Ernest Hemingway, Hills like white elephants

Setting
Hemingway sets “Hills Like White Elephants” at a train station to highlight the fact that the
relationship between the American man and the girl is at a crossroads. Planted in the
middle of a desolate valley, the station isn’t a final destination but merely a stopping point
between Barcelona and Madrid. Travelers, including the main characters, must therefore
decide where to go and, in this case, whether to go with each other and continue their
relationship. Moreover, the contrast between the white hills and barren valley possibly
highlights the dichotomy between life and death, fertility and sterility, and mirrors the
choice the girl faces between having the baby or having the abortion. The girl seems torn
between the two landscapes, not only commenting on the beauty of the hills but also
physically walking to the end of the platform and gazing out at the brown emptiness around
the station.

The Iceberg Theory and Hemingway’s Style

Many first-time readers read “Hills Like White Elephants” as nothing more than a casual
conversation between two people waiting for a train and therefore miss the unstated
dramatic tension lurking between each line. As a result, many people don’t realize that the
two are actually talking about having an abortion and going their separate ways, let alone
why the story was so revolutionary for its time. In accordance with his so-called Iceberg
Theory, Hemingway stripped everything but the bare essentials from his stories and novels,
leaving readers to sift through the remaining dialogue and bits of narrative on their own.
Just as the visible tip of an iceberg hides a far greater mass of ice underneath the ocean
surface, so does Hemingway’s dialogue belie the unstated tension between his characters.
In fact, Hemingway firmly believed that perfect stories conveyed far more through subtext
than through the actual words written on the page. The more a writer strips away, the
more powerful the “iceberg,” or story, becomes.
Hemingway stripped so much from his stories that many of his contemporary critics
complained that his fiction was little more than snippets of dialogue strung together.
Others have called his writing overly masculine—there are no beautiful phrases or
breathtaking passages, just the sheer basics. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” for example,
both the American man and the girl speak in short sentences and rarely utter more than a
few words at a time. Hemingway also avoids using dialogue tags, such as “he said” or “she
said,” and skips any internal monologues. These elements leave the characters’ thoughts
and feelings completely up to the reader’s own interpretations. Hemingway’s fans,
however, have lauded his style for its simplicity, believing that fewer misleading words
paint a truer picture of what lies beneath.
The story is based on short dialogues that create an invisible suspense, as if what is
happening were hidden or veiled by reality. The author explained his technique with the
model of the ice floe, which hides most of its matter under water, leaving only a small part
visible in daylight.
Characters
 The American
The male protagonist of the story. The American never reveals his name, nor does the girl
ever directly address him by name. He is determined to convince the girl to have the
operation but tries to appear as though he doesn’t care what she does. He remains
disconnected from his surroundings, not really understanding or even listening to what the
girl has to say.
Throughout the story, the American behaves according to Hemingway’s rigid conception of
masculinity. Hemingway portrays the American as a rugged man’s man—knowledgeable,
worldly, and always in control of himself and the situation at hand. Even when vexed or
confused, he maintains his cool and feigns indifference, such as when he tells the girl he
doesn’t care whether she has the operation. He initially avoids discussion of their problems,
but when pressured, he tackles them head on by oversimplifying the operation and
relentlessly pushing her to have it. Thinking himself to be the more reasonable of the two,
he patronizes the girl and fails to provide the sympathy and understanding she needs
during the crisis. Uncompromising, he seems to identify more with the other passengers
“waiting reasonably” at the station than with his own girlfriend at the end of the story,
which suggests that the two will go their separate ways.
 The Girl
The female protagonist of the story. The American calls the girl “Jig” at one point in the
story but never mentions her real name. Unlike the American, the girl is less sure of what
she wants and appears reluctant to have the operation in question. She alternates between
wanting to talk about the operation and wanting to avoid the topic altogether.
Compared to the American, Hemingway’s overly masculine character, the girl is less
assertive and persuasive. Throughout the story, the girl appears helpless, confused, and
indecisive. She changes her mind about the attractiveness of the surrounding hills, for
example; claims to selflessly care only for the American; and seems uncertain about
whether she wants to have the operation. In fact, the girl can’t even order drinks from the
bartender on her own without having to rely on the man’s ability to speak Spanish.
Ironically, the girl seems to understand that her relationship with the American has
effectively ended, despite her professed desire to make him happy. She knows that even if
she has the operation, their relationship won’t return to how it used to be. In many ways,
the girl’s realization of this fact gives her power over the American, who never really
understands why they still can’t have “the whole world” like they once did.
 The Bartender
The woman serving drinks to the American man and the girl. The bartender speaks only
Spanish.
Themes
Talking versus Communicating
Although “Hills Like White Elephants” is primarily a conversation between the American
man and his girlfriend, neither of the speakers truly communicates with the other,
highlighting the rift between the two. Both talk, but neither listens or understands the
other’s point of view. Frustrated and placating, the American man will say almost anything
to convince his girlfriend to have the operation, which, although never mentioned by name,
is understood to be an abortion. He tells her he loves her, for example, and that everything
between them will go back to the way it used to be. The girl, meanwhile, waffles
indecisively, at one point conceding that she’ll have the abortion just to shut him up. When
the man still persists, she finally begs him to “please, please, please, please, please, please”
stop talking, realizing the futility of their conversation. In fact, the girl’s nickname, “Jig,”
subtly indicates that the two characters merely dance around each other and the issue at
hand without ever saying anything meaningful. The girl’s inability to speak Spanish with the
bartender, moreover, not only illustrates her dependence on the American but also the
difficulty she has expressing herself to others.

