The story “Hills Like White Elephants” tells of a conversation in Spain between a young woman named Jig and an American man. They are waiting for a train at a station. The author does not explicitly mention the subject of their discussion, but it becomes clear as their dialogue unfolds that Jig is expecting a baby.
The man is urging Jig to terminate her pregnancy, but she remains undecided and desires to become a mother. The dialogue in Hemingway’s story is masterfully crafted, capturing the essence of a private conversation while providing essential narrative context (O’Brien 19). The conclusion of the story leaves the reader uncertain about the final decision made. Nonetheless, Hemingway offers various hints about Jig’s emotions and desires through descriptions of the setting, characters, and conflicts.
Stanley Renner suggests that Jig has gained the ability to make a clearer assessment and potentially a better choice in men as a result of her and her partner’s discussion (Wyche 59). The couple’s challenges in effectively expressing their true thoughts and emotions in their conversation add to its appeal. The story explores how gender differences and miscommunication impact the decision of whether or not to have an abortion (Smiley). In his 1999 book on Hemingway, Carl P. Eby notes that for the past two decades, there has been a dominant reconsideration of the role of gender in Hemingway’s work in literary analysis (Bauer 125).
Hemingway’s characters in the story portray the archetypal male and female in real life, to some degree. The American embodies the typical masculine, testosterone-filled male who… (continue reading in the middle of the paper).
