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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Hills Like White Elephants Analysis

  • Ernest Hemingway tackles the issue of abortion in “Hills Like White Elephants.” Without ever using the word itself, Hemingway conveys Jig's hesitation about the operation.
  • The story is told from the point of view of a third-person narrator who doesn't give readers access to the characters’ thoughts and feelings. This is in keeping with Hemingway’s usual writing style. 
  • Hemingway uses repetition to great effect in the story. When the American man insists that he doesn't want Jig to have the abortion if she doesn’t want to, the statement sounds insincere, as the man has repeated it too many times.

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Analysis

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Style and Technique

The impassive, documentary style of “Hills Like White Elephants” is typical of much of Hemingway’s fiction. It manifests the care, restraint, intensity, and control, the economy and precision that characterize his best prose. The author seems to be indifferent both to the characters and to the reader; he pretends to be merely an objective observer content to report without comment the words and actions of these two people. He has virtually no access to their thoughts and does not even interpret the emotional quality of their words or movements by using adverbs; he simply records. Hemingway believed in a precise, naturalistic rendering of the surface; he insisted on presenting things truly.

As was indicated earlier, Hemingway’s ironic technique plays an important role in this story. The very use of a clear and economical style to reveal a relationship that is troubled and complex is ironic. The story seems to be void of artifice and emotion yet is carefully fashioned and powerfully felt. The dispassionate style appears to be absolutely appropriate to the cold, sophisticated, literal-minded, modern sensibility of the protagonist, yet in fact the man is revealed to be disingenuous and destructive. The deeper levels of this story are disclosed by examining not only what is implied through the irony but also what is indicated by symbolism and repetition.

The symbolism has already been remarked, and only one other observation seems necessary here. It is important to note that anything that can be said to operate symbolically does so without violating the realism of the story in any way. Hemingway uses banal repetition quite effectively here. The insincerity of the man is apparent in his dependence on empty phrases: “it’s perfectly simple”; “if you don’t want to you don’t have to.” Both the man’s duplicity and the girl’s perceptiveness, anger, and despair are evident in the way in which she echoes his transparent lies: “And afterward they were all so happy . . . I don’t care about me. . . . Yes, you know it’s perfectly simple.”

In terms of style and technique, “Hills Like White Elephants” is a quintessential early Hemingway story. The use of the language of speech as the basis for the story, the insistence on presentation rather than commentary, the condensation, and the intensity are all basic elements of his theory of fiction.

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Historical Context

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Europe Between the Wars
Hemingway penned "Hills Like White Elephants" in 1926 while residing in Paris. The historical and cultural backdrop for the story was Europe between the First and Second World Wars. Hemingway was twenty-two, newly wed, and eager to embark on a serious writing career when he arrived in Paris in 1921. His experiences as an ambulance driver during World War I continued to influence him, and the themes of alienation and isolation typical of modernist literature are evident in his work from this period.

Europe was in the throes of recovery from the war, yet it was a time of significant political and economic turmoil for many nations. Various countries experienced political conflicts as right- and left-wing factions vied for control. In Italy, for instance, strikes, violence, and political unrest culminated in the 1922 Fascist March on Rome, leading to Mussolini's dictatorship. In Germany, the harsh reparations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles caused economic instability. The German mark depreciated rapidly as inflation soared, prompting people to spend their cash immediately before its value diminished by day's end. Other European nations, with their landscapes ravaged and their youth either dead or wounded, were mired in a profound and severe recession.

The Lost Generation
Conversely, the United States experienced an economic boom. The stock market soared to unprecedented heights, and the dollar's exchange rate was highly favorable compared to most European currencies. Moreover, many young Americans had served in Europe during the war, making them more at ease with different cultures. Equipped with strong American dollars and some familiarity with European languages and cultures, many writers found Paris an enticing environment. These writers collectively became known as the "Lost Generation." Michael Reynolds notes that around six thousand Americans lived in Paris by the end of 1921; by "September 1924, the city's permanent American population had risen to thirty thousand and was still growing." In Paris, Hemingway mingled with numerous notable writers and literary figures, including Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce, among others.

Hemingway himself popularized the concept of a lost generation through his debut novel, "The Sun Also Rises." In his later memoir about his years in Paris, "A Moveable Feast," Hemingway recounts a conversation with Gertrude Stein, in which she referred to all young people who had been in the war as "a lost generation." Hemingway subsequently used Stein’s remark as one of the two epigraphs that open the book. Perhaps more than any other writer of his era, Hemingway captured the sense of waste, loss, and resulting aimlessness that the war instilled in the youth of his time.

Social Change
The period between the wars was marked by significant social transformation. In the United States, the economic boom driven by easy credit and technological advancements enabled people to acquire products like never before. Middle-class families could now afford cars, radios, and telephones.

Social change manifested in other crucial ways too. Notably, women gained the right to vote in 1920 and started joining the workforce in larger numbers. Women began showing their legs, smoking cigarettes, and cutting their hair short. These acts of liberation challenged traditional male values, leading to gender conflicts that were often depicted in the literature of the era.

Many authors chose to leave the United States, seeking the freer moral atmosphere of Europe. Disenchanted with civilized society, estranged from traditional norms, and traumatized by the brutal war, these writers explored new literary forms, themes, and styles.

Expert Q&A

Is "Hills Like White Elephants" still relevant today and can it be placed in a specific historical period?

