FREE ESSAY ON "HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS"

"HILLS LIKE WHITE ELEPHANTS"

Sympathetic Hemingway
The most striking feature of the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" is the manner
in which it is told. It is not typical in the classical sense with an introduction, a
development of the story and an end. Instead, we get some time in the life of two people,
as if it were just a piece of a film where we have a lot to deduce. This tale does not
get everything done for the reader; we only see the surface of what is going on. It
leaves an open end because readers can have their own ending and take part in the action
when reading. The story told here is that of a woman and a man on their trip to a place
where she can have an abortion. Everything in the tale is related to the idea of
fertility and barrenness. 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. White
Elephants is an idiom that refers to useless or unwanted things, meaning the fetus they
plan on disposing of. Hemingway produces an effect of sympathy for the girl through the
setting that symbolizes their decision process. The time passing symbolizes the pressure
the two people are under, and through their poor communication indicates that this
relationship does not and will not work. 
The first impression the reader gets when reading the text is that the story is set in
the middle of a dry, barren place under the sun, with no shade or trees. This reinforces
the idea of lack of life, but, in contrast, they are in the warm shadow of the building
where life is. This emphasizes the contrast between the pregnancy of the woman, as being
fertile and everything around them, including him, in this idea of fertility as he is
also apart from the barrenness and sharing the shadow. The "brown and dry" setting sets
the tone for the conversation between the couple (Hemingway 281). It allows the reader to
understand the feelings of entrapment held by the couple and especially the young girl.
The couple is also separated from the rest of the people that are inside the bar by a
bamboo beaded curtain. This gives the idea of privacy reinforced by the idea of the warm
shadow of the building that protects them from the world that exists inside the bar, they
are outside, with nature. There is tension in the air at some moments, but they cannot
express it openly. Perhaps they don't want to be heard in case somebody can understand
them, or maybe, it is just a problem of communication and of sharing feelings. It could
also be a combination of both. No woman should be subjected to making this type of
important decision in such a harsh environment. 
Another thing the reader must take into account is the fact that the train is stopping
only for two minutes, a very brief time. This couple is being pressured into making a
very important decision in only a short amount of time. According to the narrator, "the
express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes," leaving the couple with no time to
really go into discussing the important details of their relationship and the decision
they are making (Hemingway 282). As the story comes to an end, the woman server informed
the couple, "The train comes in five minutes," and a sense of urgency is brought to the
conversation (Hemingway 284). This becomes evident by the manner in which the couple is
concluding their conversation. The girl does not want to speak about the subject anymore,
but the couple has not finished talking things all the way through. In the end she just
wants to get this operation over and done with. 
Ernest Hemingway chose to use the couple's dialogue as the best way to express sympathy
for the young girl to the reader. This dialogue is presented as being very natural, but
was carefully written, because through it, the reader can deduce the kind of relationship
they have. The language here is a very simple one, even informal; this easy language
usually expresses feelings. The real theme of the conversation is not clearly stated, but
is underlying; they are talking about love, feelings and her pregnancy. The problem that
the two are having when communicating is that none of them is hearing each other. In the
beginning she wants to speak out about the situation clearly and put the feelings on the
table to be talked about openly. When she asks such a simple question as, "What should we
drink," he changes the subject instead of answering the question, and answers, "it's
pretty hot"(Hemingway 282). This implies that he wants to change the subject and talk
about simpler things such as the weather. As the conversation goes on, the man openly
refers to the operation as if taking importance off it. He says it is not important but
very easy, like opening a window "It's just to let the air in"(Hemingway 283). He wants
her to have the abortion but she is sure about the fact that their relationship is going
to change after that (Hemingway 282). He wants to convince her that the decision has been
hers by means of saying things like, "if you don't want to you don't have to ... But I
know it's perfectly simple," but he is the only one who has no doubts about it (Hemingway
283). She is having the normal doubts a woman can have in a situation like that. He feels
that the pregnancy is a nuisance in their lives. The baby would mean the necessity of
settling down and starting a family and this would be a change in their lives as they
move a lot around. There is another allusion when almost at the end of the story he says,
"we can have the world" and she replies, "No, we can't. It isn't ours anymore ... And
once they have taken it away, you never get it back"(Hemingway 283). Here we can see that
she wants the baby and she knows that once she has the operation she won't be able to get
the child back. At the very end, in the last sentence, he asks her if she feels better,
but what he is really asking is if she has made a decision and he wants to know what she
has decided. She replies: "I feel fine ... There's nothing wrong with me. I feel
fine"(Hemingway 284). Because they both want to make a decision quickly, they are not
careful and end up hurting each other. 
The characters are really mysterious to us, we know nothing about their lives but they
seem to have nothing to do in life apart from sex and drinking. They are in the middle of
a surface level relationship, and these types of relationships rarely work. They spend
their time in the bar drinking alcohol, which is considered a depressant. They order
"anis" because she wants to try new things, she might be considering the possibility of
having a new relationship or a new experience in life, but when she tastes it she says,
"it tastes like licorice" which is a very common and not exotic taste (Hemingway 282).
She adds that, "Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so
long for..." implying that when you wait for something for a long time, for instance a
relationship, once you get it, it loses exotism and appeal (Hemingway 282). It is
apparent that the girl may be settling for less with her American partner. Later on there
is a reference to the routine they seem to be in when she says, "that's all we do, isn't
it- look 
at things and try new drinks"(Hemingway 282). The girl is fed up with this relationship
and following the operation, she will most likely leave her companion. 
In conclusion, Ernest Hemingway has given the reader the opportunity to feel sympathy for
the girl through the use of the setting, time restrictions, and poor communication
exhibited by the couple. Hemingway has provided a unique look into the slice of this
couple's life by use of this out of the ordinary short story. Through this different
style, it has become very easy to have compassion for the girl and understand the tough
decision she is making. On the other hand, it was very difficult to feel the same way
about the man. He made repeated selfish remarks and seemed as though he was only looking
out for his best interests throughout the conversation. In a time when abortions were
taboo, Hemingway was able to present his sympathy for the young girl through her tough
decision process.