She never states this, but it is in her tone. It is clear that the man in the story is sure if what he wants; his own happiness. The tone of a story is the feeling the author is trying to portray. In “Hills Like White Elephants” the underlying tone is restlessness and impatience. The girl in the short story is undeniably nervous about having an abortion.
Hemingway’s use of symbolism in the dialogue and setting helps reveal the difficult matter through suggestion without the actual term abortion being mentioned. For instance, the term white elephant is used as a metaphor to represent the unborn baby and describe the adjustment on their lives a baby would bring. The girl looked at the mountains and states, “They look like white elephants” (Hemingway 97). The man disagrees with her statement and tension builds. The girl retracts her statement, and states, of course, the mountains do not really look like white elephants only "their skin through the trees” (Hemingway 98).
The second symbol encountered in this passage are the hills. The girl claims that the hills look like white elephants. In years gone by, white elephants were symbolic of a great but burdensome gift. This could potentially be linked to the pregnancy and the child itself. It almosts seems as though she already realizes the great burden that the child could place upon her and her partner.
They give these as a gift to someone else, like the unborn child in this story. The couple is conflicted whether to have or not to have the baby. Jig saying "you wouldn't have" to her American boyfriend is her way of telling him that she is sure he has not seen a baby and wanted to have one of your own. (Hemingway, 1927, para. 5) The "hills" are symbolic of the way woman's stomach looks while she is pregnant.
And then, she introduces us to the other scholarly interpretation that Hashmi most likely to agree: “the girl will indeed have the abortion. Expecting this way to stay with the man, but after the operation has been performed, he will abandon her” (Hashmi 72). Hashmi tries to define the meaning behind the use of the title "Hills Like White Elephants." For Hashmi the hills "appear to symbolize the glimmering hope, remote yet real like the hills themselves, that her sexual relationship with the man might change the solid relationship of family and permanence" (Hashmi 75). Other scholars in their search for an
The story never openly says what it is they are debating. We only know that the man and woman are on opposite sides of the conversation. It can be argued that they are debating whether or not to have an abortion. In paragraph forty two, the man says “It’s an awfully simple operation”. With that, it becomes clear there is some sort of procedure involved.
The relationship between Jig and the American is complex as it is hard to figure out where they are since they are traveling together. Analysis shall try to show what type of relationship really exists between these two people. The story told is that of a woman and a man on a trip to a place where she can have an abortion. Everything in the story is related to the idea of fertility. This main topic can be seen from the title Hills Like White Elephants, where hills refer to the shape of the belly of a pregnant woman, and white elephant is the fetus they are going to get rid of.
Justin Simpson Mr. Pikus Summary of scholarly article 3/6/12 Summary of scholarly article Authors often use literary elements to leave the reader questioning the outcome of the story. This applies to Ernest Hemingway’s haunting story “Hills like White Elephants.” Most agree that the relationship between the American and the Jig will eventually deteriorate. Nilofer Hashmi argues in his scholarly article “The Jilting of Jig” that there is another outcome. Hashmi states that “the girl will indeed have the abortion, expecting in this way to stay on the man, but after the operation has been performed, he will abandon her” (Hashmi) Hashmi observes that “various verbal and non-verbal indications found in the story support this interpretation of the narrative, as does the very symbolism of the title itself” (Hashmi) According to Hashmi, it is plausible to believe that there is still some love between the American and Jig. Hashmi notes, “Thus the girl, who now wants more than a relationship based on sex and alcohol, would have no reason to stay on with the man” (Hashmi) But, there are a few details that do not seem to fit into this.
When Jig notices that the hills “look like white elephants,” she mentions it to the American, therefore starting the conversation with him. Also, Jig notices that the beaded curtain has something written on it, and brings up a conversation about what it said. By bringing up the topics of conversation, Jig is showing that she is assertive and aggressive. It’s also obvious that Jig has the power in the relationship because she doesn’t give in to the pressure from the American to believe that the abortion is simple. Later in the story, the American attempts to give Jig reason to not be afraid by saying, “I’ve known lots of people that have done it” (4).
The symbolism of the hills represents the belly of a pregnant woman. The silence of this symbolism gives the readers clues to let them know that the couple is talking about an abortion. The silence of “Hills Like White Elephants” never tells the reader what the couple is actually discussing or talking about. The phrase “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig. It’s not really an operation at all” (Hemingway, 2011, p. 445) is a clue that allows the reader to figure out the couple is talking about an abortion.