Conversation analysis in "Hills like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway [Articol]

Abstract

Conversation may seem chaotic at first sight. Yet, under analysis, it appears to be a highly structured process, which follows specific rules and norms adopted by a given linguistic community. The present article analyzes the conversation interchange between the protagonists of Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Hills like White Elephants”. The undertaken study reveals the similarities between fictional and natural conversations. It is an attempt to prove that any conversation is centered on a practical necessity. The author aims at highlighting the existence of a literary conversation (i.e. between the writer and the reader), where the literary text appears as a reciprocal discourse based on a literary-communicative intention.