Hills Like White Elephants is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway, first published in 1927. Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American journalist and writer, author of seven novels and a few short-story collections, many of which have become literary classics. Hemingway’s writing style is extraordinary, the writer himself referred to one of its main features as the ‘iceberg theory’ (Hemingway, “Death in the Afternoon” 98).
It means that only some of the facts appear on the surface, but the most significant part of them is still hidden, it is only alluded to or implied. Besides, Hemingway prefers avoiding complicated syntax – often, his sentences are short and simple, which, however, does not affect the depth of the story itself. Hills Like White Elephants is a good representative of Hemingway’s style, with short stories in particular.
A big part of the story is taken up by a dialog. It is happening between a man, who is referred to by the author as the American, and a young woman. They are lovers who have recently traveled together and are now waiting for their train at a small station somewhere in Spain. The dialog at first may be unclear to the reader – or at least the object of it – but it is evident that the couple has a lot of built-up tension between them.
The issue in question is the woman’s pregnancy or, to be exact, their unspoken conflict about whether or not she should have an abortion. Both of them are pretending to feel okay and willing to do what the other one wants, while it is clear that their desired outcomes are pretty much the complete opposites. This is where the problems begin – instead of having an honest heart-to-heart conversation about everything, the couple is refusing to communicate their true feelings, which only leads to more tension and unresolved conflict.
One of the first interactions between the couple in the story is when the woman compares the hills to ‘white elephants’ (Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants” 824). The man immediately becomes dismissive, saying he has never seen one so he cannot judge. They both are being passive-aggressive with each other, which reveals a covert conflict between the partners. The woman is frustrated by the lack of attention and care from the man, desperate for something to ease off the tension, but the man’s reaction only adds up to it.
This scene also shows the mental difference between the two people – she is idealistic and innocent; he is obstinate and self-centered. “The man insists on the ‘facts’ and ‘proof’ while Jig talks of fantasies, emotions, and impressions,” states Smiley in her article (3). “Jig’s conversational objective is to establish intimacy through emotions and joke-telling. … The American’s reply, ‘I’ve never seen one,’ effectively ends that conversational tactic” (qtd. in Smiley 3). The man is only concentrated on his interests and thoughts, and the only thing he cares about at the moment is abortion.
For the American, the prospect of having a baby is the least favorable. It will stand in the way of him having a free and uncommitted relationship with the woman, which is why he is so insistent with the ‘operation’. Meanwhile, Jig is worried about the complete opposite – asking the man how he sees their relationship afterward. “If I do it, you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?” she asks. “If I do it, you won’t ever worry?” (Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants” 825).
She needs the man to take care of her and bring her comfort, to be sure that they have a future and she means something to him. However, deep down, she knows that no matter how much he says he loves her, he will not make her happy (Jiahong 102). In her heart, she knows that she wants a more stable and committed relationship than anything the American is ready to offer.
Hemingway does not make the reader choose between the characters; however, he makes Jig the protagonist, portraying her in a sympathetic manner. In a way, her loveliness and innocence stand as the contrast to the American’s lack of sensitivity and capacity for love (Johnston 236). She is trying to be the bigger person and to make a choice in favor of the man she loves.
Johnston, in his paper, puts it a very right way: “The girl is well aware that the intrusion of a child will send the man packing, for he will not tolerate any hindrance to his vagabond, hedonistic lifestyle” (237). The American’s feelings about the baby are transparent: “I don’t want anybody but you. I don’t want any one else” (Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants” 826). Jig is confronted with a choice – either she goes against her grain and succumbs to the man’s persuasion, or she loses the man but gets a chance to do what her heart tells her.
Although the conflict that exists on the surface is abortion-related, eventually, it becomes clear that the root of it is the relationship itself. The man does not want to be tied up in any way; he wants to enjoy and have fun. Trying to smooth over one of the tense moments, he says, “Well, let’s try to have a fine time” (Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants” 825). She answers, “All right, I was trying. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn’t that bright?” (Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants” 825).
Then she goes on, and, as Weeks says, makes ‘explicit her opinion of the shallowness of their life together’ (76). “That’s all we do, isn’t it—look at things and try new drinks?” (qtd. in Weeks 76). It seems like the relationship was not very healthy or fulfilling, to begin with, and the unexpected pregnancy has just brought it all to the surface. The unspoken rule of not planning the future and just ‘having a fun time,’ enjoying the moment, has resulted in a lot of frustration for both sides.
Ultimately, the lack of communication and willingness to listen to each other leaves the couple’s conflict unresolved. It is unclear what the woman ends up deciding and whether they are staying together or not – it is up for the reader’s interpretation. The only thing visible is that the American and Jig’s relationship needs a lot of fixing. Talking through things and expressing one’s true feelings and thoughts right away prevents many fights and many troubles.
Without it, things regress and fail, often causing disappointment, pain, and unhappiness. Maybe, if Jig spoke up about her needs in the relationship beforehand, both of them would have been spared from the frustration in the future. She would be able to find the right man for her, who would be willing to give her the family and stability she wanted. The American, for his part, would have found a woman who would be satisfied with a rootless and uncommitted relationship. The key to many things is communication, and Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway is an excellent example of that.
References
Hemingway, Ernest. Death in the Afternoon. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1932.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature, edited by Nina Baym, shorter 8th ed., vol. 2. Norton & Company, 2012, pp. 824–826.
Jiahong, Ren. “The Analysis of Characters’ Speech Acts in Hills Like White Elephants.” Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, vol. 4, no. 14, 2017, pp. 98-107. Web.
Johnston, Kenneth G. “‘Hills Like White Elephants’: Lean, Vintage Hemingway.” Studies in American Fiction, vol. 10, no. 2, 1982, pp. 233-238. Literature Resource Center, Gale, 2020. Gale Literature Resource Center. Web.
Smiley, Pamela. “Gender-Linked Miscommunication in ‘Hills Like White Elephants’.” The Hemingway Review, vol. 8, no. 1, 1988, pp. 2-12. Web.
Weeks, Lewis E., Jr. “Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in ‘Hills like White Elephants’.” Literature Resource Center, 2020. Gale Literature Resource Center. Web.