Hemingway is known for his economy of style. His writing has been characterized variously as spare, simple, and lean; nevertheless, his narratives can be challenging. In interviews my research team carried out with secondary and post-secondary educators last fall, for example, “Hills Like White Elephants” was identified as a difficult text to teach because of what is not said. Instructors noted that students were generally unable to pick up on what is implied but not named in this narrative. Further, when instructors explicated the story for their classes, they found students tended to become caught up in moralizing to the exclusion of any discussion about the subtlety of language use. I welcome your thoughts on this post or on one of the two below.
11 thoughts on ““Hills Like White Elephants””
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This is a post in response to the mentioned difficulties in teaching Earnest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants;” namely the double problem of students having difficulty deducing the theme of the story on their own; and then becoming embroiled in a discussion about the subject presented rather than the story itself. One possible solution readily presents itself: have the students examine the language used in the story first, in an effort to deduce what the indirectly – spoken subject matter between the two characters is. Critical thinking is an important skill for learners, especially learners of literature. The critical thinking community at http://www.criticalthinking.org lists several traits of a good critical thinker:
* Raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely
* Gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively
* Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards
* Thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as needs be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences
* Communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems
(http://www.criticalthinking.org/page.cfm?PageID=411&CategoryID=51)
We could help the students develop these skills, and solve the issue at hand by giving the students an activity like this:
1. “In this story, the American man and Jig are talking around an important issue, without ever mentioning what that issue could be. What is that issue? There are possible clues inside and outside the dialogue. In a small group make a list of these clues in the story, and then together brainstorm for a list of possible answers. At the end of the discussion, each group will present three answers to the class. We will then decide together which answer or answers are most likely.” – In this task the students would use the “subtleties of the language” as a tool to understand the subject matter of the story.
2. Discussion about the possible morality of the story might be a strength in disguise; so long as the teacher can relate the discussion to both the students’ lives and beliefs, and the story. James Henderson, in his book Reflective Teaching: Becoming an Inquiring Educator, recommends that teachers keep in mind these questions: “What is the relationship between what I am trying to teach and my students’ past experiences … [and] personal purposes?” Having the students interested in debating the topic of the story is a world of improvement over having them disinterested in it; and this can and should be used to a teacher’s advantage. Questions like: “What would you do in the Amercian’s / Jig’s situation? How about in a situation that was similar but not the same? Have you ever known anyone in this situation? Is there any indication in this story that Hemingway might feel one way or another? “ etc.
These activities are straightforward, and perhaps too straightforward. Perhaps a teacher could turn the confusion about the story’s subject matter to an advantage as well, and instead of the first activity I have mentioned, try something like this:
3. Divide the students into groups of four. Hand two students in each groups “the answer.” One of “the answers” is the right one (or one close enough to it, if that is your purpose); the other is not. Give the answer holders two minutes to think (or no time at all, depending on your group), and then each “answer” holder must convince the remaining students that they have the correct answer. The remaining students have to judge. At the end of the discussion (set a time limit), then the teacher will tally up how each group ended up voting. The class can then decide which of the answers is likelier, based on the available evidence from the story. The difficulty of this activity can be modified; for instance, the teacher could prepare four (or more) answer cards, thus leaving the class with more options at the end. However, this would leave certain groups with no “correct” answer. Some groups of students might not mind, but some might not like being “tricked’ in this way, so it would depend upon the situation. From experience, most of my students have enjoyed it when I was devious.
The problem here is, in some ways, only half a problem. The students mentioned were already interested in the issue, and only needed assistance developing the skills for identifying that issue from the text. By turning that uncertainty into a mystery to solve, a puzzle to figure out, a debate to win, or anything else the teacher knows their students might enjoy doing, a solution presents itself.
