Bachard 1

Therlandia Bachard Debbie McLeod LIT 2020.901F11 September 21, 2011

Formal Analysis #1: Point Of View in Hills like White Elephants Ernest Hemmingway tells the story of two conflicting characters confronted with a cross road in third person point of view. The narrator is preeminent to the thoughts of both The American and the girl but omits this information to the audience. The narrators omniscience appears in several lines throughout the short story, such as the introductory paragraph when the narrator introduces the characters: The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. This statement indicates the narrators awareness of the two characters and their role and setting. Further into the story the girls feelings and point of view are expressed through the narrators detailed descriptions of their setting: fields of grain and trees along the banks. Hemmingway suppressing the girl and the American from expressing their thoughts provokes the notion of third point of view. The narrator is the middle man to their mindsets, they are aware of what is taking place in their situation but does not make the audience aware of what is going one but does imply a notion of abortion. In the end Hemmingway leaves the audience with no conclusion to the predicament which leaves the fate of the American and the girls in the hands of the reader.