Analysis Of Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” was published in 1927 and set the stage for simplistic short story structure leaving the symbolic meat of the story just beneath the surface. The piece follows a conversation between “The American and the girl…”, who are presumed to be a couple, sitting at a table outside a train station in Spain (qtd. in Charters 416). Through short, often terse statements, the man and woman deliberate over the future of their relationship in the face of an impending abortion. Many view this story as an exploration of the difference between talking and communicating, however, this lens does not allow for deeper examination of the larger role of discussion in a relationship. While Hemingway does present a situation

This view is supported by the characters’ dissociation, shallow dialogue, and the barren and isolated scenery. The actions and comments of the characters give rise to a sense of dissociation indicative of a lack of connection. Unsurprising for a text of its time, the female of the story dissociates through whimsical idealization. After the narrator describes the surrounding landscape, and the couple orders drinks, the girl comments on the hills in the distance: “‘They look like white elephants,...”’ (qtd. in Charters 416). The exotic comparison is telling toward her imaginative nature, and hints the idea that she might incline to see beyond reality at what isn’t there. In contrast, the American does not reciprocate her whimsy, responding with “I’ve never seen one,” (qtd. in Charters 416). As opposed to pulling from pieces of imagination to understand her comment, he probes only his direct memory, ultimately failing to encourage conversation. Furthermore, the couple’s mental states are

The story begins by delivering a description of the barren background landscape: “The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun” (qtd. in Charters 416). The long, white mountains and the absence of shade or trees conjure the image of a desolate, infertile landscape. This point is further deduced from the quote, “The country was brown and dry” (qtd. in Charters 416). In addition, the station is placed between two railways, delivering the idea of a disconnect between two objects. The emptiness of the setting is immensely reflective of the lack of promise in their relationship, and their divided association with one another. The narrator spotlights the potential for a fertile relationship, when Jig moves to the other side of the station and observes the lush landscape: “Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees” (qtd. in Charters 418). Their placement on the desolate side of the station, opposite of this rich landscape, shows that the decision to abort the baby has been made, and due to this decision, their relationship is as dry as the country surrounding them.