A BARTHESIAN ANALYSIS OF HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS BY EARNEST HEMINGWAY

Abstract

The present study applies Roland Barthes’ five codes to Hills Like White Elephants (1927, later published in 1955 by Penguin Books), a short story by Earnest Hemingway, a popular minimalist writer of the 19th century. The study has examined the story in a qualitative manner by keeping in view Barthes’s five codes: proairetic, hermeneutic, semantic, symbolic and cultural ones. The present study first takes the critical overview of the story Hills Like White Elephants and then further analyzes it on a structural level by applying five codes as given by Barthes. The story opens with a long description of setting and the tense situation between the characters. The story is full of tension where several elements stand for connotative meanings. Patriarchal and authoritative nature of men is the prevailing theme in the story. Most importantly, binary oppositions (symbolic code) play a vital role in the structure of the story. The study concludes that the author has created a fine contrast between the personalities and feelings of The American (male) and the girl (Jig). Their conflicting nature, viewpoints, desires, feelings and emotions and their conflicting perception of the issue provide the content and construction of the plot of the story. The findings of the study reveal that all the Barthes’ five codes run through the narrative structure of the short story and help the reader to get new insight and meanings.

Keywords: Structuralism, Barthes’ five Codes, Hills Like White Elephant, Earnest Hemingway.