Analysis of Hemingway’s “hills like White Elephants”

Bobby Shaw

Kenneth Rose

English 112

September 14, 2016

Analysis of Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”

In “Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemingway delves into the ways that individuals speak to each other but never convey the message that they want to communicate. In this story, the reader finds themselves captured in the midst of a couple that seems at constant battle with each other. On the surface, it appears that they are having a disagreement about some superficial topic but there are undercurrents of sarcasm which leads the reader to understand that the conversation is much deeper than what one would first think. Despite the fact this story was written in 1927, it is assumed that the operation that they keep referring to is more than likely an abortion. It was quite shocking to read the cavalier way in which the American speaks about having the operation. Hemingway was clearly way before his time with this topic. The entire story centers on a conversation that they really aren’t having. Both are talking but because they have such a dysfunctional way of communicating, neither of them ever listen nor hear each other.

The American does little to ingratiate himself to the readers. He will say and do just about anything in order to convince his girlfriend that she should have an abortion. They never actually call the operation an abortion, but that seems to be the likely choice given the feelings being expressed about it from each of them. He tells her that he loves her and that if she will just agree to the operation then everything can go back to the way that it was before. That gives the impression that they communicated and got along better prior ti the pregnancy and that it has become a source of contention between them. She even agrees at one point to get the American to be quiet but he persists about the abortion until she finally yells at him to “please, please, please, please, please, please stop talking” (Hemingway, 118). The conversation is more than a little uncomfortable given the fact something so private is taking place in a very public place. This is probably intentional by both of them because they are talking about everything except what really matters in order to avoid making a hard decision.

The larger than life point that Hemingway is trying to get across in this story is the way that we spend our lives talking but never communicating. Just words that flow like a river without any substance to them. This is particularly true when it comes to conversations between couples. He used this story as a tool to get us to examine the way in which we communicate with the ones that we are supposed to love the most in our lives. It is clear that Jig would rather have the American say the loving, tender words to express love for her and the baby but when he mentions marriage it is in a way that makes her feel that he is just saying it to get her to agree to have the abortion. It is definitely not the marriage proposal of her dreams and it only serves to upset her more. Even though he keeps telling her that he only wants her to have the abortion if she wants to, he won’t stop pressing her so it is obvious what his choice is.