Essays on Hills Like White Elephants

1927

Ernest Hemingway

Short Story

Fiction

The American, the Girl, the Bartender

It was believed that the story is either pro-feminism or anti-feminism, yet an author spoke of no background for this story, which contains symbolism as the white elephant.

Symbolism, feminism, abortion, role of women, anger, influence, motherhood, love.

The story is short, yet a powerful one and speaks not precisely about abortion per se, but about the importance of noticing the elephant in the room. It speaks about winning an argument that cannot be won since every person will have a certain opinion.

The story revolves around a conversation between an American man and a young girl. They stop at the station that is located in Spain. The girl compares the hills that she sees to the white elephants. It is an allegory of an elephant or a problem that is way too large to be ignored. Jig is pregnant and her man is trying to convince her to make an abortion. The girl prefers getting married and having a baby. It is a dispute that no one wins in the end.

• The short story is full of symbolism where the white hills are the tops of the future that the girl can see and the man cannot.
• Ernest Hemingway knows the topic of guilt very well, which is expressed in the conversation as Hemingway has been also accused and cleared of war crimes.
• The elephant is a symbol of a baby that nobody wants.
• This short story has been often discussed by Ernest Hemingway as the story that has no end.
• The train station has been the reflection of life, which means that one has to stop and think about the challenges.
• Hemingway's characters always embody his own values and the views, which is why it is evident that the morals of abortion are reflected in the white hills, - the purity and innocence.
• This story has also been approached both as the feminist and as the anti-feminist.

• "There was no shade. ... The station was between two long rails in the sun."
• "That's all we do, isn't it—look at things and try new drinks?"
• "'It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig,' the man said. 'It's not really an operation at all.'"
• "We'll be fine afterward. Just like we were before."
• "I feel fine,' she said. 'There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.'"

The story does not bring us any suspense as Jig is telling her man to shut up and screams, it is still the dispute and the elephant in the room that is finally noticed. It becomes clear that when two people have the opposite opinions, they cannot live happily.

It is an essay that can be written about the dispute, about women's rights, about morals, social conflict, and human relations. The Hills Like White Elephants is also about making your choices in life and living under pressure.