Hills Like White Elephants

Communication and Decisions

“And we could have everything and every day we

make it more impossible”
21st Century Relationships
Theme: Communication

In modern society, many people tend to

use their phones to communicate while
they have others right in front of them
-as shown in this picture. This relates to
the theme of communication because
just as the two characters in the story
don’t truly communicate with each
other, the same scenario is presented
in this picture of adults that are right in
front of each other but not
communicating.
Depression
Theme: Communication

Mental illness is a topic that has only recently

been gaining attention throughout the world.
AS is common in most of Hemingway’s works,
the iceberg theory (focusing on a theme
without explicitly stating it) is present in the
story within both of the characters, as the girl
doesn’t explicitly tell the man that she doesn’t
want the abortion and the man doesn’t
explicitly tell her that he wants her to have it.
Just as in the case of mental illness, there are
problems that lie beyond face value.
Politics
Theme: Communication

Politics today is filled to the brim with politicians

that represent themselves instead of the people
that put them in their position. This picture relates
to the theme of communication because in the
same way that the man and woman argued but
didn’t really pay acknowledge what the other was
really saying, the politicians in this picture (such
as Anthony Weiner and Carl Paladino) are
representative of the politicians that just get angry
and yell at their opposition without listening to
what they have to say.
Smoking
Theme: Decisions

Smoking is an addiction that affects many

people both young and old due to its highly
addictive nature and chemicals. This picture
of a man struggling to quit his smoking
addiction relates to the theme of decisions
in the story because it brings the case of
struggling to make the right decision when
faced with a tough situation, much to what
the girl in the story is faced with.
Life
Theme: Decisions

Life is a wonderful miracle and is scattered

with decisions being made all the time. This
picture represents the theme of decisions as
it shows that no matter what tough
decisions one struggles with and ends up
making, time will always move on, and will
find a way. In relation to the story,
regardless of the decision the girl will make,
time will move regardless (or in the story’s
case, the train will arrive anyway).
Tank Man
Theme: Decisions

The “Tank Man” is one of the most influential

images of all time as stated by Time
Magazine*. This picture depicts a man
standing in front of a line of tanks that were
headed to halt the protests at Tiananmen
Square on June 5, 1989. This relates to the
theme of decisions as it shows that people
can always make the right choice, regardless
of the difficulty of the choice. In reference to
the story, “Jig” has the choice to have the
child and live her life her way, or have the
abortion and live in the shadow of the man.
Works cited
https://www.njwight.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/elephant_Blackandwhite_nj
wight.jpg

https://assets.rbl.ms/14218856/980x.jpg

https://www.nyc-couples-therapy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/anxiety.jpg

https://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/intelligencer/2013/03/26/26-yelling-politicians.w
700.h700.jpg

https://drugabuse.com/wp-content/uploads/drugabuse-shutter223890376-man-sm
oking-addiction.jpg
Works Cited Cont
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_6EMV-_LrTw/UA35Bq2usqI/AAAAAAAABGg/yJRHPyK
UXhk/s1600/Old+Man's+Poem.+What+We+See,+In+Spite+Of+Story+Of+The+Da
y.jpg

https://www.history.com/.image/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive
%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_768/MTU3OTIzNTc5MDc1OTYyNTE
0/who-was-the-tank-man-of-tiananmen-squares-featured-photo.jpg

http://100photos.time.com/ *