“Hills Like White Elephants” ; The Adaptation Of Hemingway’s Short-Story

It is not a secret that the film adaptation is connected with the original work. As a rule, the film adaptation reflects the perception of the original literary work by the filmmaker to deliver the key message. The film Hills Like White Elephants of 1990 taken form the in the HBO Series/DVD called Women and Men: Stories of Seduction is the adaptation of Hemingway’s short-story “Hills Like White Elephants”. According to researchers, “adaptation study allows one to see film production as a version of reception, revealing the interactive potential of production and reception without leveling the distinction completely” (Scholz 8). The film has very much in common with the original text, including the main characters, the setting, the major plot points, as well as the themes developed by the author. At the same time, there are some differences between these two works. These differences can be found in the behavior of the main characters, their dialogues and the changing order of the initial and final scenes. In the film, the viewer sees that the girl feels bad because she is pregnant. In the book, Hemingway makes the reader guess straight away. Thesis statement: The film adaptation Hills Like White Elephants differs from the original work in some way, providing more effective and accessible approach to understanding the key message. 

To start with, in the film Hills Like White Elephants, the audience has an opportunity to see a couple traveling in Spain in 1925, discussing the young woman’s pregnancy. The man wants things to stay as they are as he does not accept any possible changes in his life, while the girl considers his opinion to be a fiction as she needs changes. Ernest Hemingway does not provide a clear description of his characters as he refers to them as the American and the girl with him. However, the reader has an opportunity to use imagination to see the main characters with clarity. In the film, the viewer does not need to do it because the film director provides the accurate representation of the images of the main characters. The final words in the film are “perfectly, perfectly, perfectly happy” (Like White Elephants. HBO Series/DVD. Women and Men: Stories of Seduction). In the book, the final words in the dialogue are: “Do you feel better?’ he asked. ‘I feel fine,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.” (Hemingway).

Besides, there are some differences in presenting nature, which plays an important role in the overall perception of the key message. Both the viewer and the reader have a chance to see how the main characters are turning to the natural environment in order to search for harmony in their relations. According to researchers, “nature is perhaps the closest element to the spiritual in Hemingway’s classical world, whereby characters retreat to nature  to find a pseudo-religious experience, feeling uplifted through their unification with nature” (Austad 89).

In fact, the film vision is more effective than the original text because of the significant role of the techniques used by the filmmaker. Some of the most influential techniques include camera movement, camera angle, lighting, costumes, setting, editing, music and sounds, acting style and other techniques. In the film Hills Like White Elephants, the film director provides accurate picture of the real-life interaction of the couple, effectively using the film techniques to tell Hemingway’s story and address cultural and intellectual issues through unique expression. Hence, this film adaptation can be viewed as a related work that differs from the original story in some way, but it has a close connection to Hemingway’s short story. In the final scene, the main character’s dialogue is very important as it places emphasis on the decision of the girl regarding abortion.

However, it is very important to consider some constraints that operate in the world of filmmaking that have a strong impact on the representation of events. Print and cinema interpret events, characters and ideology in different ways. The strengths of the original text are the accurate discussion of the key events and the ability to use imagination to draw conclusions. However, the strengths of film vision are the high level of persuasion through visual representation of events; clear depiction of the key message and strong psychological effect.

In general, the film differs from the original short story due to the creativity of the director and the actors who have been chosen to represent the main characters and the key message. The film director is interested in the representation of the feelings and emotions of the American and his girl in a more accessible way. Music, clothes, scenery and sounds – everything helps to enhance the viewer’s understanding of the themes revealed in the film.  Additionally, the film adaptation suggests that its audience is wide and the culture at the time and place it was adapted reflects the issues faced by the audience, namely the issue of gender roles, abortion –related issues and the issue of social interaction. Actually, the screenplay was not written by the author of the original text. However, there is much evidence that the screenplay is faithful to the original text due to using close adaptation techniques.  Undoubtedly, the filmmakers complement the story line through the use of special effects, flashbacks, recurring image motifs, or other visual schema because these techniques influence the viewer’s perception of the film and facilitate the delivery of the key message.

Conclusion

Thus, it is necessary to conclude that the film adaptation Hills Like White Elephants of 1990 has very much in common with the original literary work by Ernest Hemingway. The analysis of the film adaptation of Hemingway’s short story shows that the degree to which the film altered the original story is insignificant. The specific techniques employed in adapting the story to the screen help to emphasize the behavior, movements and dialogues of the main characters. Hence, the original version is less effective than the film version due to the use of music and visual description of the main characters.

Works Cited

Austad, Jonathan A. “Hemingway and Hitchcock: An Examination of the Aesthetic Modernity,” Diss. Florida State University. ProQuest. 2008.

Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants”. HarperCollins Canada, 2013.      

Like White Elephants. HBO Series/DVD. Women and Men: Stories of Seduction. Tony Richardson, 1990. Available from: http://www.itc.csmd.edu/lan/richs/eng2140/MenAndWomen.wmv

Scholz, Anne-Maria. From Fidelity to History: Film Adaptations as Cultural Events in the Twentieth Century. Berghahn Books, 2013.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 28, 2024]
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