Question

Read the line from “Hills Like White Elephants” and answer the question.

Answer 1

Read the line from “Hills Like White Elephants” and answer the question.

“Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?

Question: Hemingway is known for his spare writing style. What does his use of repetition most reveal about Jig?

Options:

• It highlights the anger Jig feels toward the American.
• It implies Jig will remain when the American boards the train.
• It shows Jig’s strong desire to end the topic of conversation.
• It suggests Jig’s wish to end the argument they are having.

Answer: The correct answer is: It shows Jig's strong desire to end the topic of conversation.

Explanation: Ernest Hemingway wrote the short story ''Hills Like White Elephants”. It opens with an American man and his girlfriend. They are sitting at a table outside a train station in Spain, waiting for a train to Madrid. The American man mentions that he wants his girlfriend “Jig,” to have an operation. It is never specified what kind of operation but the American mentions that things will be fine afterward and that it will fix their problems. He emphasizes how much he cares for Jig; however, she mentions that she doesn't care about what happens to herself. They argue for a while until the girl gets tired and asks the American the following: “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?'' Hemingway uses repetition to reveal Jig's strong desire to end the topic about the operation and her decision of whether or not to go forward with it.

Answer 2

I would assume it shows Jig’s strong desire to end the conversation, since he is pleading with the person to stop it.