An analysis of Hills like White Elephants from the Perspective of Politeness

宋文娜

The politeness principles play a very important part in peoples daily communication， but in the actual language intercourse， because of different behavioral motivations and values， the speakers may often violate these principles. Hills like White Elephants is characteristic of dialogues， and when the two characters talk with each other， the politeness principles have different constraints on them. Therefore， in order to have a better understanding of their inner world， the author will make an analysis of the dialogues in this novel from the perspective of the politeness principles.

At the beginning of the novel， Hemingway gives a description of an American couple who are waiting at the train station. Their talk begins from the beer. After an exchange of pleasantries， Jig， the heroine， wants to talk about their unborn baby with her boyfriend， but she employs “white elephants” to symbolize their baby， in order not to irritate him.

The girl： “They look like white elephants.”

The man： “Ive never seen one.”

The girl： “No， you wouldnt have.”

The man： “I might have. Just because you say I wouldnt have doesnt prove anything.”

Jig wants to maintain the relationship with her boyfriend， so she chooses the symbol “white elephants” to imply their unborn baby. However， the man does not appreciate it. In his answer， he violates the Agreement Maxim， that is， he does not make any efforts to minimize the expression of disagreement between self and other. His answer shows that he is not willing to be involved into this topic. Despite all this， Jig still tries her best to echo his words by obeying the Agreement Maxim， for she wants to keep their talk going on. However， her efforts come into vain eventually. The man violates not only the Agreement Maxim but also the Approbation Maxim in his subsequent answer. His impolite and uncooperative attitude directly leads to the interruption of their conversation， and their topic about the baby comes to an abrupt end.

Later， Jig tries to draw out another topic about wine.

The girl： “It tastes like licorice.”

The man： “Thats the way with everything.”

The girl： “Yes. Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things youve waited so long for， like absinthe.”

The man： “Oh cut it out.”

…

The man： “Should we have another drink？”

The girl： “All right.”

The man： “The beers nice and cool.”

The girl： “Its lovely.”

Different from the dialogue mentioned at the beginning， the man tries to be polite when they do not come to the topic of the baby. For example， he speaks in a soft tone （“Should we…”）， and he also echoes the girls words by obeying the Agreement Maxim （“Thats the way with everything”）. Apparently， the man makes some changes of his way of speaking. This is not because his better nature asserts itself， but because he tries to induce the girl to accept his arrangement by his seemingly thoughtful attitude. “Everything” in his conversation has double meanings： drink and abortion， implying that having an abortion is as easy as having a drink. He wants to make his girlfriend believe that if she agrees with the operation， they will have a sweet and happy life again. The man has a very elusive character. Only if he feels any change， he immediately becomes rude. For example， when he works out the hidden meaning that the girl still wants to give birth to the baby， he is out of patience at once， and he breaks off her words in a rough way （“Cut it out”）. His hypocrisy is exposed clearly in his changeable behaviors.

Compared with the man， Jig， his girlfriend， usually takes a cooperative attitude， and has a good manner. For example， she often uses such words as “Yes”， “All right” in her answer； she even borrows the word “everything” to echo her boyfriend. She does all these things， just because she wants to maintain a harmonious relationship with the man and keep their talk going on. It is not entirely true that Jig agrees with her boyfriend. She obeys the politeness principles and does not show disapproval of the mans words outwardly. Through the analysis of the politeness principles in their conversation， the man can be concluded as an extremely selfish person who shows a lack of sense of responsibility. The girl is too weak in personality， has no will of her own and she easily gets hurt.

References：

[1]Baker，C.（1980）.Ernest Hemingway：A Life Story.New York： Avon Books.

[2]Brown，P&Levinson，S.（1978）.Politeness：Some Universals in Language Usage.

[3]何玲梅，夏訣芬，曹耀萍.禮貌現象的語用特征[J].外語與外語教學，2006（10）：46-49.

[4]張寧.人稱代詞視角的選擇與禮貌取向[J].外語學刊，2009（4）： 40-43.