Adaptation of Hills Like White Elephant - Essay Example

Women and men; seduction stories bring to the screen three stories each of which is focused on a man and a woman. Ernest Hemingway perfectly describes the setting of the story it a description of the view of River Ebro and white hills from a point at the train station in Spain. The girl likens the mountains to elephants which the American had never seen. These hills across the valley of Ebrol are described to be long and white with no shade or trees on the inside unlike the setting in the movie which shows the American and the girl seated with drinks on the table as they continue with their journey.

The settings in the novel as well as in the movie do not show any variation as they are similarly outlined. The American and the girl are the main characters of the story. However, the American does not reveal his name; neither does the girl address him by his name. The American’s convincing nature is clearly shown as he tries to convince the girl undergo an operation without caring about the girl. The girl is the female protagonist in the story. The American addresses her as jig although her real name is not revealed in the story.

The girl being less sure of what she wants tempts the American to convince her to have an abortion. The girl seems not to care or worry about her self-worth as she is ready to undergo abortion (operation) as long as the American loves her. She is not straight forward about what she actually wants. “Hills Like White Elephants” consists of the dialogue between the American man and the girl with only few narrated segments in the story as opposed to the lengthy stage direction and frequency of occurrence in the women and men; seduction stories movie.

This keeps the reader in the dark about the previous actions of the character and their motives. The aspect of flash is well captured in the women and men; seduction stories movie which helps the viewer to keep pace with previous actions, character’s actions and intentions or motives. This helps to set the mood and also establishes the landscape in understanding the conflict of the characters. The inability of the girl to speak Spanish with the bar attendant is an illustration of how dialogue is emphasized and her independence on the American and also shows the difficulties she had in expressing herself to other people.

The American and the girl as well as the underlying conflict are characterized by the content and the manner of conversation which demonstrates radical compression and a higher degree of suggestiveness and implication. This is demonstrated during the first interaction between the American and the girl regarding the choice of a drink in which the girl asks the American. This conversation outlines the lack of the girl’s free will to ask for a drink while showing the manipulating character of the man.

Conversation is also evident when the girl begs the man to stop talking after she realized that their conversation were futile. The girl begs him ‘….please, please, please, please……’ Language and communication between the American and the girl become intense and more focused as the couples’ relationship is in a crisis due to the girl’s pregnancy. The couple seems to struggle in their conversation on the course they relationship will take especially when in public. To make matters worse, the readers are left not knowing whether the couple was able to find a common ground as the story ends