Hills Like White Elephants opens with a long description of the storys setting in a train station surrounded by

hills, fields, and trees in a valley in Spain. A man known simply as the American and his girlfriend sit at a table
outside the station, waiting for a train to Madrid.
It is hot, and the man orders two beers. The girl remarks that the nearby hills look like white elephants, to which
the American responds that hes never seen one. They order more drinks and begin to bicker about the taste of
the alcohol. The American chastises her and says that they should try to enjoy themselves. The girl replies that
shes merely having fun and then retracts her earlier comment by saying the hills dont actually look like white
elephants to her anymore.
They order more drinks, and the American mentions that he wants the girl, whom he calls Jig, to have an
operation, although he never actually specifies what kind of operation. He seems agitated and tries to downplay
the operations seriousness. He argues that the operation would be simple, for example, but then says the
procedure really isnt even an operation at all.
The girl says nothing for a while, but then she asks what will happen after shes had the operation. The man
answers that things will be fine afterward, just like they were before, and that it will fix their problems. He says he
has known a lot of people who have had the operation and found happiness afterward. The girl dispassionately
agrees with him. The American then claims that he wont force her to have the operation but thinks its the best
course of action to take. She tells him that she will have the operation as long as hell still love her and theyll be
able to live happily together afterward.
The man then emphasizes how much he cares for the girl, but she claims not to care about what happens to
herself. The American weakly says that she shouldnt have the operation if thats really the way she feels. The
girl then walks over to the end of the station, looks at the scenery, and wonders aloud whether they really could
be happy if she has the operation. They argue for a while until the girl gets tired and makes the American
promise to stop talking.
The Spanish bartender brings two more beers and tells them that the train is coming in five minutes. The girl
smiles at the bartender but has to ask the American what she said because the girl doesnt speak Spanish. After
finishing their drinks, the American carries their bags to the platform and then walks back to the bar, noticing all
the other people who are also waiting for the train. He asks the girl whether she feels better. She says she feels
fine and that there is nothing wrong with her.
The American - The male protagonist of the story. The American never reveals his name, nor does the girl ever
directly address him by name. He is determined to convince the girl to have the operation but tries to appear as
though he doesnt care what she does. He remains disconnected from his surroundings, not really
understanding or even listening to what the girl has to say.
The Girl - The female protagonist of the story. The American calls the girl Jig at one point in the story but never
mentions her real name. Unlike the American, the girl is less sure of what she wants and appears reluctant to
have the operation in question. She alternates between wanting to talk about the operation and wanting to avoid
the topic altogether.
The Bartender - The woman serving drinks to the American man and the girl. The bartender speaks only
Spanish.

The American
Throughout the story, the American behaves according to Hemingways rigid conception of masculinity.
Hemingway portrays the American as a rugged mans manknowledgeable, worldly, and always in control of
himself and the situation at hand. Even when vexed or confused, he maintains his cool and feigns indifference,
such as when he tells the girl he doesnt care whether she has the operation. He initially avoids discussion of
their problems, but when pressured, he tackles them head on by oversimplifying the operation and relentlessly
pushing her to have it. Thinking himself to be the more reasonable of the two, he patronizes the girl and fails to
provide the sympathy and understanding she needs during the crisis. Uncompromising, he seems to identify
more with the other passengers waiting reasonably at the station than with his own girlfriend at the end of the
story, which suggests that the two will go their separate ways.
The Girl
Compared to the American, Hemingways overly masculine character, the girl is less assertive and persuasive.
Throughout the story, the girl appears helpless, confused, and indecisive. She changes her mind about the
attractiveness of the surrounding hills, for example; claims to selflessly care only for the American; and seems
uncertain about whether she wants to have the operation. In fact, the girl cant even order drinks from the
bartender on her own without having to rely on the mans ability to speak Spanish. Ironically, the girl seems to
understand that her relationship with the American has effectively ended, despite her professed desire to make
him happy. She knows that even if she has the operation, their relationship wont return to how it used to be. In
many ways, the girls realization of this fact gives her power over the American, who never really understands
why they still cant have the whole world like they once did.

Themes
Talking versus Communicating
Although Hills Like White Elephants is primarily a conversation between the American man and his girlfriend,
neither of the speakers truly communicates with the other, highlighting the rift between the two. Both talk, but
neither listens or understands the others point of view. Frustrated and placating, the American man will say
almost anything to convince his girlfriend to have the operation, which, although never mentioned by name, is
understood to be an abortion. He tells her he loves her, for example, and that everything between them will go
back to the way it used to be. The girl, meanwhile, waffles indecisively, at one point conceding that shell have
the abortion just to shut him up. When the man still persists, she finally begs him to please, please, please,
please, please, please stop talking, realizing the futility of their conversation. In fact, the girls nickname, Jig,
subtly indicates that the two characters merely dance around each other and the issue at hand without ever
saying anything meaningful. The girls inability to speak Spanish with the bartender, moreover, not only
illustrates her dependence on the American but also the difficulty she has expressing herself to others.
