Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

"Hills Like White Elephants" is set at a train station. The setting plays the role of the couple's relationship. The American and Jig are at a crossroads in their life together and have some big decisions to make. Do they stay together and move forward, or do they part ways? As well as, do they have an abortion so they can continue with their carefree lifestyle, or do they settle down and raise their unborn child.

The Complex Relationship between the American and Jig in Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”

Have you ever dealt with a difficult conversation with a significant other about a topic you’ve been avoiding but you knew it was going to happen anyways? Well, if you’ve had, you’ve experienced a conversation like Jig and the American. Jig and the American are characters from the short story “Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemingway. The short story is about a couple having an unexpected delivery. The couple is going to be soon to be parents. The American wants Jig to have an abortion but Jig wants to keep the baby. Later on Jig gives in to the Americans wishes and decides to have an abortion. Even though she doesn’t want to have an abortion she is willing to do it to stay with him. The mood portrayed by

In “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, which takes place in 1927, a character who goes by the American makes abortions seem like a harmless procedure: “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig… It’s not really an operation at all” (140). This, however, is not the case and Jig knows that there is more to it than it just a simple surgery. Whether it was a manipulation driven tactic or pure ignorance, the American couldn’t have been further from the truth. During the twenties, an overwhelming number of women either died or suffered severe medical complications during an abortion due to its taboo nature. With abortion being illegal in that time, Hemingway tastefully leaves it to the readers to figure out what type of

Throughout the story, the American pressures Jig to have an abortion. He makes it seems as if it will become a huge

Throughout the story, the two main characters constantly dance around each other and what they have to say. The American refuses to finish the conversation before Jig say’s she will get the abortion. His entire ploy is to guilt

This collapse of his personal agenda is evident when he says to Jig: "I don't want you to do it if you feel that way" (Hemmingway 16). Despite caving into the desires of Jig, he gives her what she wants too late. For instance, immediately following this exchange, Jig has a noticeable change in her tone. She no longer seeks sympathy from the man but seems set on a new course of action. Jig has decided that the man does not really care about her, and, thus, she will rid herself of both the baby and The American.

The American tries to make his words sound mellow and convincing but Jig sees past them and realizes that the right choice is within her. Regardless of what the American wants, she is the only one who has to endure the real pain of the situation, nevertheless her surroundings let her visualize how they could help her with her decision. Therefore the hills help her realize how many things in life are just obstacles but can be easily overcome with by finding a resolution that will benefit everyone.

In fact, throughout majority of the story he is talking about this “operation”. Trying to convince Jig to have this operation which is the abortion of the baby. He says things like “It’s a really simple operation, Jig” (Hemingway, pg. 790) as if trying to soothe her saying it’s a simple operation and she should have no worries. The American then goes on to continue trying to soothe Jig so she will get the abortion. When Jig is asking him what makes him sure that she’ll be just fine he goes to say “That’s the only thing that bothers us. It is the only thing that’s made us unhappy.” (Hemingway, pg. 791) Clearly showing that he feels that keeping the baby is a danger to their relationship and is making them unhappy. He then begins to act sympathetic telling Jig she doesn’t have to get the operation if she doesn’t want to, but once Jig says “we can have everything” he quickly says “no, we can’t” showing that he really doesn’t care about Jig’s feelings. At one point he even goes to say “once they take it, you’ll never get it back.” In a way threatening Jig who then tells him it hasn’t been taken yet in which the American replies “we’ll wait and see”. This makes it seem as if he’s giving her no choice but to get the operation. All the American is concerned about is continuing the lifestyle they are living now filled with traveling and drinking. He also seems

The drink heightens sexual desire, so the American probably got Jig to drink absinthe so she would have sex with him, but he didn’t think about the consequences that were to follow. Thirdly, it is clear that the man will stay with her no matter what choice she makes, he says it many times even though she said “I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me.” His response indicated that he loves her telling her “I don’t want you to do it if you feel that way.” But in the end she will get the abortion, she is set on it but he tells her he doesn’t want her to do it, but he wants to so the stress is off of him, he wouldn’t ask her in the first place anyways if he didn’t want it. In conclusion, the couple has the abortion. Jig wants her freedom and there is no freedom once you have a baby, the American is for the abortion as well. He has many more reasons for the abortion than Jig, some being freedom, stress of having a baby, commitment for marriage, but the biggest factor for him is having the baby

Jig doesn’t really listen to him because she doesn’t say anything back to the man. This could mean that Jig doesn’t believe the man because of what she has heard from other people of what could happen after the operation. However, this could also mean that she is considering his words and thinking about getting the abortion because she doesn’t want to disappoint the American

In the conversation, the man is trying to persuade Jig to do the abortion. I did not know they are going to do abortion firstly till the man mention the operation. Then, I figured out the operation is means abortion by myself. In the beginning, Jig is trying to avoid the man, so she is talking about the

In the dialogue between Jig and the American it talks about their relationship and choices toward pregnancy. While staring off into the distance, Jig remarks that the hills “look like white elephants (Hemingway)” to which the American responds, “I’ve never seen one (Hemingway)”. Jig views the hills as white elephants, as entities so large and powerful that they require attention and disallow negotiation, much like the baby within her womb (Yirinec, 2011). The man tries to persuade the girl that there is no harm in having an abortion; furthermore, it will help their relationship go on. He tries to manipulate her and he succeeds in imposing his will but not in convincing her over the benefits of abortion. The man does not directly open the

In Hills like White Elephants the plot had two main conflicts. The first conflict was the relationship between the American and Jig. They say that the only thing they have in common anymore is beer. Each time they go out together they can only try new beer. They are unable to communicate because they are unable to come to an agreement on the baby. The second conflict was what they should do with the baby. This is a conflict between desires and wills. The American is scared they if they keep the child it will break their relationship. He fears that the child will put stress on them and take the fun out of the relationship entirely. The baby would force responsibility on the both of them stealing their freedom and forever changing their relationship.

The American’s opposition towards the girl keeping the baby was shown by his complete disconnect from the fact that the baby was in fact a living being. He references the baby as “it” several times throughout the story. This was his attempt to dehumanize the baby as a tactic to convince Jig to go through with the abortion. This was not his only side of his argument. In ways he was naïve or just didn’t care about the risk she would be taking if she went through with the abortion. Abortions were illegal in the 1920’s and usually preformed by inexperienced people in unsanitary conditions. The American’s references