ADVANCED ENGLISH FINAL ESSAY
Name: DANG HA LINH (Hailey)
Student ID: 10910834
In “The Norton Introduction to Literature”, “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is
the short story succeeded in impressing myself as a reader. Before having further analysis on the writing, a
brief introduction of the author Ernest Hemingway should be given. Ernest Hemingway, full name Ernest
Miller Hemingway, was an American novelist and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature
in 1954. He was born on July 21, 1899, in Cicero, Illinois, and died on July 2, 1961, in Ketchum, Idaho. He
was known for his powerful masculinity in his work as well as his exciting and well-publicized life. In the
twentieth century, his brief and straightforward language style had a significant impact on American and
British literature. Hemingway was raised in a pleasant upper-middle-class family. He and his family spent
their summers in their Northern Michigan cottage. He finished high school and proceeded to work as a
reporter, a job he held on and off for the remaining of his life. Hemingway's first book, “The Sun Also
Rises”, was released in 1926 and received widespread critical recognition. The work firmly established
Hemingway as the voice of his age, sometimes known as the "lost generation." He then continued to be
successful with his short stories.
In 1927, he published the well-received collection of short stories, “Men Without Women”, a
collection that included the short story, “Hills Like White Elephants.” Europe between the First and Second
World Wars provided the historical and cultural context for the story. When Hemingway arrived in Paris
in 1921, he was twenty-two years old, freshly married, and eager to launch a career as a professional writer.
His experiences as an ambulance driver during World War I stayed with him, and the feeling of alienation
and isolation that characterizes modernist writing can be observed in the work he created during these years.
Europe was still rebuilding from the war, but most countries were experiencing political and economic
instability. Many nations saw political conflict as right and left wing groups vied for control of their own
countries.
“Hills Like White Elephants” is the story about a brief conversation between a man and a woman at
a railway stop between Barcelona and Madrid, where they order beers from a waitress. The woman and the
man quarrel about whether the valley's hills appear like white elephants. They sample a drink advertised on
the bar curtain before the guy conducts a "simple procedure" to remedy their condition. From context, it's
visible that the man attempts to persuade the woman to take the abortion. She talks cynically and regretfully
to him, hoping they could have the whole world, but they obviously cannot since "they" will take it away.
The guy emphasizes that she is not required to have the operation if she does not want to; and he even
reassures her to "go through with it if it means anything to you”. They then continue to dispute, and the girl
urges the guy to stop talking. He walks inside to have a drink at the bar before returning just before the train
arrives. The girl claims she's fine, nothing is wrong with her, and the narrative ends.
The author of the story - Ernest Hemingway - was very carefully in words using, he never uses the
term “abortion” or any related words, making readers confused what they are talking about, why the
conversation seems aggressive. This short story includes 3 characters: two main protagonists are the
American man; the girl and another sub character is the waitress. The American sits at the table with a girl
at a train station in Spain. Through their conversation, it is quite noticeable that he and the girl are in a
relationship. The American persuades his lover to take the abortion. He attempts to appear completely
logical and sensible, but as the conversation progresses, it becomes evident that he is both greedy and
hypocritical. He says, “You’ve got to realize” “I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to”, “ I’m perfectly
willing to go through with it if it means anything to you”. Despite his vows of love, the American has
proved himself to be self-centered and lacking in feelings for the girl, Jig, at the end of the story. The second
character is called “Jig” by the American, but Hemingway refers her as “the girl” throughout the story. Jig
is a young lady who finds herself pregnant with her lover. She and her partner have been traveling over
Europe, and the labels on their baggage identify the places where they have been together. At the time of
the story, she is sitting at a table with the American, sipping beer and anise liqueur while waiting for a train.
It gradually becomes evident that the guy is slowly manipulating her into aborting the child she carries.
Although it is never explicitly acknowledged, the pregnancy is at the center of the debate. It does seem,
though, that she is dissatisfied with both options available to her: have the baby and lose the American or
abort the baby and keep the American. She seemed doubtful that either scenario will unfold as the American
claims. As the story closes, Jig asserts that she is “just fine”. Under the circumstances, however, it is clear
that this is not the case.
