IX. Discussion.

1. What do ‘white elephants’ in the title and in the body of the story (the simile* is repeated several times) signify? Does the author merely compare the hills with white elephants or does he imply any other, more substantial, comparison resorting to this simile? Can you think of a better title for the story? Give your own variant.

2. Why doesn’t the main character name the operation he is so persistently inciting Jig to? Why doesn’t he call things by their proper names? What is he afraid of?

3. Is abortion really an easy operation? Does a male have a right to estimate the degree of the complexity of such an operation or its harmfulness to a woman’s health?

4. Why is the language of the story so plain? Is it because a lot of the real communication is made without words? Do you feel tension behind the words of the characters? What else do you feel? Whose feelings do you share?

5. Why does the American have no name? Does the author show his attitude to the character this way?

6. Do you think the character’s behaviour can be defined as treachery? Will his behaviour make him feel ashamed one day?

7. As the old saying goes “Happy is he that is happy in his children”. Will the main character understand this truth of life one day or will he stay deaf to it?

8. What can you deduce about the character’s essence from his behaviour under the trying circumstances in the story? Give a character sketch of the American. What kind of person was he? Try to use at least 10 adjectives to present him.

9. In the story Hemingway uses quite a lot of repetitions. Enumerate all of them. What is the author’s reason for such frequent recourse to repetition? Comment on the role of repetition in Jig’s utterance “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking? ” What effect does this stylistic device produce?

10. How do you think Jig feels at the end of the conversation? How would you feel and what would you think of in such a situation? What does she smile at at the end of the story?

11. Is there the denouement (or resolution) in the story or is it left out by the author? Is the fate of the main characters clarified? Are any crucial conclusions suggested to the reader? What other structural components of the plot do you know? Enumerate them. Where are they in the story?

12. Reflect on all that you’ve read and discussed and imagine the outcome of the story yourself. Do you think the characters will stay together or part? Ground your opinion.

13. What have you learnt about the relations between men and women from this story? Do such relations have anything in common with love?

*The simile is a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. Similes are usually introduced with the words as … as, like, such as, etc. (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox).

WRITING ACTIVITIES

X. Summarize the story in 20 sentences. Read your summary aloud in class and explain why you have chosen these very sentences.

XI. Imagine that when the train comes Jig’s partner boards the train but Jig doesn’t. She only hands her farewell letter over to him without uttering a word. Write the letter (150 words) explaining the reasons why she has decided to part with him.

XII. Write a final paragraph (200 words) for the story: Jig and her partner 20 years later. If they have stayed together, describe their life or one day of it. If they have parted, describe their casual encounter. It may be a narrative or a dialogue of the characters.

UNIT 8

You are going to read an unusual criminal story. The author of this story uses a very interesting way of creating an intrigue; he presents the facts that actually might have a different explanation if one starts looking for it, but the very first explanation of these facts that immediately comes to anyone is a criminal one. While reading the text, prepare a list of all the facts that convince you of Emily’s murder.