Abstract

• Conversations can simply be described as the medium for delivering messages in which information is exchanged by two or more speakers in different situations. However, they appear to have a well-structured process which follows specific norms. This paper aims to investigate how Moves in dialogues are structured in Hills Like White Elephants, a short story written by Hemingway. As regards to conversation analysis for the story, a framework proposed by Burton (1980) is used as a model of the research. The utterances of the characters are categorised in order to find out the underlying structures. This paper reveals the awareness of the subtle yet impactful elements shaping the dynamics of dialogue in the selected short story. The findings show that 5 out of 7 types of Moves are used in 99 utterances, exposing the motives of the main characters in the conversation. The exploration contributes a better comprehension of Moves found in casual, fictional conversation.