Hills Like White Elephant Symbolism Essay

People face difficult decisions every day. Some, however, face more difficult decisions than others. In the short story Hills Like White Elephants, Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism, dialogue, and the iceberg theory to highlight a conflict between the American guy and the girl facing a strenuous decision.
Symbolism plays a prominent roll in Hills Like White Elephants. The most notable use of symbolism in this short story is Hemingway’s reference to White Elephants. This is where Hemingway drew the title Hills Like White Elephants. There are many symbols stemming from this reference. A “White Elephant” is a possession that is seen as useless or troublesome, or expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of. When the girl in the story looks

The most notable use of symbolism in this short story is Hemingway’s reference to White Elephants. This is where Hemingway drew the title Hills Like White Elephants. There are many symbols stemming from this reference. A “White Elephant” is a possession that is seen as useless or troublesome, or expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of. When the girl in the story looks at the hills around her and states “They look like white elephants” (Hemingway 212), she is referencing the baby inside of her. This is the core conflict between the American guy and the girl – whether or not they want to have the baby or get an abortion. A second symbol of the the girls reference to white elephants is the American metaphorical idiom “Elephant in the room”. An “Elephant in the room” is an issue obviously present but no one wants to acknowledge or talk about. In this scenario, the elephant in the room is the abortion they are debating having. When the girl retracts her previous statement that the hills look like white elephants and says “They’re lovely hills. They don’t really look like white elephants” (Hemingway 213), she is not debating whether or not the hills look like white elephants, she is symbolizing her pregnancy and is debating whether or not the the baby will be troublesome, or if she should get an