In class, we were taught that if a setting is very descriptive, then it is important to the story. The description of the setting in Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemmingway is an example of this because the story goes into great detail with the description of the setting and it actually has an effect on the story. The story is about a couple in Spain who are travelling together, the woman, known as Jig is pregnant and is trying to decide on weather or not to get an abortion. The man who is with her wants her to get an abortion but she herself is conflicted on what she wants to.
They are sitting at a train station waiting for their train and the area around it is described in great detail, one side is barren and dry with hills that look like "white elephants' and the other is lush green and fertile. The difference in the terrain around them is a representation of the choice that she has to make, if she chooses the barren side, she will get an abortion and her life will return to normal. But if she decides to have the baby, represented by the fertile side, her life will be changed forever, but possibly in a good way. In the end she chooses the fertile side , to have the baby.
This story is the perfect example of how the setting of a piece of literature can have an effect on the overall story itself. Without the description of the setting, the audience would have no clear idea of what the woman chose to do, or maybe even the choice itself. to be honest, even with the descriptive setting and symbolism, i didn't even begin to guess that it was about abortion, but i'm probably just bad at interpreting stories.
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