Hills Like White Elephants is almost a perfect a story to show, as well as teach, students about sub-text and language vs. communication. Below is a lined version of the story and a PowerPoint that breaks down the text, context and subtext of the story.
Extension* If I’m using this as a model text in a creative writing unit, I ask students to try to write a short dialogue with a partner that asks the reader to make inferences to determine a specific subtext, and then the rest of the class, or other members of a group, have to guess.
