Abortion In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants" relies on symbolism to carry the theme of either choosing to live selfishly and dealing with the results, or choosing a more difficult and selfless path and reveling in the rewards. The symbolic materials and the symbolic characters aid the reader's understanding of the subtle theme of this story. The hills symbolize two different decisions that the pregnant girl in our story is faced with. Both hills are completely opposite of each other, and each "hill" or decision has a consequence that is just as different as the appearance of the hills.

“‘Its really a simple operation, Jig,’ the man said. ‘It’s not really an operation at all.’” (Hemingway 213). No, it’s not really an operation at all. It is a life altering decision that the man and women were faced with in the short story Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway. Abortion was the topic of conversation throughout this short story, however the word was never used. In place of the word abortion, the man and women use only the word operation. By using the word operation instead of abortion, many problems arise through the couples poor communication conveying the message that we should say what we mean and confront our problems.

Their plans were to try new drinks and "look at things."(p252) In the beginning of the story, Jig can't determine to get an Anis del Toro with or with ought water. It also seems that she does not even know where they're going in their relationship. The rail tracks are used to symbolize the two roads ahead and they are stationed in the middle of them. She states that they could get along if she has the baby. The man tells her that he doesn't want anyone but her and it's that simple. The decision isn't as simple to her but she will go through the operation. It seems that the man is happy with Jig just tagging along for the ride.

Both short stories, “Good People” by David Foster Wallace and “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, deal with the dilemma of abortion. An American in “Hills Like White Elephants” wanted his girlfriend Jig to have an abortion. Likewise, a boy named Lane and his girlfriend Sheri in “Good People” had an abortion scheduled. Jig and Sheri interacted with their partners differently, and both were distressed, however, due to religious and moral reasons, Sheri did not go through with the abortion while Jig did.

As humans, we tend to rely on others to guide us in choosing “right” decisions. In “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway tells a story of an American man with a girl, named Jig, having a conversation about whether or not Jig should undergo this “operation,” which we could assume is abortion. Jig looks to the man to tell her what she should do and what would happen afterwards, basically looking for a “right” decision. The girl is torn between listening to the man, who pushes her to have an abortion, or separating from the man, to instead, keep the baby. Hemingway uses setting and symbolism to interpret the girl’s struggle with abortion.

Ernest Hemmingway uses time, place, and symbolism in "Hills like White Elephants" to intensify the central dilemma in a story about a man and a woman deciding on whether to go through with an abortion. Although a literal reading of the title may not seem to have any relation to the story, the title is rich in implications. Critics suggest that "Hills" refers to the shape of a woman's stomach when pregnant, and Webster's 21st Century Dictionary defines white elephant as: "[An] awkward, useless possession." The term is also defined in Webster's as an item that is worthless to some but priceless to others. According to Victor Lindsey, the child in the story is a white elephant in the view of the man, who is trying to convince the girl to

look at this symbolism is to notice that the term “white elephant” was originally used in Indian

Traditionally, a white elephant is a useless possession that is more times than not, unwanted. In today's world we see white elephant gift exchanges where people will exchange unwanted gifts to one another, usually popular among work colleagues or family gatherings. In “Hills like White Elephants” the white elephant is the baby that Jig is unexpectedly carrying. Even though the couple is in love neither the man nor the girl can decide what to do with the child the are expecting. The baby would indeed be a gift, but it would also be a burden, this can be discovered when the man states that “We’ll be fine afterward. Just like we were before” (Hemingway 476). The man obviously believes that if they decide to keep the baby then it will prevent them from doing things they want to continue doing, and that is clear because he continues to badger Jig about the situation they are in that it made Jig beg the man to stop, she pleads, “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?” (478). By this it is clear that Jig is truly concerned about the situation that affects her life and just wants to stop talking about everything. It is clear that the american man does not want to have the baby, “the man has therefore treated Jig’s pregnancy like a burden or an illness” (Rankin 236). Throughout the short story the man has obviously been for the abortion and does not

The ending of the story is rather ambiguous as it is not completely obvious what decision the two end up making. The man could have talked the girl into undergoing the procedure, or not. At one point toward the end, Jig tells him to “please please please please please please please stop talking”, and when he doesn’t she threatens to scream. This probably means that she had made up her mind, but it could be in either direction. In the end, she smiles at him, and he asks her if she feels better; she says that she feels fine. That could mean that she had made peace with the decision to abort their child or that she was proud of herself for finally standing up to him and making her choice not to abort final. Either way, making this choice is harder on her as she would be the one to undergo the operation, and she very well knows that he most likely will not stay with her if she decides to keep the child. No matter what she chooses, however, their relationship will never be the same.

feelings. One of the reasons why she feels the need to make him happy lies in

Both were talking, but neither were listening or understanding the other’s point of view. The American man is willing to say almost anything to convince his girlfriend to have the procedure done, which, although it was never mentioned by name, is understood to be an abortion. By telling her he loves her and if she does the procedure things will go back to the way they were when they were happy. She throughout the story seems indecisive, at one point she even stated she would have the abortion just to shut him up.

What are we reading when we read between the lines? Dialogue allows room for personal interpretation. Interpretation of not only what the characters are saying but what they are feeling when they speak and we can do this by reading between the lines. “Hills like White Elephants” by Hemingway is a perfect example of this. As an American man and his girlfriend, Jig, sit in a train station while waiting to part ways, they converse about a conflict that is left for the reader to interpret.

When I hear the words “white elephant,” I think of an albino elephant, or a white elephant gift exchange that you do during holidays with friends and family. However, neither one of these are what this paper will be referring to. The dictionary defines white elephant as “a possession unwanted by the owner, but difficult to dispose of” and “a possession entailing great expense out of proportion to its usefulness or value to the owner.” It deals with something that is both expensive and hard to get rid of. The origin behind the phrase “white elephant” is very interesting. Back in the ancient times in Thailand, white cow were considered to be holy. However, they were very expensive to own since it required special food and certain needs to be taken care of. When a Thai king was upset at a subordinate, they would give them a white elephant as a gift. While this might seem like a kind gesture, it ruined the subordinate financially because of all the costs required to take care of it.

Unplanned Parenthood, Unplanned Trouble Becoming a parent comes with new responsibilities, and in turn your lifestyle is drastically changed. Having a child is no joke and that is why there is now many options to take, in order to prevent future parenthood. Still there are many cases were unwanted pregnancies occur. Although there is ways to avert from becoming a parent, the decision is hard.

“Hills like White Elephants” is a story about a couple who is going to undergo an abortion together (which relates to the theme of death). While abortion is not said at first- the reader can tell it is being proclaimed. The story is filled with tension but the reader can tell that this couple loves each other. The tone of this story is hard to identify at first but it can defined as skeptical or confused. Due to the fact that these two young people are unsure about what they