Interpretation Of Hills Like White Elephants

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Steven Scalora Professor Roberts 4/22/14 English 102 What could have been in “Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemmingway is a well known author who wrote the short story “Hills like White Elephants”. This is a story of a torn romance where the lovers have conflicting opinions on whether or not the girl should have an abortion. One unanswered question from the story is how the relationship between the American and his foreign lover Jig will be affected depending on whether or not Jig aborts their unborn child. People have conflicting opinions on what really happened in the story. Some people believed that she went on to have the procedure done after the end of the story, while others believe that she ended up keeping her child. Phillip Sipiora believed that when Jig said “I’m fine…” she was referring to the fact that she had been drinking, or she meant it as “Fine I’m keeping the child.” There is nothing conclusive on how their argument actually ended. (Sipiora, Phillip.) Sipiora makes the argument that the couple is very drunk by time the story ends, having drank many kinds of alcohol in a very short period of time. He says that she could be saying that when she says, “I’m fine…” she is referring to being fine being pregnant and having the baby. (Sipiora, Phillip.) This interpretation suggests that Jig does not go through with the abortion. Nilofer Hashimi had his own opinion of the story. He goes into what may have happened if Jig and the American had kept their baby. He goes on to say how Hemingway had used subtle verbal and non verbal cues and indications which helped support the views of Hashimi. He says that there are three possible outcomes to the story; Jig has the abortion and stays with the man, Ji... ... middle of paper ... ... the American even blurts out how it is a “simple operation” and how it is only “letting the air in”, after this is said Jig then stares at the ground, realizing how truly real this would be and how it would affect her. Scholars believe that she knows all about the operation, and how it is actually far from “natural” as the American had said to her before. (Wyche, David) The train was to arrive in five minutes; the American now grabs their bags and brings them to the opposite side of the train station. A decision had been reached between the two, but it is never specifically said what the decision truly was. There are multiple scenarios on what was to happen. When Jig smiles it may signify how the American inevitably backs down, or that she had decided on having the procedure, but she was going to leave the American after it had been paid for. (Wyche, David)

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