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The Theme of Nostalgia In Hills Like White Elephants By Ernest Hemingway

Hills Like White Elephants is a short story by Ernest Hemingway written in 1927 that

offers a glimpse into the lives of expatriates following the post-World War I. The story is in the

form of a dialogue, between the two main protagonists, it also begins by describing the setting as

rural Spain. The girl’s view of the distant hills as white elephants brings about the first nostalgic

instance as it can be interpreted as her attempt to reflect on the sensuous beauty of their love

relations that is on the verge of deteriorating as a result of her lover’s selfishness. Hills Like

White Elephants can be described as an accurate piece of literature that has been based on the

experiences that were common among expatriate of that generation that lived in the wake of

WWI. This story contains many trends that were popular among expatriates who traveled to

Europe during the post WWI. Through more than enough words and by letting the reader

unearth the true meaning of his work, Hemingway shows the depth that can be achieved by men

in their pursuit of adventure, happiness, and excitement.

The opening scene gives the reader a glimpse of the setting and where the characters are

traveling. The start of the story sets the scene for the reader, “The hills across the valley of the

Ebro’ were long and white. On this side, there was no shade and no trees and the station was

between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was the warm

shadow of the building and a curtain made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open

door into the bad to keep out files” (Hemingway, n.p). The River, Ebro is in Spain and the
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Northeast of Madrid. The two main characters the man referred to as the American and the girl

are traveling towards Madrid, where they could find a solution to their problem (Hemingway,

n.p). It is towards the end of the story that the reader realizes that the problem they are discussing

is the possibility of carrying out an abortion, which was considered illegal in the 1920s. Abortion

would be regarded as a religious crime in a catholic country such as Spain. To understand the

life of the characters in the story, the reader needs to understand the life expatriates l ived in the

20th century. Also, Ernest Hemingway was an expatriate and this makes experiences recorded in

his story accurate.

Hemingway was born in 1899 in Illinois. He was sent to France during WWI as a Red

Cross driver at 18years of age. His experience during this time helped him develop his works

later in life. The reason Europe had many expatriates in the 1920s is because of WWI and the

exposure of many young Americans. Hills Like White Elephants arouses the curiosity of a

reader. The setting of story plays an important role in showing the dilemma the girl is in

(Hemingway, n.p). The American can be is realistic, and shows the typical behavior of an

American expatriate.

Works Cited

Bolton, Matthew J. “An American in Paris: Hemingway and the Expatriate Life.” Critical

Insights: The Sun Also Rises, edited by Keith Newlin, Salem, 2010. Salem Online.
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Hemingway, Ernest. Hills Like White Elephants. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Ed.

R.V. Cassill. New York: Norton & Co