illustration of train tracks with low hills in the background and one of the hills has the outline of an elephant within it

Hills Like White Elephants

by Ernest Hemingway

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What is wrong with the woman in Hills Like White Elephants? My teacher made us read the beginning and told us to guess what was wrong with her...so I was wanting to know what was actually wrong with the woman.

Expert Answers

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The girl (Gig) is pregnant. Although the subject is never mentioned directly, the pregnancy is at the heart of the conversation between the girl and the American. The American wants her to abort the baby, and she is unhappy with both choices in front of her: keep the baby and lose the American, or abort the baby and keep the American.

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