Essay Page

Sean Gilliland
Engl. 1302 6:00-8:00pm MTWTh
Rambin
Due: August 9, 2010
Analysis Essay

Hemingway tells “Hills Like White Elephants” through the use of symbols. Each object is used to draw a clear picture for the reader, abet a picture that one must be looking for. He uses the station, the bar and even the landscape to paint this masterpiece, but by far the most interesting is the string curtain. Hemmingway uses the beaded curtain in “Hills Like White Elephants” is to symbolize The Fates, specifically the fate of the girl, man and unborn child along with the many paths their lives could take in the future.
The Fates, or the Moirai as they were know to the ancient Greeks, were “the goddesses of fate who personified the inescapable destiny of man.” (Atsma p. 1) They are often portrayed as the old crones who control the life and death of each person. They spun the story of a man’s life with string and, when that story ended, cut the string to signal his death. While they are known as the Fates, they did not take away each person’s right to free will. In fact fate was not “inflexible” but fluid, and ones fate was only forced conditionally with the will of the gods. (Atsma p.1) Just as each man’s fate was shown as a piece of string in Greek myth, the fates of the characters in “Hills” are also portrayed the same way.
In the beginning of the story the curtain seems to have no importance. It is a curtain, “made with strings of bamboo beads.” (Hemmingway p. 145) However, as the story progresses the importance of the curtain becomes obvious. The curtain is hung across the only door that the two characters can take. Contact with the bar, the train station, and the rest of the world can only come by crossing the barrier made by the strings. Put another way, fate, and the choices one make to determine that fate, comes before all else, it is the first thing one must consider and accept before taking life changing action. The curtain has a picture of an alcoholic beverage on the front, which shows that, given the choices previously made by the girl and man, the future will continue to be both hopeless and worthless. (Hemmingway p. 146) After idle conversation and serious thought, the girl “put out her hand and took hold of two of the strings of beads.” (Hemmingway p. 147) This can represent the fates of her and the man, her and the unborn child, or the two paths she has ahead of her. The choice she must make will affect her fate and the fates of those around her. Just as each string is connected to another, each person’s life influences those that it touches.
The Fates, as symbolized by the string curtain, have the ability to guide destiny, but ultimately cannot override free will. Faced by two impossible choices, the girl must choose the path her life, and the lives of those around her, will take. She is both the spinner, and in one scenario the cutter of string. At the end of the story the man goes out through the sting curtain, signifying that he has chosen the path his fate will take. The story ends with the girl still sitting, waiting to choose where her life will go from there on out.