Hills Like White Elephants

Hills Like White Elephants, written by Ernest Hemingway, is a fictional story written about an American man and a woman called Jig. It concerns their conversation while waiting for a train located in Barcelona, Spain. The two characters settle at a bar which is surrounded by the Ebro Valley; an series of white hills that are what Jig sees as “white elephants” (400). The story is told in third-person point-of-view and focuses on their argument as to whether Jig should have an abortion or not. One may believe that the title is extracted from Jig’s pregnancy; an element concerning the “baby bump” that she would eventually develop. Many things which are generally touched on within a story are hardly in this one. One strange aspect is that the theme does not stand out as strongly as others. The author gives no description of the characters in a physical aspect. Generally, the reader is provided with a unique personality trait or physical classification of a character, which there is none of. Even a small outline of the character’s past is absent, throwing the reader into the middle of the story. Hemingway portrays “the man” to have an abnormally calm and
At the beginning of the story, she points out how she perceives the hills looking like white elephants. To this, the man replies saying that a specific operation is “very simple” (401) and is “completely natural” (401). Readers assume the author is speaking of an abortion even though the words “baby” or “pregnancy” are absent. It is received as though he is subtlety pushing her toward the operation, assuring her their relationship will be as it were before. It is obvious that Jig is hesitant toward the idea. Assuming that the two are a couple, Jig seems to be anxious; not knowing what the future will possess if she goes forth. Judging from the questions that she replies with, the reader may acquire the idea that the girl is young and slightly