Hills Like White Elephants

"Hills Like White Elephants" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It was first
"Hills Like White
published in August 1927, in the literary magazine transition, then later in the
Elephants"
1927 short story collection Men Without Women.
Author Ernest
Hemingway
Country United States
Contents
Language English
Synopsis
Genre(s) short story
Analysis
Symbolism Published in Men Without
Dialogue
Women

Reception Publication type short story

References collection
Publication date 1927
Preceded by "In Another
Synopsis Country"
The story focuses on a conversation between an American man and a young Followed by "The Killers"
woman, described as a "girl," at a Spanish train station while waiting for a train
to Madrid. The girl compares the nearby hills to white elephants. The pair indirectly discuss an "operation" that the man wants the
girl to have, which is implied to be an abortion.

Analysis
There is little context or background information about the characters. Readers must come to their own conclusions based on the
dialogue. This has led to varying interpretations of the story. One point of debate is whether or not the woman decides to get an
abortion. Critics like Stanley Renner assert that the details in the story imply that the woman decides to keep the baby: "The logic
of the story's design enjoins the conclusion that she smiles brightly at the waitress's announcement of the train because she is no
longer headed in the direction of having the abortion that she has contemplated only with intense distress".[1] Other critics
conclude that the woman ultimately decides to get an abortion.[2] Furthermore, most critics acknowledge that the story has
several possible interpretations: "The two organizing questions of the narrative—will they have the abortion or the baby? Will
they break up or stay together?—imply four possible outcomes: 1) they will have the abortion and break up; 2) they will have the
abortion and stay together; 3) they will have the baby and break up; and 4) they will have the baby and stay together".[3] There
are many essays written which argue for all of these possibilities and more. There is no universal consensus because of the nature
of the story; the reader is simply not given much information.

Symbolism
The description of the valley of Ebro, in the opening paragraph, is often seen as having deeper meanings: "It has long been
recognized that the two sides of the valley of the Ebro represent two ways of life, one a sterile perpetuation of the aimless
hedonism the couple have been pursuing, the other a participation in life in its full natural sense."[1] Critics also point to the
various positions of the characters, with relation to the train tracks and the valley, to show a wide variety of possible symbolic
interpretations.[1]
Doris Lanier writes about the significance of Absinthe (also called "Anis del Toro") in the story. She explains the drink "was
alluring not only because of its narcotic effects but also because of its reputation as an aphrodisiac."[2] Lanier asserts that every
detail in "Hills Like White Elephants" is intentionally placed by Hemingway, and the Absinthe could have several possible
connotations. She postulates that "the addictive quality of the drink…is meant to emphasize the addictive nature of the couple's
lifestyle…It is an empty, meaningless existence that revolves around traveling, sex, drinking, looking at things, and having
pointless conversations about these things".[2] Another possible interpretation of the Absinthe relates to its appeal and effects.
Like the man and woman's relationship, it is alluring at first, but "It becomes a destroyer of the child, who is aborted; a destroyer
of the girl, who endures the physical and emotional pain of aborting the child she wants; and a destroyer of the couple's
relationship".[2] It is important to note that this interpretation assumes the couple have the abortion and end their relationship, as
well as that the young woman wants to continue the pregnancy; none of these are certain, due to the ambiguity of the story.

The title "Hills Like White Elephants" is a symbol within Hemingway's short story that requires analysis to depict its meaning
and relevance to the story as well. Repetition of words and phrases is a common trait found within Hemingway's short story, a
habit that is not done without cause. This was done in an attempt to emphasize importance on certain matters, such as he does
with the title of the story. Within the story, Hemingway makes "two references to the whiteness of the hills and four to them as
white elephants".[4] The most common belief as to the meaning of this reference has to do with color comparisons used
throughout the story. In correlation with the drink "absinthe" as mentioned above, there is believed to be a contrast of joy and
sorrow between the black licorice of the alcoholic drink and the whiteness of the hills. This can also be contrasted with the
comparison between the white hills and the dry, brown countryside that represents the same joy and sorrow as the former.
However, the true meaning of the title does not become fully known until the topic of getting an abortion is revealed between the
couple, as the man states, it's an "awfully simple question... not really an operation at all... just to let the air in". It is then
understood that the use of the term "white elephants" may in fact be a reference to the White elephant sale. It's a sale put together
through the donation of unwanted gifts, making the reader believe that this may be correlating with the act of getting an abortion.
It could also mean the literal translation of elephant in the room meaning something painfully obvious that is not to be spoken
about or referenced. "Elephant in the room" is a term used mainly by couples having a relationship crisis or difficulty including
break-ups, divorce, cheating, marriage, adoption, or abortion. This is viewed different between the couple. The child is seen "as
simply a white elephant to the man" to be rid of, whereas the woman only sees it as this due to the fathers views.[5]