Brian MacDonald
In all honesty, I would not teach “Hills Like White Elephants” to a high school class. I think the issue raised pertaining to the sparsity of Hemmingway’s writing is a valid one, though I do think that students would be able to overcome this through discussion and careful guidance on the part of the teacher. Rather, my concern is with the underlying social issues surrounding the unspoken topic of the story.
At some point, it must be said, both on this blog and in a classroom discussing this work, that this story is about abortion. I notice this word has not been used yet in the initial post and the (one) response that has been posted thus far (I recognize that this may change between when I started writing this and when I hit “submit”, so I apologize if this is no longer the case). I think this hesitation is a good illustration of how volatile this discussion may end up being in a high school classroom, and I honestly believe that it is a discussion that students should not be forced to participate in.
This is an extremely contentious issue. As anyone who has discussed it can tell you, tempers will quickly take over and even the most careful attempts of a teacher to keep the discussion impersonal will not be entirely successful.
Also, I wonder at teachers’ abilities to keep their own views out of this highly polarized debate. While every teacher candidate I have had the pleasure of talking with is careful and circumspect in their discussion, this is a subject that everyone has an opinion on – I wonder if we would be able to carefully keep the debate neutral and present the arguments of the side of the debate that each of us are NOT on in a careful and fair way.
Further to this concern, what about the very real possibility that this issue is something that is more than abstract for a student or students in the classroom? How do we know that this debate is not already raging in the mind of a student? Every time I’ve heard this issue discussed, someone will always say, “Well, someone who is in this position had sex, they have to live with the consequences,” and I am sure that the high school classroom would be no different. What a thing to put on a young girl in her English class, a space that is supposed to be considered safe.
It is our responsibility as educators to ask our students to question their beliefs and look at their positions in life and on issues. However, I do believe that there are some issues that people should be free to encounter and tackle only when they are in the right mindset to do so, and I strongly feel that this extremely emotional debate is one that should not be had in a high school classroom.
I still think it would be possible to cover this story in a high school class and avoid an open debate on the topic of abortion. I believe that the mystery alone, surrounding the couple’s conversation, will be enough to interest the students throughout a lesson. A class of teenagers will be enthralled by the very idea of a couple having a drink in a bar and getting dramatic about something. Of course, they will be burning with curiosity to find out what the conversation is about, but this will not be revealed by the teacher until the end. The teacher could ensure that the secret does not get revealed, simply by handing this story out at the beginning of class and having them read through it as a class. If a student happens to guess correctly, the teacher can just respond, “I can’t tell you what it’s about.” No cell phones and sitting in a semi -circle during this class will help prevent them from accessing the internet to find out.
I would let their hormones run wild with this one and ask for volunteers to act out segments of the dialogue. Each couple, whether two guys, two girls or of course a guy and girl, could perform their dialogue a different way. For instance, a couple could perform the last part of the conversation until the end and they could be told to pay close attention to the luggage bags, as if those are significant. Perhaps another couple could perform the beginning of the dialogue, until the waitress visits their table. They could be instructed to over emphasize their emotions, further increasing the students’ curiosity about the couple’s dilemma. There are other possibilities as well.
I would continue the class with specific discussion questions pertaining to the text, including questions about the impact of the language, such as the difference in the tone-of-voice between the man and the woman. How is this different tone indicated in the writing? How does this lend to an effective dialogue? Also, how easily does the story change when the characters focus more on the luggage bags? They could do a writing exercise on their favorite interpretation of the story, commenting on the effect of the man moving the luggage and going for a walk. What thoughts did this part of the story provoke for them? Another possible homework assignment: write a short story about a couple’s dialogue, a couple who have something deeply secret to hide.
Okay, now at this point, it would be naïve not to suspect the class to make the abortion link and derail on a debate over abortion. However, a test question on this topic could be given to them in the future instead. They could be asked for their written thoughts on abortion and to take a stance in their written argument. This tests their ability to engage with the controversial issue, while enabling enough privacy to avoid a heated debate that may make some feel uncomfortable and threatened.
