Introduction
Hills Like White Elephants is a popular American short story by American author, Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961). Hemmingway wrote and published the story in his 1927 collection of short stories titled Men Without Women. The story bears many autobiographical elements of Hemingway’s life as he struggled to build lifelong relationships. It is a popular story in American schools thanks to a captivating plot, setting, characters, use of imagery and its exposition of common societal themes.
Setting
The story is set at a train station surrounded by fields, trees, hills and a valley in Spain. The place is the Ebro River valley in Spain. It features a man named American and his girlfriend Jig as they sit outside the station waiting to catch a train to Madrid.
Plot
It is a hot day and the American orders two beers just as his girlfriend quips that the hills look like white elephants (Hemingway, 476). The man responds that he had never seen a white elephant. The couple has a chit chat in which they talk about alcohol, as they enjoy more drinks. The American then asks Jig, the girl to have an operation which he downplays a simple procedure. Though the operation is never made explicit, the man wants the girl to get an abortion. He uses phrases such as “I don’t want anybody but you” and “It’s just to let air in” as he convinces the girl to get the operation (Hemingway, 477).
Jig questions the importance of the operation and the man convinces her that all would go on well and that many people had had the operation. The girl agrees to have the operation on the premise the man would love her forever. An argument ensues between the two regarding the operation and whether it would bring them happiness. A Spanish bartender alerts the couple of the arrival of the train but when the American carries their bags to the platform, there is no train in sight (Hemingway, 479). The couple retreats to the bar where they console each other after noticing that there were many people waiting to board the train.
Styles of writing
The story has some outstanding imagery. Symbols are the commonest imagery used in the story. For instance, “white elephant” could be a symbol used by the girl in reference to a baby. The American sees the baby as a project underway that he is incapable of handling and hence its reference by the girl as a “white elephant”. The mention of the “hills” could be symbolic of the girl’s protruding abdomen and the swollen breasts due to the pregnancy (Hemingway, 477). Although it could have been hot in actual sense, the hotness that compelled the American and Jig to ask for beers could be symbolic of the pressure in their relationship and hence the need to “cool down”.
The other style evident in the story is dialogue. In several instances, the American and his girlfriend Jig converse. They talk about the white elephants, alcohol, and the operation and also about their future life. The conversations between the two make the story interesting; enhance the development of the plot and the themes therein.
Characters
The main character is the American. He is manipulative. He asserts that the operation he wanted Jig to have “an awfully simple operation” and “it’s really not anythingIt’s just to let air in” (Hemingway, 477). He maintains his persuasive and almost forceful assertion on the operation but when the girl queries on the importance of the operation, the man states “if you don’t want to, you don’t have to” (Hemingway, 478). In their dialogue, it is evident that the man intensely wants the girl to have the operation, but he feigns accommodating the girl’s concerns on the issue.
The man is also worldly and acts masculine in the manner he maintains his cool even when faced with unfamiliar situations. For instance when he states that he had never seen a white elephant he does so while sipping his beer to assert calmness, indifference and lack of concern with the girl’s comments.
Jig is the other major character in the story. She is submissive. She appears helpless, indecisive and confused. For instance, she changes her views regarding the attractiveness of the hills. She also cares more about the happiness of the man and she is ready to go ahead with the operation as long as she retains her relationship with the American.
Themes
The major theme is that of communication versus talking. Although the American and his girlfriend seem to be engrossed in a conversation, there is ample breakdown, incoherence and poor responses from both parties. The man is bent on convincing the girl to have the operation while the girl is indecisive on the actual issue and digresses to the nature surrounding them and their happiness. At some point the girl begs the man to “please, please, please, please, please, please” stop talking when she realized the futility of the alleged conversation (Hemingway, 478). The girl is also unable to speak Spanish and the responsibility of asking for drinks is left at the man’s discretion.
The second theme is that of drinking. The couple drinks alcohol casually in spite of the girl being allegedly pregnant. The couple seemingly has some problems and they drink to avoid discussing about the issues that are affecting them in a sober manner.
Conclusion
Ernest Hemingway’s 1927 story Hills like White Elephants explores the themes of poor communication and alcoholism in the modern world. The story told through dialogues between “the American” and his girlfriend Jig bears symbols such as hills, white elephant, hotness to indicate pregnancy, failure to support the pregnancy and the pressure in the relationship. In all, the setting, plot and the characters complement each other to bring out the themes in a clear and explicit manner.
Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. Men without women. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1927. Print.
