Hills Like White Elephants Ernest Hemingway\'s \"Hills

Hills Like White Elephants

Ernest Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants"

Ernest Hemingway's "Hills like White Elephants"

Ernest Hemingway's short story, "Hills like White Elephants" draws largely on the themes of selfishness and naivety, which can be seen in looking at the story's main characters. In order to further embed these themes into his writing, Hemingway skillfully utilizes the literary tools of setting and symbolism to not only give readers an understanding of the situation at hand, but an allowance to place themselves into the characters' shoes.

The story centers upon a young couple traveling throughout Europe. Whether the couple is married or engaged is left unsaid, and it becomes uncertain whether or not the couple has really known each other very long at all. The woman, Jig, and the American man she is with begin the story with small-talk on a train that evidently leads into a much larger discussion. It becomes increasingly apparent that the two are traveling in order to procure and abortion for Jig, which is something she remains uncertain about despite her partner's insistence that it will be for the best.

Jig's naivety to the situation is mirrored in the man's selfishness. When she repeatedly asks what it will be like when the procedure is all over -- will they be in love again, the way it used to be -- her partner assures her, "we'll be fine afterwards . . . just like we were before" (Hemingway, 1998, p. 23). The reader can allude to the fact that the man is looking for a quick fix, and he will say and do what is needed in order to get it. It is also apparent that Jig is so naive to his motives and desperate to rekindle the relationship the two shared before, that she is allowing him to determine how the situation should be remedied. As the man talks and talks, assuring Jig that it is really "her choice," even though the reader knows it really isn't, Jig becomes increasingly frustrated but remains on course.

These themes are added to tremendously by the literary components of setting and symbolism. Author Elaine Palencia (2011), notes that "setting is a primary tool of persuasion, as place is not only a location," which is inevitably apparent in Hemingway's writing (Palencia, 2011, p. 34). As the two travel through the hot atmosphere of the Spanish countryside, admiring the hills and the valleys, the fields of grain and the river, Hemingway alludes to the heated debate taking place in a land that represents fertility and fruitfulness, symbolizing the couple's own debate about their mirrored state. The weather itself, which is hot and volatile, mirrors the increasing heat and pressure of the conversation at hand. While the two continuously order beverages to quench their physical thirst, they remain never fully quenched. This alludes to the fact that no matter how long the discussion goes on and the amount of promises and reassurances that are made, the problem itself cannot be remedied completely. While the abortion will alleviate the physical "problem" of adding a baby into the equation, the emotional problems between themselves as a couple and as individuals will remain long afterward.