The “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is a short story but it is difficult to comprehend. It is basically a conversation between a man and a woman. They drink beer and discuss some issue. They are waiting in the train station and discussing some problem which the man says is simple but the girl seems to be unconvinced. Sitting at the station the couple argues and the women stop him from trying to convince her. The man although tells her that he is fine with whatever she decides, he tries to convince her. It is a comprehensible writing but it is open to interpretation as the topic of the discussion is unclear.
Consequently, it might be helpful for the students in analysis and interpretations. English classes must include a variety of writing as well as story writing techniques. The students must not be exposed to the obvious stories. Also, exposure to such stories helps the students expand their knowledge and understanding giving them more options to choose from many styles to write their own stories. Hence, it must be included in the composition class.
Composition classes are to broaden the knowledge of the students so that they must incorporate a variety of content to teach the students. It is necessary for the students to get exposure and learn various writing styles but having similar content to teach would not be helpful to enhance the knowledge of the students. Students’ exposure to various style of writing would help the students to understand and incorporate the writing techniques later in life. But if the students are exposed to only the conventional ways, it will be boring for the students and the academics as all the stories would look same or similar. Therefore, stories with different styles and content must be included in the composition classes.
Moreover, the composition classes are to enhance the creativity of the students but if the classes legitimize certain kind of writing and discourage another kind, there will not be enough room for creativity. The students must be presented various styles to be able to choose from them or to create their own style in writing. It is not necessary to have followed some traditional methods in writing fiction or non-fiction. The classes must encourage distinct but useful contents.
As Hills like White Elephants is different from the traditional writings, it provides more scope for the students to analyze and criticize the content. It is open to interpretation and does not restrict the readers. The writing is simple but the reader must comprehend the tone, implied authority or lack of authority and emotions on their own. It does not tell the reader how the couples feel due to which the students will have an enriching discussion in class if the text is included in the composition class. Although it might not be a story according to Robert Penn’s standards as he considers conflict central to a story. In the Hills Like White Elephants, there does not seem to be a story according to those standards but it must not be rejected because of that reason. It is a story and there are themes. For instance, controlling women. The man in the story tries to convince the girl but the girl does not seem to be ready.
To conclude, the composition classes must have a variety of readings to enhance analytical and writing skills in the students. Including only traditional form of writing discourages creativity engendering monotony. Therefore, readings such as Hills Like White Elephants must be included in the composition to allow rich discussions and interpretations of the text in class. It assists students with sharpening their abilities as the topic of the discussion is unclear. Hence, Composition class must include it as one of the readings in class.