Though I said in class that I would not have an issue with the content of “Hills Like White Elephants,” I do appreciate that it can be a sensitive subject for many people. There is no way of knowing what students are going through on any particular day, and in that way any major topic can be precarious. You could talk about death while a student’s parent is terminally ill, mention how loving pets are when a student has just lost their furry friend, or comment about how love is wonderful when a student has just had their heart crushed – you just never know. I don’t mean to imply that my examples all have the exact same effect as abortion or unplanned pregnancy, but I will venture to assert that all these topics would trigger an emotional response in students.
That being said, I acknowledge that emotions can over shadow critical and analytic thinking, which is where those who have taught this piece have encountered a stalemate in the lesson. I agree that leaving discussion of the actual topic until the end of class would guarantee that you wouldn’t dwell on it due to time constraints, but I’m not sure how effective that would be for two reasons. First, an analytical reading of the text would require knowing what the topic of discussion is in order to see how Hemingway talks about abortion without ever mentioning it. The entire piece comes back to the central topic and a deep reading would not be complete without it. Second, I fear that not giving the topic much attention at all would be more hurtful to someone struggling with the issue, as if it was being swept under that proverbial rug.
However, at its core “Hills Like White Elephants” is really about the struggle of how far a person will go to please someone else. If the conversation could focus on the struggle between happiness from within versus happiness obtained from the approval of others – rather than what the male character is asking the female to do- the text may be less challenging to teach.
Brian makes a great point, which I think seems to be lost amidst the controversial nature of the piece. The key, it seems, is to engage the minds of the students in a critical thinking exercise. Due the covert nature of the conversation, this piece seems an ideal candidate for exploring the accessibility to abstractions in literature, and perhaps later, even poetry. To bring the discussion into focus, should it prove a difficult task, reveal the meat of the conversation for them to puzzle together:
‘It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,’ the man said. ‘It’s not really an operation at all.’
‘I’ll go with you and I’ll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural.’
what is the nature of the operation if it is female based? What does the man’s empathy reveal about the nature of the ‘operation?’ some element of sensitivity is involved, why would that be, can we name possible health problems that the couple could be contemplating? why is HIS approval so essential to the female? What are some possibilities here?
On a deeper note, my belief is that we owe it to the kids to be open and respectful of their intelligence. As someone mentioned in class, how far does the line reach if drawn at an abortion piece? Race? Rape? Sexism? Racism? Religion? Terrorism? Nazism? I feel it is our obligation to perpetuate the roots of free-thinking, or at least, informed opinion building. These are real issues they will face, if not already, and deserve to explore these topics in an environment in which they can listen to the perspectives of their peers. Maybe some kids do not have open relationships with their parents, and by this I mean that the class can be seen for them as an arena in which social issues are fair game for exploration, free from judgement from any dominating, adult figure (assuming we are capable facilitators). I mean, to push it higher, consider the names and literatures on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. I feel the prevention of ideas and knowledge in any discipline, regardless of the nature of the fear towards them, is the ultimate failure on part of a teacher, whose responsibility it is to lend wisdom (if asked) and assist the exploration of possibility. I certainly would not hide subjects of this nature from my own children if I had them, and I see the responsibility of others’ children no different, given thats its free from any possible biased agenda on part of the educator.
Index Librorum Prohibitorum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_authors_and_works_on_the_Index_Librorum_Prohibitorum
I would like to piggyback onto Mark’s point somewhat and expand on the discussion regarding Hills Like White Elephants. There are many layers to Hemingways work and I believe they tend to get overshadowed by the topic of abortion. This is a challenging piece that can be attacked from many different angles in a classroom setting – the narrative point of view, the symbolism of the white elephants, the setting, time period, as well as the male/female dynamic. The fact that the story is so ambiguous gives the teacher a lot of room to play around in. Without touching on the subject of abortion, one could ask the class to update Hills Like White Elephants. Placing it in a modern time and updating the gender roles of the characters and dealing with problems a couple might face today: As Hemingway is writing about a post-World War I society, the students could look at a post-Afghanistan or post-Iraq War civilization.
