Decisions In Ernest Hemingway's 'Hills Like White Elephants'

Olga Serzhantova
English 1A
Sean Kim
13 September 2010
Essay 1
Hills Like White Elephants
Everyday people make decisions that might have a big influence on their future lives. One can never say if this or that decision is right simply because there is no right or wrong. The choices that people make or believe in depend on their individual qualities and personal preferences. Therefore, what is right for one person might be totally wrong for the other. The only thing we shouldn’t forget is that once the decision is made there is no way back, once the action is done there is no way to change it.
Ernest Hemingway, one of the most influential writers of the first half of the twentieth century, in his realistic story “Hills Like White Elephants”
He doesn’t see Jig as a person, individual with her own feelings and values. Through the conversation that takes over eighty percent of the story it becomes obvious that this couple used to travel a lot enjoying their carefree time. And now this time is under the threat, because if they decide to keep a child all the time and money will be consumed by it. The American manipulates Jig into having the abortion by presenting the operation as a simple procedure that is in her best interests. He tries to persuade her that after the abortion is done, everything will be the same again: “And we could have all this. […] And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible. […] We can have the whole world” (526). But the girl replies that “it isn’t [their] any more, once they take it away, you never get it back” (527). As she considers his point of view she looks at the dry side of the valley, which is barren and sterile, symbolizing her body after the abortion. Moreover, it’s not only about her body that will not be the same any more, not only about the baby that will be taken away, it’s also about this romantic and naïve relationship between Jig and this man that will be lost. Jig faces the immense decision that will change her future. She has to choose between the old and the new lifestyle. It’s definitely a very hard decision for the girl and probably she realizes she
We only see the surface of what is happening. The reader is able to have his own ending and take part in the story. Even though it’s unknown whether the girl decides to have the operation or not I am not satisfied as the girl chooses to shut out her feelings and to go through something that she feels miserable about. For the reader it’s not clear whether the result of the abortion will be negative or positive. The only thing that is clear to us is that the girl doesn’t feel right about it. One of the most famous quotations by Maria Robinson, a psychologist and independent adviser, is: “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” The life has already changed for Jig, the question is if she is willing to accept the changes and keep the baby. Jig’s story has many parallels in real life, abortion-related and otherwise. Hemingway’s purpose in creating the character of Jig is to look at human nature, about how we go against ourselves and to do something undesired just to please