The short story, ‘Hills like white elephants’ utilizes heavy use literary elements to convey the theme of the story, while managing to keep the reader captivated by story trying to deduce further meaning to its conclusion. The author uses the setting of the story to draw a deeper meaning to the story thus enhancing the ability of the reader to comprehend the situation the couple faces without using express language (Koloze, 2005).
The story is set in a train station where a couple sits drinking bear while waiting for their train. The setting in the context of this story is important. Waiting for their train is an important comparison, and as the story develops, the girl is revealed as pregnant. As the coming of the train is uncertain, in the sense that it might or might not come, so is the pregnancy of the girl. When the time for train comes, the man goes out to check on the train and does not see any sign of it. This creates uncertainty whether the train actually came or never showed up. In the same way, the girl is not sure whether she will carry her pregnancy to term as the man is pushing her to be rid of it against her desires. The aspect of waiting is also present as the girl notes that things which one waits on for a long time, only for them to happen and have a completely different taste than anticipated. This is in connection with the taste of beer which she notes tasted like licorice. The pregnancy therefore did not have the desired result as the girl would have expected as her love wants it terminated.
The narrative theme explored by the story revolves around the happiness of a young girl cohabiting with a man. Their relationship is a loose one, and which had previously suited them, especially the man, as they explored the world and had fun. The pregnancy, however, cut short this happiness for both of them, and regrettably for the girl, as the man did not see a life beyond them with a baby involved. The girl, however, wished that they could enjoy everything as can be attested by her remark when she observes the countryside and savors the scenery, wishing they could have it all, including the baby and still be happy. The man however wishes to have their old life back, with her alone. The girl is in turmoil throughout the story, but gains a semblance of happiness at the end. She seems to have made up her mind. Unable to convince his man, even to the extent of demanding silence from him twice, she decides that it is her who decides what makes her happy, and that she will be happy, despite the knowledge or otherwise of the man. The writer uses literary elements to bring out the theme of happiness and unhappiness in the couple in a way that would rarely be achieved by use of ordinary language.
References
Koloze, J. (2005). An ethical analysis of the portrayal of abortion in American fiction: Dreiser, Hemingway, Faulkner, Dos Passos, Brautigan, and Irving. Lewiston, N.Y: Edwin Mellen Press.
Pochyla, D., & Petrič, J. (2006). The Hemingway hero in Hemingway's short stories "The killers", "Soldier's home", "Hills like white elephants", "The snows of Kilimanjaro", "The short happy life of Francis Macomber", "A clean, well-lighted place", "The old man and the sea": [diplomsko delo]. Ljubljana: D. Pochyla.