Like Mark, I believe that if we start to edit ourselves on what we can or can not teach, we run the risk of never covering any topics with the potential to cause the class any kind of uncomfortable feelings. While I do believe it is our job to provide our students with a safe space, I also think that within this safe space we need to be challenging our students and leading them into sometimes-uncomfortable territory. For many of our students the classroom might be the only setting in which topics such as abortion will be discussed. We might be responsible for teaching English but this subject should also be a vehicle for teaching kids to be able to critically think and to form their own ideas and opinions on any topic. We can’t do this if we dont trust that they will be able to handle certain subjects.
I would definitely teach “Hills Like White Elephants” to a high school class, probably to grade 11 or 12 because of the complexity of what is not said. Although it may be difficult to teach and initially difficult for the students, I believe most of them would appreciate being given the opportunity for interpretation. I really like vargraekr’s activity idea 3 “the answer”.
I also agree that it might be hard to keep my own views out of the discussion,but I think it is worth letting the students explore theirs. I went to a Catholic high school and we read this story. I has glad to have the chance to talk about such an issue in the safety of the classroom where the teacher didn’t judge my opinions or ideas-something that would have been done at home had I sat down and read this it with my parents.
One of the reasons I was drawn to English was that I enjoyed discussing and debating the topics brought forward in the texts. I like how an economy of language allows for grey area to discuss and speculate.
When I studied this text in university (the first time I had encountered it) one of the topics we spoke about was symbolism. Mainly the symbolic meaning of a ‘white elephant’ and how it pertains to the topic of abortion and the values the characters place on the unborn. A quick google search produced a wide and varied range of definitions where the common themes of a white elephant is an item of high value in which the owner invests a large amount of resources into and receives little back in return. Applying this definition to the topic of abortion we can began to discuss what the attitudes of the characters are towards the topic of abortion, and further that of Hemingway’s.
Topics of gender can also be discussed, such as how much autonomy does the woman have in this situation? I recall the discussion I had in my tutorial group revolved around if the man should have any input into the decision. If we look at the language the woman uses in the story she seems to be reluctant or hesitant. Even though the dialogue seems to be one of discussion as to what she should do, you get the sense the decision has already been made. I would consider further exploring the topic of gender and restriction of autonomy by viewing the movie “El crimen del padre Amarof” in which a priest impregnates a young woman who ‘chooses’ to have an abortion resulting in her death. The one thing that troubles me with the man’s attitude in “Hills like White Elephants” is how trivially he treats the abortion referring to it as natural. I would at least like to trivialize that assumption. My goal would be to get students thinking critically about the issue, moving beyond whether abortion is right or wrong and examine the social and political factors that can shape a person’s choice.
I have no moral issue teaching “Hills like White Elephants,” but I feel it could be examined more critically in relation to another text dealing with the issue of abortion. I think that young adults especially by the senior grades have by this time encountered topics more controversial than this. I personally found that many of my teachers in high school steered away from topics which were considered sensitive and I would have much preferred to discuss these issues prior to entering university. Just because we might not always be comfortable speaking about certain issues doesn’t mean they do not have tangible social and political meaning. In not addressing these issues we give them more power and stigma than they may actually have.
Teaching Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is clearly a contentious and complex issue as is made apparent by the strikingly different positions assumed in the previous posts. I agree wholeheartedly with the notion that students should in no circumstance have beliefs or ideals forced upon them, and nor should they feel threatened in any way by topics discussed within the classroom. However, I also believe that avoiding the discussion of important, complex issues simply due to the fact that such discussion may be potentially volatile is an irresponsible failure on the part of teachers. It is important, also, to take into consideration the social climate of the classrooms wherein we teach. In Canada, for example, adolescent pregnancy has contributed significantly to the cycle of maternal deaths and childhood mortality: this is a social reality. While adolescent pregnancy and maternal mortality rates in Canada are far below the percentages in countries of both the developed and developing world, these issues are still relevant, current, and real in high schools across the country. In fact, avoiding discussion on such topics as abortion can potentially be more damaging than grappling with the issue directly. Of course, it would be equally irresponsible of a teacher to commence teaching a lesson on this text without being acutely aware of the socio-cultural dynamics of the classroom within which she/he teaches.
