第6卷第9期 V01.6 No.9 读与写杂志 200g年9月 Srptember 2009 Read and、Ⅳrite Periodical The Artistic Style of Hills Like White Elephants 郝娅杰 f聊城大学大学外语教育学院 山东聊城252059) Abstract:Hills Like White Elephants is one of Hemingway’s excellent short stories.which provides us with a piece of wonderful picture with condensed ink.11l1e essay attempts a study of it by its symbolical technique and its characters through the dramatic dialogue in order to understand its implicit meanings and appreciate the artistic charm of Heming— waly・ Key words:Hemingway;symbol;dialogue;characters 中图分类号:l 106 1 Introduction 文献标识码:A 文章编号:1672—1578(2009)9—0001—02 elephants”look like beautfiul in a long distance.But in a Hills Like White Elephants is a short story written by the American famous writer Ernest Hemingway.It is one of Men close distance they are lifeless。drab.prosaic.bleak and deso. 1ate. I1he relationship between Jig and the man apparently is harmonious but in fact it is lack of mutual love and under- standing. “On tllis side there was no shade and no trees and tlle station was between two lines of rails in血e sun.”嘲In tllis sentence “no shade’’ “no trees”show us a lifeless picture. Two lines of rails which have different and opposite directions wthouti Woman,a collection of short stories that was published in 1927.In this novel the symbolic way of writing and the implicit dramatic dialogue reveal perfectly Hemingway’s writing techniques and his“iceberg theory”. Hemingway believed that if a writer’s prose was transpar- ently simple and honest he could make his meaning implicit, letting the reader to find and provide it.This was his iceberg theory: “I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven eighths of under water for every part that shows.”【 】So Hemingway’s seeming matter一0f—fact.1aconic nar- ration was composed of highly stylized sentences.Their sim— plicity put feelings before thoughts,action prior to comments. mean that diferent choices cause diferent results.If Jig does as the man wishes,they wi11 go along with each other like be. fore.If Jig does not have山e abortion.they will depart later or sooner.The two lines of rails are close to each other,but they are two lines forever.They are unlikely to become one.In the sense,Jig and the man are in the same case. “A curtain,made of stirngs of bamboo beads,hung across Thus Hemingway could utter sense of morl urgency,a consiad— erable range and astonishing intensity of feeling through oblique implication,compressed irony,and understatement.He used language to show exacfly man’s feelings,used details to the open door into the bar,to keep out flies.”埘It describes a curtain.its material and its practical use.The “curtain”im. plies the man and the girl have dificuhies in communicating and understanding each ot}le ’rhere is fl barrier between tllem. Besides,the curtain departs them from people in the bar.They talk about the abortion.which was illegal and should be pun— ished seriously in Spain.They don’t want others to hear their conversation.So they “sat at a table in the shade.outside the building”.It is a place that is safe and suitable to have a se— cret conversation. “Bamboo”indicates its materia1.It is sym— objectively depict things.He also was good at using symbolism to show his characters’inner wodd. Hills Like White Elephants tells us a story about an American and the girl with him at a nameless railway station. They waited for the train,drank and had a conversation.The body of the story is their conversation.It likes an extract of the real life,likes a sting of frilm shots.In the text,some ob. jects are equivoca1.Besides,the ending is open.Readers can imagine it according to their own understandings. 2 The appliance of symbols he tiTtle “Hills Like White Elephants”is chosen inge. bolic of the hollow relationship between them.“Bcads’’imply worry.Jig is worried about losing the man,her unborn baby and their future.The man worries about the unborn baby that will bring him troubles.Bead is also a kind of children’s playing.So we can c0nsider beads as a svmbo1 of a babv. The “tmin” or “express” means changes and m0vement. The man and the girl are both af aid of anv change in their niously.The story is about the abortion.an unhappy conversa— tion and a quarrel caused by the abortion.“White elephant”is a pun.A white elephant means possession that is useless and often expensive to maintain.It is sacred but often brings trou— bles.In this nove1. “white elephant”is the unborn baby.For relati0nship. “That’s all we do,isn’t it?”It seems that Jig is tired of their present li stvle. She wants to try new things. Jig,it is a sacred thing,a treasured object and her hope. While for the man.it is a burden.So he wants to get rid of it by hook or by crook.The girl and the man understand this image differenfly.And it adds shadings around its theme to make it stand out.In 1920s.the abortion was unable to be From labels on the bags flr0m al1 hotels they spent nights,his Ii le style apDears. He tIlinks it wilI be a change to have a babv. Having a babv means they wou1d have to settle down, which will change his life. It is a relason whv he insists on persuading Jig into having the abortion.f'eople wait f0r山e tmin.They want new oppoItunities to change their pr_esent condition with h叩es. made public for girls.because it made them embarrassed;it was still a eontroversial socil problem.a “Hills Like White Elephants”is an important symbo1. “It’s iust t0 let t}le air in.”闭“let tlle air in”suggests the traditi0nal dangerous abortion.The aboni0n wil1 a】!f.ect both the man and the gid, especiaUv the latter.The ab0rtion will I_e— lieve the man 0f worry and responsibilitv.But the abonion will First.it is an obiective description of the hills.The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white.They are like white elephants in the size and color.Second.“white ele— phants”is the symbol of the unborn baby.and “hills”is the hurt the gid spiIitually and physica1ly.They will neVer be what thev were bef0re. belly of a pregnant woman. rhird.Jig wants to have the baby. To be a mother,a wife is her dream.But the man wants her to have the abortion.It is t}le man who breaks her dream. -The girl’s name is Jig.Jig is a type of quick da箍警 or piece of music f0r this dance. Her narne implies that she wm Crisis and blanks appear between Jig and the man like the white hills.At that moment hills like white elephants can be seen but not touched。so is her dream.Fourth.“hills like white change her decision quicklv.The man is so afrlaid of it that he says so much to persuade her. In addition Jig wants to try new ddnks and sometlling new. When thev drank Anis de1