Motifs
Drinking
Both the American man and the girl drink alcohol throughout their conversation to avoid each other and the
problems with their relationship. They start drinking large beers the moment they arrive at the station as if hoping
to fill their free time with anything but discussion. Then, as soon as they begin talking about the hills that look like
white elephants, the girl asks to order more drinks to put off the inevitable conversation about the baby. Although
they drink primarily to avoid thinking about the pregnancy, readers sense that deeper problems exist in their
relationship, of which the baby is merely one. In fact, the girl herself implies this when she remarks that she and
the American man never do anything together except try new drinks, as if constantly looking for new ways to
avoid each other. By the end of their conversation, both drink alonethe girl at the table and the man at the
barsuggesting that the two will end their relationship and go their separate ways.
Symbols
White Elephants
A white elephant symbolizes something no one wantsin this story, the girls unborn child. The girls comment
in the beginning of the story that the surrounding hills look like white elephants initially seems to be a casual,
offhand remark, but it actually serves as a segue for her and the American to discuss their baby and the
possibility of having an abortion. The girl later retracts this comment with the observation that the hills dont really
look like white elephants, a subtle hint that perhaps she wants to keep the baby after alla hint the American
misses. In fact, she even says that the hills only seemed to look like white elephants at first glance, and that
theyre actually quite lovely. Comparing the hillsand, metaphorically, the babyto elephants also recalls the
expression the elephant in the room, a euphemism for something painfully obvious that no one wants to
discuss.
Analysis
Hemingway sets Hills Like White Elephants at a train station to highlight the fact that the relationship between
the American man and the girl is at a crossroads. Planted in the middle of a desolate valley, the station isnt a
final destination but merely a stopping point between Barcelona and Madrid. Travelers, including the main
characters, must therefore decide where to go and, in this case, whether to go with each other and continue their
relationship. Moreover, the contrast between the white hills and barren valley possibly highlights the dichotomy
between life and death, fertility and sterility, and mirrors the choice the girl faces between having the baby or
having the abortion. The girl seems torn between the two landscapes, not only commenting on the beauty of the
hills but also physically walking to the end of the platform and gazing out at the brown emptiness around the
station.
Many first-time readers read Hills Like White Elephants as nothing more than a casual conversation between
two people waiting for a train and therefore miss the unstated dramatic tension lurking between each line. As a
result, many people dont realize that the two are actually talking about having an abortion and going their
separate ways, let alone why the story was so revolutionary for its time. In accordance with his so-called Iceberg
Theory, Hemingway stripped everything but the bare essentials from his stories and novels, leaving readers to
sift through the remaining dialogue and bits of narrative on their own. Just as the visible tip of an iceberg hides a
far greater mass of ice underneath the ocean surface, so does Hemingways dialogue belie the unstated tension
between his characters. In fact, Hemingway firmly believed that perfect stories conveyed far more through
subtext than through the actual words written on the page. The more a writer strips away, the more powerful the
iceberg, or story, becomes.
Hemingway stripped so much from his stories that many of his contemporary critics complained that his fiction
was little more than snippets of dialogue strung together. Others have called his writing overly masculinethere
are no beautiful phrases or breathtaking passages, just the sheer basics. In Hills Like White Elephants, for
example, both the American man and the girl speak in short sentences and rarely utter more than a few words at
a time. Hemingway also avoids using dialogue tags, such as he said or she said, and skips any internal
monologues. These elements leave the characters thoughts and feelings completely up to the readers own
interpretations. Hemingways fans, however, have lauded his style for its simplicity, believing that fewer
misleading words paint a truer picture of what lies beneath.

Important Quotations Explained
1. Yes, said the girl. Everything tastes like licorice. Especially all the things youve waited so long for, like
absinthe.
Even though the girl had asked the American man to order the absinthe because she had never tried it before,
she immediately puts her glass back on the table after the first taste, surprised by the drinks sharp bite. She
remarks that her drink tastes like licorice and then tries to subtly broach the subject of her pregnancy again,
because the American had ignored her earlier comment that the nearby hills look like white elephants. Basically
rehashing the adage be careful what you wish for because it may come true, the girl recognizes the irony in not
liking the taste of the drink shed asked the man to order for her, just as she presumably dislikes being pregnant
when shed always wished for a baby. The man, however, perhaps senses the underlying message of the girls
seemingly casual remark and tells her to be quiet, prompting her to once more bring up the subject of white
elephants.
2. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and youll like it?