The major theme in “Hills Like White Elephants” is about the relationship, the gender roles
happening throughout the story. Hemingway’s stories are often heavily masculine, and his protagonists are
often patriarchal and sexist. The relationship of the man and the woman in this story is traditional in terms
of gender roles, with the man holding the power in the relationship while the role of the girl is more
submissive. The man appears to be older and more experienced, and when she does offer some of her own
thoughts and opinions, he is quick to dismiss them, as if she has no mind of her own. For example, he tells
Jig, “It’s really an awfully simple operation”, “It’s not really an operation at all.” Jig does not respond to
his statement. First, she knows what an abortion is and how it will be performed. In addition, it is not simple:
abortions are not yet legal at that time, and sometimes women might die. Jig knows this, and the man’s
denial only serves his own selfishness. In addition, the American tries to talk Jig into the abortion by telling
her how simple it is. The moment, however, that she says she will have the abortion just because he wants
her to have it, the man says, “I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to. I’m perfectly willing to go
through with it if it means anything to you.” The use of “it” in this line refers not only to the abortion, but
also to the baby. And although the American wants Jig to have the abortion, he refuses to take the
responsibilities. She has to take the abortion to keep him, and she must also agree to the abortion as
something she wants. In this story, Hemingway suggests that sometimes a man wants to control not only
the situation he finds himself in, but also the reactions a woman has to the situation as well.
The setting in the story serves both to locate the story in space and time and to function as an
important symbol. The story is set in Spain, in the valley of the Ebro River, in the 1920s. More specifically,
the setting is a railway station where the American and the girl sit at a table. On one side of the station, the
land is parched and desolate, while on the other side, there are trees and grain. Hemingway utilizes the
location to underline the couple's separation by splitting it in two, with one side infertile and the other
fruitful. They can choose sterility through the abortion, or fertility through the pregnancy. The landscape
outside the couple’s conversation reflects the inner landscapes of the relationship.
The title of the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” itself already has a symbolic meaning. The
figurative meaning comes from a story about the kings of Siam who gave white elephants as gifts to those
they wished to ruin, hoping that the cost of maintaining the voracious but sacred mammal would drive its
new owner to the poorhouse. A contemporary meaning of the term refers to the tradition of giving a “white
elephant” gift, 'something of little or no value. To be clearer, white elephant symbolizes something that no
one wants, and in this story, is the girl’s unborn child. The girl's statement at the start of the narrative that
the surrounding hills resemble white elephants seems casual and offhand, but it really acts as a segue for
her and the American to discuss their baby and the option of having an abortion. The girl then retracts her
remark, pointing out that the hills don't truly resemble white elephants, a subtle indication that she may
wish to retain the child after all—a message that the American ignores. Indeed, she claims that the hills
merely seemed to be white elephants at first sight and that they are really rather gorgeous. Comparing the
hills—and, symbolically, the baby—to elephants also brings to mind the phrase "the elephant in the room,"
a euphemism for something painfully apparent that no one wants to talk about.
Hemingway ends “Hills Like White Elephants” with an open ending: the smile of Jig. It is never
certain to confirm whether Jig will agree to undergo the abortion, though there is the sense that she is no
longer dependent on the American. She realizes that the relationship is over and that is time for her to go
on and enjoy her life without the American. The way she begs the American to stop talking shows that she
believes she is stronger now than she was at the start of the story.
This short story reflects the social change, between the two period 1920s and 1990s. While in 1920s,
abortions are still illegal in most countries in Europe and in the United States. Despite this, many women
still undergo abortions, and many die as a result of badly conducted illegal abortions. Women imperil their
own lives rather than face social censure since there is no reliable method of birth control and because
unmarried mothers face a high social stigma. In 1990s, abortions are regarded as legal in the US but still,
an increasing number of people feel abortion is immoral. Abortion physicians are assassinated, and abortion
facilities are targeted with bombs and violent protests. Even in recent society, abortion itself is still a touchy
topic in some specific countries. In 'Hills Like White Elephants,' Ernest Hemingway brings up this same
concern. Instead of arguing for letting a woman to have an abortion if she desires one, though, Hemingway
looks at the issue from a different perspective. What if she wanted to keep the baby but was being pressured
into an abortive procedure? The situation is actually the same as being forced to abort the baby, because it
is the woman who has the baby, but still cannot decide how to manage her own life and her child. As a
female reader, I can relate to the situation where a woman has no control of her own life, and that is a real
tragedy. After all, the only message I want to deliver is her body her choices. Either she wants to keep or
abort the baby, certainly there must be a reason. Because, obviously the person who has to suffer from more
than 9 months and the pain of giving birth is the woman, then why can’t female decide what will happen to
her own body?
To conclude, “Hills Like White Elephants” is a meaningful story, which Ernest Hemingway uses 2
characters “the American” and “the girl” to bring the readers to a seemingly simple dialogue, just comparing
the hills with the white elephants. However, behind that is a whole picture of abortion, a problem that has
never been old in modern society. Furthermore, the author also succeeded in depicting characters’ actions
and dialogues, making it possible for readers to understand the character's mentality. This short story,
overall, deserves to be a successful work of Ernest Hemingway.