Hills Like White Elephants

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Hills Like White Elephants is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first published in 1927 as part of the publication of Men Without Women.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story takes place in the Ebro river valley in Spain. The two main characters are a man (referred to only as "the American") and a girl, whom he calls Jig. They are a couple. They drink beer and a liquor called Anis del Toro while waiting for the train to Madrid. Their conversation is mundane and testy at first, but it soon becomes clear that he is pressuring her into an unspecified operation. Though it never made explicit, their conversation strongly implies that the operation in question is an abortion.

Though the conversation is sparse, it takes place over the course of approximately 35 minutes, with Hemingway leaving the reader to contemplate the silences.

The story is filled with symbolism, including the white elephant, a costly and unwanted burden. Consistent with the oblique style of the conversation, Hemingway never explicitly states whether or not the couple will go forward with the unspecified operation.

Hemingway uses what has become known as the Iceberg Theory in which the reader is left to find the meaning beneath the surface. Hemingway was famous for his Iceberg Theory in such classic short stories as Cat in the Rain, Out of Season and The Three Day Blow.

The reader should pay close attention to eye contact in the story. The man and the girl rarely look at each other and look at other objects like the table and the hills. This contributes to the tension that exists between them. In addition, one should note that the girl states that everything tastes like licorice. This shows that she is sick of the lifestyle they lead, which involves nothing more than traveling and drinking. She hopes for a more meaningful life. The man, on the other hand, wants to preserve their carefree lifestyle and the baby would be a hindrance to this. He tries to pressure the girl into having an abortion so he is not tied down by the "white elephant", or an expensive burden. His efforts to appear caring and sympathetic are very insincere, belying his true desire only for the preservation of his carefree/swinger lifestyle.