Jig”.

Process:

Alex Link of York University provides great insight into understanding the core of Hemingway’s short story. In his article he reiterates that,

“Hills Like White Elephants” is, if taken literally, a story in which little actually happens: a couple has drinks at a train station in Spain and argues about something rather vague. A useful approach to such an enigmatic text is to examine the very language of which it is made. The story is, after all, one that historically has been subjected to intensely close reading. It is worthwhile to examine how the story creates points of emphasis and importance through precise patterns in its grammatical structure.

Link, A. (2004). Staking everything on it: A stylistic analysis of linguistic patterns in “Hills Like White Elephants,” The Hemingway Review,23,(2), 66-74.

In order to begin an analysis of any kind, Link suggests that one must understand the significance of the title. Firstly, recognizing the fact that “Hills Like White Elephants” is a simile is a start. For a definition of a simile take a look-see at:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/simile

Also, to learn more about similes and their function within a text take a gander at:

http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/rdg/similehelp.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-simile.htm

Hemingway’s usage of this literary term is paramount to establishing the mood of the story, because as the conversation progresses neither the man or the girl will state directly what they are thinking. Throughout the entire conversation both characters are only suggestive while readers become aware that both of them are talking about something that they are not comfortable discussing. This is called allusion. This term is important too, take a look at this link for its definition:

http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/allusion.htm

Meanwhile, simile is used in a text as a suggestive comparison, and in Hemingway’s case his usage of a simile has more residual value to the story than mere comparison. For instance, he specifically compared the hills to white elephants for a reason. In a North American cultural context a white elephant is not only a rare, sacred creature but also a metaphor for something that is burdensome. The title may be a simile, but it also is an idiom, which is a figure speech that is used for metaphorically reasons. For a definition of an idiom take a look at:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/idiom

The specific story behind the idiom that Hemingway uses is:

White (albino) elephants were regarded as holy in ancient times in Thailand and other Asian countries. Keeping a white elephant was a very expensive undertaking, since the owner had to provide the elephant with special food and provide access for people who wanted to worship it. If a Thai King became dissatisfied with a subordinate, he would give him a white elephant. The gift would, in most cases, ruin the recipient.

To further understand what an idiom is these are other sites that are most helpful:

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/

By noticing the title is not only a simile establishing a suggestive mood that will manifest in both characters throughout the entire story, but also an idiom for unwanted things, readers understand what Hemingway is suggesting. The idiom of a burdensome unborn child is not only a white elephant in the story, but the potential for abortion or marriage, their relationship and ultimately everything can be seen as a burden. Any reader can, in fact, take their own specific meaning out of the idiom.

All stories include examples of theme. Some themes may include equality as in to “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.

Glossary of terms

Simile

Metaphor

Idiom

Tone

Mood

Colloquialism

Ambiguity

Theme

Gender

Evaluation:

	4	3	3	1
Introduction and Thesis	First paragraph is catchy. Thesis is evident and point to be argued well stated.	First paragraph has a weak "grabber." Thesis is mixed among many sentences and hard to piece together.	A catchy beginning was attempted but was confusing rather than catchy. Thesis is not entirely apparent.	No attempt was made to catch the reader's attention in the first paragraph. Thesis is not apparent nor is the topic of the essay.
Accuracy of Facts in Texts	All facts presented in the essay are accurate and relate back to the thesis.	Almost all facts presented in the essay are accurate and occasionally relate back to the thesis.	Most facts presented in the story are accurate. Evidence is sputtered about rather than used to prove thesis.	There are several factual errors in the essay. There is no real effort to make the piece cohesive.
Organization	The essay is very well organized. One idea follows another in a logical sequence with clear transitions.	The essay is pretty well organized. Five paragraphs evident. One idea may seem out of place. Clear transitions.	The essay is a little hard to follow. Paragraphs are unclear. The transitions are sometimes not clear.	Ideas seem to be randomly arranged. No effort at paragraph organization.
Attention to Topic	The entire essay is related to the assigned topic and allows the reader to understand much more about the topic.	Most of the essay is related to the assigned topic. The essay wanders off at one point, but the reader can still learn something about the topic.	Some of the essay is related to the assigned topic, but a reader does not learn much about the topic.	No attempt has been made to relate the essay to the assigned topic.
Mechanics	The essay has few, if any, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, or usage errors.	The essay has two or three mechanics errors.	The essay has four or five mechanics errors.	The essay is riddled with mechanics errors.

Conclusion: put in facts about Hemingway here:

Hemingway was a Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winner who wrote both fiction and non-fiction: 9 novels, pieces for various magazines and newspapers, as well as over 50 short stories. “Hills Like White Elephants” was part of the 1927 collection Men Without Women, written while Hemingway was alone in Paris, during a crisis in his personal life. Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson, had discovered that he was having an affair with her close friend Pauline Pfeiffer, but would not grant him the divorce he asked for unless he underwent a 100 day separation from his lover as proof of his feelings. The examination of letters written to Pfeiffer during the 100 day period has caused some critics to attempt to parallel this experience with the issue of abortion raised in “Hills Like White Elephants,” suggesting that Hemingway may have been, to some extent, articulating his own emotions in dealing with the necessary “operation” to remove one of the women he loved from his life. “I think that when two people love each other terribly much and need each other in every way and then go away from each other it works almost as bad as an abortion” Letter form Hemingway to Pfeiffer, from Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story.

“

If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A good writer does not need to reveal every detail of a character or action. Quote from Hemingway

”

Teacher Link:

Choose one of these three essay questions. Be sure to include references and examples of idioms, similes, imagery and allusion.

1. Discuss the imagery Hemingway uses the story.

2. Based on Jig’s last words, what do you infer happened? Is she really “fine”?

3. What do you know about Hemingway himself? Is the story biographical in any way?

GO BLUE JAYS!