Dialogue
"They look like white elephants," she said.
"I've never seen one," the man drank his beer.
"No, you wouldn't have."
"I might have," the man said. "Just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything."
The girl looked at the bead curtain. "They've painted something on it," she said. "What does it say?"
"Anis del Toro. It's a drink."
"Can we try it?"

The reader must interpret their dialogue and body language to infer their backgrounds and their attitudes with respect to the
situation at hand, and their attitudes toward one another. From the outset of the story, the contentious nature of the couple's
conversation indicates resentment and unease. Some critics have written that the dialogue is a distillation of the contrasts between
stereotypical male and female relationship roles: in the excerpt above, for instance, the woman draws the comparison with white
elephants, but the hyper-rational male immediately denies it, dissolving the bit of poetry into objective realism with "I've never
seen one." By saying, "No, you wouldn't have" she implies he hadn't had a child before, or hadn't allowed birth in the past. She
also asks his permission to order a drink. Throughout the story, the woman is distant; the American is rational.[6] There may be
more serious problems with the relationship than the purely circumstantial. Though the immediate problem is the unwanted
pregnancy, the experience has revealed that the relationship is a shallow one. While most critics have espoused relatively
straightforward interpretations of the dialogue, a few have argued for alternate scenarios.[1]

Reception
"Hills Like White Elephants" has been criticized for being anti-feminist; it has also been interpreted as being pro-feminist. The
anti-feminist perspective emphasizes the notion that the man dominates the woman in the story, and she ultimately succumbs to
his will by getting the abortion. Frederick Busch asserts that the woman "'buries her way of seeing as she will bury her child.'"[7]
However, critics also argue that the female character makes her own decision in the end, and the story is actually pro-feminist.[1]
Stanley Renner claims that "Hills Like White Elephants" is primarily empathetic towards the female character: "So firmly does
the story's sympathy side with the girl and her values, so strong is her repugnance toward the idea of abortion, and so critical is
the story of the male's self-serving reluctance to shoulder the responsibility of the child he has begotten that the reading I have
proposed seems the most logical resolution to its conflict."[1] There is evidence for both possibilities, and there is no clear
consensus.

References
1. Renner, Stanley (Fall 1995). "Moving to the Girl's Side of "Hills Like White Elephants" ". The Hemingway Review.
15 (1): 27–41. Gale A17915321 (https://go.gale.com/ps/anonymous?id=GALE%7CA17915321)
EBSCOhost 9511291478 (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?AN=9511291478).
2. Lanier, Doris (Summer 1989). "The Bittersweet Taste of Absinthe in Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants." ".
Studies in Short Fiction. 26: 279–288. EBSCOhost 7133560 (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?AN=71335
60).
3. Gillette, Meg (Spring 2007). "Making Modern Parents in Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" and
Viña Delmar's Bad Girl". MFS Modern Fiction Studies. 53: 50–69. doi:10.1353/mfs.2007.0023 (https://doi.org/10.
1353%2Fmfs.2007.0023).
4. Weeks Jr., Lewis. "Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in 'Hills Like White Elephants' ". Studies in Short Fiction. 17 (1):
75–77. EBSCOhost 7134801 (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?AN=7134801).
5. Lanier, Doris. "The Bittersweet Taste of Absinthe in Hemingway's 'Hill's Like White Elephants' ". Studies in Short
Fiction. 26 (3): 279–288. EBSCOhost 7133560 (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?AN=7133560).
6. Smiley, P. "Gender-linked Miscommunication in 'Hills Like White Elephants.'" Hemingway Review, Fall 1988. Vol.
8 No. 1. p. 2 EBSCOhost 6915432 (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?AN=6915432)
7. Rankin, Paul (2005). "Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants". The Explicator. 63 (4): 234–237.
doi:10.1080/00144940509596952 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00144940509596952).

Ha sputa madre

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