Here, I would like to mention that is important not to underestimate students’ intelligence or the availability of information today. The classroom provides a unique environment within which students and teachers engage in a cooperative learning process which may include the taking up of controversial or difficult issues. There is a significant difference between considering issues such as abortion within the relative safety of a classroom and under the guidance of a teacher as opposed to depending on a search engine as a source of reliable information. Students have an opportunity to explore and understand these contentious issues within the classroom, an opportunity that many students may not be privy to in their home environments. It is our duty as teachers and educators to allow the students to create meaning for themselves and this cannot be done by simply sweeping issues such as abortion beneath the rug, particularly when issues like this are a reality for many in high schools today. I will concede that teaching this particular Hemingway text and the issue of abortion is a difficult decision and task for any high school teacher. I feel that a responsible teacher would first lay the proper groundwork and then exercise his/her intuition and before introducing a class to this text. There must be a balance. On the one hand, it is important to be sensitive to the social and psychological dynamics of the classroom, but it is also paramount, an essential component of our teaching philosophy, to interrogate social issues and allow our students to engage in free-thinking and meaning making for themselves.
I’d like to comment on Ronald’s remarks about the availability of information online for students. I think that this is a very valid point. It seems to me that it is certainly better for students to be able to address any questions they may have about abortion in a supervised classroom setting. If the class discussion of Hills Like White Elephants does evolve into a debate about abortion, it might be a good idea to stop the discussion. Instead of continuing a heated debate, students should be assigned sides and asked to research their side’s argument for homework. Next class, we could pick up the discussion with a more formal debate. I think that having the students take a step back and research the topic would lead to a well-informed, logical debate about a controversial subject. I do think that it is very important for debates like this to occur in the classroom because, as Brandon notes, they may not be able, or feel comfortable enough, to talk about these subjects at home.
During our discussion today in class on Hills like White Elephants, I found that I was struggling with the idea of whether or not I would teach this class. I love Hemmingway’s working but I do not know how I would react if a parent did not want their child to be reading this story. I remember when I volunteered at Queen Elizabeth Secondary, there was a Jehovah’s Witness in the class and the teacher really had to watch what she said and taught in the class. I am a believer that we as teachers, especially in the modern/western world should bring up controversial issues because we are preparing them for the real world, but I know that with some cultures, subjects like abortion are a huge deal. I think I would perhaps focus on the style of the short story. I think I would get the students to focus on why the story is written all in dialogue and why the author perhaps chose to write it in that particular way. I would ask them to focus on the setting of the story and comment on the discussion between the two characters and perhaps write their own short story in a similar way. I think maybe at the end of the lesson, I would want to hear what the students thought the two characters were talking about. I know that I had to read the story about three times before I realized they were talking about abortions. So maybe I would have fun with the idea and play a guessing game on what the story was about. If the issue of abortion did spark debate, I would probably address it in the next class and make a theme centered around social and gender issues but I would want to know the students’ comfort levels before hand. I think it would be a great idea to get the students to write their own short stories and have an underlying issue in the story, most likely a social issues like drugs, gangs, peer pressure and have students try to guess what the story was about. In our groups today we discussed how an activity like that would ease the idea of a hot topic like abortion about still allow students to be connecting with issues around us. I think as teachers we should touch on these issues but in a way that everyone feels comfortable and be able to contribute to class discussions without feeling disengaged with the story or the issues as a whole.