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Analysis of Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway Essay

Decent Essays
“Hills Like White Elephants” by Earnest Hemingway is a short story from 1927 that describes a couple drinking at a train station in Spain, and the story is relayed by an outside narrator. The third person narrator in this story gives the reader the events pieced together, told afterward, and translated to English. It is clear throughout the story that the girl (who is never named) does not speak Spanish, while her boyfriend does. When he first orders two beers, he does so in Spanish through stating “Dos cervezas,” which emphasizes that the gentleman is indeed speaking Spanish, but the narrator is translating the affairs for the reader (Hemingway 114). The narrator also tells the story with bare minimum amount of detail, focusing instead on…show more content…
The boyfriend also does his best to convince his girlfriend by baking off of the topic and stating that “if you don’t want to you don’t have to” although it is clear this is not where he truly stands (Hemingway 115). The boyfriend is controlling the situation, does not listen to the girlfriend and is trying to reason with her in a way that is distant and strong. In the end of the story, he sees that the other people are “waiting reasonably for the train” although he does not seem to view his girlfriend in this sense (Hemingway 117). It is possible that the two will part ways, as the boyfriend does not seem to be on the same page as the girlfriend and the story ends with the boyfriend and girlfriend at different places. In fact, the location of the two and setting is another vital part of the story that helps bring further insight to the meaning. The setting of the story “Hills Like White Elephants” is at a train station, where the train is arriving in 5 minutes (Hemingway 117). The boyfriend and girlfriend are drinking at the bar before the train comes, which is all the two do according to the girlfriend (Hemingway 115). The setting implies that the two are at a crossroad and must make a decision on the abortion and whether or not to stay together. The story is set not at the end station but a transition, further showing that they are in the middle of the situation and must make a decision. The time for such a decision is close, but
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