Symbols
White Elephants
A white elephant symbolizes something no one wants—in this story, the girl’s unborn child.
The girl’s comment in the beginning of the story that the surrounding hills look like white
elephants initially seems to be a casual, offhand remark, but it actually serves as a segue for
her and the American to discuss their baby and the possibility of having an abortion. The
girl later retracts this comment with the observation that the hills don’t really look like
white elephants, a subtle hint that perhaps she wants to keep the baby after all—a hint the
American misses. In fact, she even says that the hills only seemed to look like white
elephants at first glance, and that they’re actually quite lovely. Comparing the hills—and,
metaphorically, the baby—to elephants also recalls the expression “the elephant in the
room,” a euphemism for something painfully obvious that no one wants to discuss.
Therefore, Hemingway uses the title "Hills Like White Elephants" to point out the deepest
meaning of the story; to symbolize the sacred nature of propagating children; to symbolize
the pregnancy that is being debated by the American man and Jig.
The expression itself, "hills like white elephants," is actually a simile, not a metaphor, since
it uses "like." White elephants are used to refer to something unwanted or undesired. In
this context, they are also symbolic in the story of her undesired pregnancy.
What is the symbolic meaning of white elephant?
The white elephant—which was more often than not stricken with albinism, and thus more
a ruddy-pink color—was, and remains to this day, a symbol of success. To possess a white
elephant connoted political power, wealth and prosperity, great wisdom, and the love of
one's people.

Why did Ernest Hemingway write Hills Like White Elephants?

He had got rid of many things by writing them." In my opinion, Hemingway was trying to
"get rid" of some bad personal feelings he had about being in a situation with a woman
which was similar to that involving Jig and the American in "Hills Like White Elephants." I do
not believe he was trying to communicate any "

Motifs
Drinking
Both the American man and the girl drink alcohol throughout their conversation to avoid
each other and the problems with their relationship. They start drinking large beers the
moment they arrive at the station as if hoping to fill their free time with anything but
discussion. Then, as soon as they begin talking about the hills that look like white elephants,
the girl asks to order more drinks to put off the inevitable conversation about the baby.
Although they drink primarily to avoid thinking about the pregnancy, readers sense that
deeper problems exist in their relationship, of which the baby is merely one. In fact, the girl
herself implies this when she remarks that she and the American man never do anything
together except try new drinks, as if constantly looking for new ways to avoid each other.
By the end of their conversation, both drink alone—the girl at the table and the man at the
bar—suggesting that the two will end their relationship and go their separate ways.
Book Summary
“Hills Like White Elephants” opens with a long description of the story’s setting in a train
station surrounded by hills, fields, and trees in a valley in Spain. A man known simply as the
American and his girlfriend sit at a table outside the station, waiting for a train to Madrid.
It is hot, and the man orders two beers. The girl remarks that the nearby hills look like white
elephants, to which the American responds that he’s never seen one. They order more
drinks and begin to bicker about the taste of the alcohol. The American chastises her and
says that they should try to enjoy themselves. The girl replies that she’s merely having fun
and then retracts her earlier comment by saying the hills don’t actually look like white
elephants to her anymore.
They order more drinks, and the American mentions that he wants the girl, whom he calls
“Jig,” to have an operation, although he never actually specifies what kind of operation. He
seems agitated and tries to downplay the operation’s seriousness. He argues that the
operation would be simple, for example, but then says the procedure really isn’t even an
operation at all.
The girl says nothing for a while, but then she asks what will happen after she’s had the
operation. The man answers that things will be fine afterward, just like they were before,
and that it will fix their problems. He says he has known a lot of people who have had the
operation and found happiness afterward. The girl dispassionately agrees with him. The
American then claims that he won’t force her to have the operation but thinks it’s the best
course of action to take. She tells him that she will have the operation as long as he’ll still
love her and they’ll be able to live happily together afterward.
The man then emphasizes how much he cares for the girl, but she claims not to care about
what happens to herself. The American weakly says that she shouldn’t have the operation if
that’s really the way she feels. The girl then walks over to the end of the station, looks at
the scenery, and wonders aloud whether they really could be happy if she has the
operation. They argue for a while until the girl gets tired and makes the American promise
to stop talking.
The Spanish bartender brings two more beers and tells them that the train is coming in five
minutes. The girl smiles at the bartender but has to ask the American what she said
because the girl doesn’t speak Spanish. After finishing their drinks, the American carries
their bags to the platform and then walks back to the bar, noticing all the other people who
are also waiting for the train. He asks the girl whether she feels better. She says she feels
fine and that there is nothing wrong with her.