By this point, midway through the story, the girl has already retracted her previous comment that the surrounding
hills look like white elephants, hinting that she wants to keep the baby instead of having an abortion. The man
had been upset at this, feigning indifference but pushing for the abortion because he doesnt want the child. Still
hoping to save their broken relationship, the girl asks her boyfriend whether things between them will return to
the way they used to be if she goes through with the abortion. Her indecision and desire to placate the man
demonstrate her dependence on him. At the same time, however, the mere fact that she asks the question may
imply that she believes that nothing can save their relationship.




Summary
In the early 1920s, an American man and a girl, probably nineteen or twenty years old, are
waiting at a Spanish railway station for the express train that will take them to Madrid. They drink
beer as well as two licorice-tasting anis drinks, and finally more beer, sitting in the hot shade and
discussing what the American man says will be "a simple operation" for the girl.
The tension between the two is almost as sizzling as the heat of the Spanish sun. The man, while
urging the girl to have the operation, says again and again that he really doesn't want her to do it
if she really doesn't want to. However, he clearly is insisting that she do so. The girl is trying to be
brave and nonchalant but is clearly frightened of committing herself to having the operation. She
tosses out a conversational, fanciful figure of speech noting that the hills beyond the train
station "look like white elephants" hoping that the figure of speech will please the man, but he
resents her ploy. He insists on talking even more about the operation and the fact that, according
to what he's heard, it's "natural" and "not really an operation at all."
Finally, the express train arrives and the two prepare to board. The girl tells the man that she's
"fine." She's lying, acquiescing to what he wants, hoping to quiet him. Nothing has been solved.
The tension remains, coiled and tight, as they prepare to leave for Madrid. The girl is hurt by the
man's fraudulent, patronizing empathy, and she is also deeply apprehensive about the operation
that she will undergo in Madrid.
Analysis
This story was rejected by early editors and was ignored by anthologists until recently. The early
editors returned it because they thought that it was a "sketch" or an "anecdote," not a short
story. At the time, editors tried to second-guess what the reading public wanted, and, first, they
felt as though they had to buy stories that told stories, that had plots. "Hills Like White Elephants"
does not tell a story in a traditional manner, and it has no plot.
In part, some of the early rejection of this story lies in the fact that none of the editors who read
it had any idea what was going on in the story. Even today, most readers are still puzzled by the
story. In other words, it will take an exceptionally perceptive reader to realize immediately that
the couple is arguing about the girl's having an abortion at a time when abortions were absolutely
illegal, considered immoral, and usually dangerous.
Early objections to this story also cited the fact that there are no traditional characterizations. The
female is referred to simply as "the girl," and the male is simply called "the man." There are no
physical descriptions of either person or even of their clothing. Unlike traditional stories, wherein
the author usually gives us some clues about what the main characters look like, sound like, or
dress like, here we know nothing about "the man" or "the girl." We know nothing about their
backgrounds. Can we, however, assume something about them for example, is "the man"
somewhat older and "the girl" perhaps younger, maybe eighteen or nineteen? One reason for
assuming this bare-bones guesswork lies in tone of "the girl." Her questions are not those of a
mature, worldly-wise woman, but, instead, they are those of a young person who is eager and
anxious to please the man she is with.
It is a wonder that this story was published at all. When it was written, authors were expected to
guide readers through a story. In "Hills Like White Elephants," though, Hemingway completely
removes himself from the story. Readers are never aware of an author's voice behind the story.
Compare this narrative technique to the traditional nineteenth-century method of telling a story.
Then, such authors as Dickens or Trollope would often address their readers directly.
In contrast, we have no idea how to react to Hemingway's characters. Had Hemingway said that
the girl, for example, spoke "sarcastically," or "bitterly," or "angrily," or that she was "puzzled" or
"indifferent," or if we were told that the man spoke with "an air of superiority," we could more
easily come to terms with these characters. Instead, Hemingway so removes himself from them
and their actions that it seems as though he himself knows little about them. Only by sheer
accident, it seems, is the girl nicknamed "Jig."
That said, during the latter part of the 1990s, this story became one of the most anthologized of
Hemingway's short stories. In part, this new appreciation for the story lies in Hemingway's use of
dialogue to convey the "meaning" of the story that is, there is no description, no narration, no
identification of character or intent. We have no clear ideas about the nature of the discussion
(abortion), and yet the dialogue does convey everything that we conclude about the characters.
In addition, the popularity of this story can be found in the change in readers' expectations.
Readers in the 1990s had become accustomed to reading between the lines of fictional narrative
and didn't like to be told, in minute detail, everything about the characters. They liked the fact
that Hemingway doesn't even say whether or not the two characters are married. He presents
only the conversation between them and allows his readers to draw their own conclusions. Thus
readers probably assume that these two people are not married; however, if we are interested
enough to speculate about them, we must ask ourselves how marriage would affect their lives.
