Both Kafka and Hemingway exhibit, through their styles of writing, ambiguous meanings, implied motifs, and similar hidden themes.
Hemingway's short story, "Hills Like White Elephants," is a narrative "in which little actually 'happens'" to the protagonists, which means that almost all of the substance emerges from the vague dialogue between the man and the girl, Jig (Link 3). In short stories, language is particularly notable because the decision to include each word is likely scrutinized by the author. This is particularly the case in Hemingway's short story because of his creation of the literary style called, "The Iceberg Theory". Iceberg theory is a technique which leaves out "vital data of the story underneath the belief that oversight can occasionally add strong point to a story" (Darzikola 8). Hemingway has stated that "the main point of the work is under the surface," and this is certainly the case in the story, "Hills Like White Elephants," which alters the readers' perceptions of the story's meaning (Darzikola 9). The iceberg principle has been criticized as detracting from Hemingway's work and resulting in a story that is too simple, but in fact, Hemingway was a "compulsive reviser," leading him to create works that he felt were just right in his opinion (Darzikola 9). Hemingway's works have been edited, analyzed, and rewritten over and over until the final product is the tip of the iceberg's surface that conveys a message, but leaves implications throughout that allow the reader to take from the story what they wish to take or interpret. The iceberg theory affects "Hills Like White Elephants" because it leaves room for interpretation and the author is left as the only person knowing the original meaning, and outcome of the story. .
The notion of leaving the reader to interpret their own version of the story's meaning is also applicable to Kafka's novella "The Metamorphosis," but not directly because of his choice of literary style, nor because of the iceberg theory.
