49 pages 1 hour read

Ernest Hemingway

Hills Like White Elephants

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1927

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Reading Context

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

“The Lost Generation” is a name given to the group of people who came of age around the time of World War I (1917). Why might this generation be called “lost”? Which authors are considered part of this group? How is their writing generally characterized?

Teaching Suggestion: Many students may be unfamiliar with “The Lost Generation.” It may be helpful to explain that the story takes place in the wake of devastating global conflict that cost millions of lives and left a shattered sense of meaning for many disoriented souls who survived it. If students are unfamiliar with the group of artists and writers living in Paris during the 1920s who are most closely associated with “The Lost Generation,” it might be helpful to first brainstorm a list of familiar novels, poems, or short stories by  Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Stein, Eliot, Miller, or other Lost Generation writers.

Related Titles

By Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

Ernest Hemingway

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

Ernest Hemingway

Plot Summary
logo

Across the River and into the Trees

Ernest Hemingway

Across the River and into the Trees

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

A Day's Wait

Ernest Hemingway

A Day's Wait

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway

A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

A Moveable Feast

Ernest Hemingway

A Moveable Feast

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

A Very Short Story

Ernest Hemingway

A Very Short Story

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

Big Two-Hearted River

Ernest Hemingway

Big Two-Hearted River

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

Cat in the Rain

Ernest Hemingway

Cat in the Rain

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Ernest Hemingway

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Ernest Hemingway

Plot Summary
logo

Green Hills of Africa

Ernest Hemingway

Green Hills of Africa

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

In Another Country

Ernest Hemingway

In Another Country

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

Indian Camp

Ernest Hemingway

Indian Camp

Ernest Hemingway

Plot Summary
logo

In Our Time

Ernest Hemingway

In Our Time

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

Old Man at the Bridge

Ernest Hemingway

Old Man at the Bridge

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

Soldier's Home

Ernest Hemingway

Soldier's Home

Ernest Hemingway

Plot Summary
logo

Solider's Home

Ernest Hemingway

Solider's Home

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

Ten Indians

Ernest Hemingway

Ten Indians

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

The Garden of Eden

Ernest Hemingway

The Garden of Eden

Ernest Hemingway

Study Guide
logo

The Killers

Ernest Hemingway

The Killers

Ernest Hemingway

Plot Summary
logo

The Nick Adams Stories

Ernest Hemingway

The Nick Adams Stories

Ernest Hemingway