And to answer this question, we must make note of one of the few details in the story: their
luggage. Their luggage has "labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights."
Were these two people, the man and the girl, to have this child, their incessant wanderings might
have to cease and they would probably have to begin a new lifestyle for themselves; additionally,
they might have to make a decision whether or not they should marry and legitimize the child.
Given their seemingly free style of living and their relish for freedom, a baby and a marriage
would impose great changes in their lives.
Everything in the story indicates that the man definitely wants the girl to have an abortion. Even
when the man maintains that he wants the girl to have an abortion only if she wants to have one,
we question his sincerity and his honesty. When he says, "If you don't want to you don't have to.
I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to," he is not convincing. From his earlier statements,
it is obvious that he does not want the responsibility that a child would entail; seemingly, he
strongly wants her to have this abortion and definitely seems to be very unresponsive to the girl's
feelings.
On the other hand, we feel that the girl is not at all sure that she wants an abortion. She's
ambivalent about the choice. We sense that she is tired of traveling, of letting the man make all
the decisions, of allowing the man to talk incessantly until he convinces her that his way is the
right way. He has become her guide and her guardian. He translates for her, even now: Abortion
involves only a doctor allowing "a little air in." Afterward, they will be off on new travels. However,
for the girl, this life of being ever in flux, living in hotels, traveling, and never settling down has
become wearying. Their life of transience, of instability, is described by the girl as living on the
surface: "[We] look at things and try new drinks."
When the man promises to be with the girl during the "simple" operation, we again realize his
insincerity because what is "simple" to him may very well be emotionally and physically damaging
to her.
The man is using his logic in order to be as persuasive as possible. Without a baby anchoring
them down, they can continue to travel; they can "have everything." However, the girl contradicts
him and, at that moment, seems suddenly strong and more in control of the situation. With or
without the abortion, things will never be the same. She also realizes that she is not loved, at
least not unconditionally.
Thus we come to the title of the story. The girl has looked at the mountains and has said that they
look "like white elephants." Immediately, a tension between the two mounts until the man says,
"Oh, cut it out." She maintains that he started the argument, then she slips into apology, stating
that, of course, the mountains don't really look like white elephants only "their skin through the
trees."
From the man's point of view, the hills don't look like white elephants, and the hills certainly don't
have skins. The girl, however, has moved away from the rational world of the man and into her
own world of intuition, in which she seemingly knows that the things that she desires will never be
fulfilled. This insight is best illustrated when she looks across the river and sees fields of fertile
grain and the river the fertility of the land, contrasted to the barren sterility of the hills like
white elephants. She, of course, desires the beauty, loveliness, and fertility of the fields of grain,
but she knows that she has to be content with the barren sterility of an imminent abortion and the
continued presence of a man who is inadequate. What she will ultimately do is beyond the scope
of the story.
During the very short exchanges between the man and the girl, she changes from someone who
is almost completely dependent upon the man to someone who is more sure of herself and more
aware of what to expect from him. At the end of their conversation, she takes control of herself
and of the situation: She no longer acts in her former childlike way. She tells the man to please
shut up and note that the word "please" is repeated seven times, indicating that she is
overwhelmingly tired of his hypocrisy and his continual harping on the same subject.
Glossary
the Ebro a river in northeastern Spain; the second longest river in Spain.
the express a direct, non-stop train.
white elephant something of little or no value.
Map
"Hills Like White Elephants" is set in Spain. An American man and a girl are sitting at an outdoor
caf in a Spanish train station, waiting for a fast, non-stop train coming from Barcelona that will
take them to Madrid, where the girl will have an abortion.
In the story, Hemingway refers to the Ebro River and to the bare, sterile-looking mountains on
one side of the train station and to the fertile plains on the other side of the train station. The hills
of Spain, to the girl, are like white elephants in their bareness and round, protruding shape. Also
notable is that "white elephant" is a term used to refer to something that requires much care and
yielding little profit; an object no longer of any value to its owner but of value to others; and
something of little or no value. Throughout this dialogue, the girl's crumbling realization that she
is not truly loved is a strong undercurrent that creates tension and suppressed fear.
"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" takes place in Spain as well. It centers around two waiters and an
elderly man who patronizes the caf late at night before closing time. He is a drunk who has just
tried to kill himself. One of the waiters is older and understands the elderly man's loneliness and
how important the caf is to the old man's mental health.
Hemingway explores older men's loneliness by using the older waiter as a sounding board for the
elderly man's defense. Although the elderly man is without a companion or anyone waiting at
home for him, he indulges his lapses from reality in a dignified and refined manner, expressed in
his choosing of a clean, well-lighted place in the late hours of the night. The importance of the
clean, well-lighted place where one can sit is integral to maintaining dignity and formality amidst
loneliness, despair and desperation.