The short story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway concerns a couple arguing about whether or not to go through with an abortion. This is completely relevant to today, as couples still encounter this dilemma and have similar discussions. If the specific location and mode of transportation were adjusted, it could be placed in almost any period of history, as abortions have been performed since ancient times.

Literary Style

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Setting
In "Hills Like White Elephants," the setting not only situates the story in a specific location and time but also serves as a significant symbol. The narrative unfolds in Spain, within the valley of the Ebro River. More specifically, the scene is set at a railway station "between two lines of rails in the sun." The American and the girl are seated at a table. On one side of the station, the landscape is arid and barren, which many critics have compared to T. S. Eliot’s The Wasteland. On the opposite side, there are trees and fields of grain. By splitting the setting into these two contrasting halves—one sterile and the other fertile—Hemingway highlights the couple's dilemma. They face a choice between sterility, represented by abortion, or fertility, represented by continuing the pregnancy. The scenery outside mirrors the internal dynamics of their relationship.

Dialogue
The most notable aspect of this story is its construction, which relies almost entirely on dialogue. Only seven brief descriptive paragraphs exist outside of the characters' conversations. Furthermore, the story contains minimal action: the girl walks from one side of the station to the other, they drink beer, and the man moves their luggage. By maintaining such tight control over the narrative, Hemingway compels the reader to engage with the scene as if they were eavesdropping. The reader "hears" the dialogue but cannot access the characters’ inner thoughts. With so few details provided, the story's significance hinges on the reader's ability to interpret the cryptic remarks exchanged between the characters. Hemingway once likened a short story to the tip of an iceberg, with much of its meaning lying beneath the surface. In "Hills Like White Elephants," only a small portion of the story's subject is explicit, leaving the reader to infer the rest.

Lost Generation
The term "Lost Generation" refers to a group of young writers, most born around 1900, who served in the First World War. Collectively, the Lost Generation found their perspectives on life profoundly altered by their wartime experiences. Many members of this group resided in Europe, particularly in Paris, during the post-war period. The term originated from Gertrude Stein's remark to Hemingway, "You are all a lost generation." Hemingway used this comment as an epigraph in his novel, The Sun Also Rises. Other notable writers in this group include F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hart Crane, Louis Bromfield, and Malcolm Cowley.

The characters' sense of aimlessness in "Hills Like White Elephants" is a hallmark of Lost Generation fiction. Jig and the American are expatriates, drifting from location to location to "look at things and try new drinks." These individuals live in hotels and out of suitcases, rather than settling down in one place. This lack of rootedness emerges as a significant motif in the literature of their generation.

Expert Q&A

The tone of communication between the main characters in "Hills Like White Elephants."

The tone of communication between the main characters in "Hills Like White Elephants" is tense and ambiguous. The dialogue is filled with underlying conflict and unspoken emotions as they discuss a serious issue indirectly, reflecting their strained relationship and inability to communicate openly.

Compare and Contrast

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  • 1920s: The post-war American economy surges, driven by a booming stock market. Credit is readily available, leading to rapid fortunes being made and lost. Consumer culture flourishes as new technologies make desirable products accessible to the middle class.

    1990s: The United States experiences a period of remarkable prosperity. Credit remains easy to obtain, and the stock market climbs steadily. Advances in technology make computers, video games, digital cameras, and cell phones affordable for the middle class.

  • 1920s: Women in the United States gain the right to vote and use their new electoral power to support a Constitutional Amendment banning the production and sale of alcohol. Women begin working outside the home, and the “flapper” emerges as a symbol of a new generation of young women.

    1990s: Women hold elected positions, serve on the United States Supreme Court, and lead major corporations. Despite these advancements, women’s earning power still trails behind men’s. Laws against sexual discrimination and harassment protect women from being fired or demoted due to their gender.

  • 1920s: Abortions are illegal in most European countries and the United States. Despite this, many women undergo unsafe, illegal abortions, often resulting in death. The lack of reliable birth control and the severe social stigma against unmarried mothers compel women to risk their lives.

    1990s: Abortions are legal in the United States and have been legal in Spain since 1985. However, a growing number of people in the United States oppose abortion, with some anti-abortion activists resorting to violence. Abortion doctors are murdered, and clinics face bombings and violent protests.

  • 1920s: Modernism, the belief that traditional methods are outdated, influences art, literature, and culture in Europe and the United States. Artists experiment with new forms and themes, maintaining that art and literature can still convey significant truths about reality, despite widespread disillusionment.

    1990s: Postmodernism emerges in response to modernism, now seen as outdated. Literature becomes self-referential and meta-fictional, with reality appearing to fragment into smaller parts, and truth becoming increasingly relative.

Media Adaptations

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  • “Hills Like White Elephants” was adapted into a cable television movie along with two other short stories. The additional stories featured in the film are “The Man in the Brooks Brother Shirt” by Mary McCarthy and “Dusk Before Fireworks” by Dorothy Parker. This ninety-minute film premiered on HBO in 1990 under the title Men and Women. The video release of the film, produced in 1996 by Front Row Entertainment, is called Women and Men: Three Tales of Seduction. The production was helmed by producers David Brown and William S. Gilmore and features performances by Beau Bridges, Melanie Griffith, Elizabeth McGovern, Molly Ringwald, Peter Weller, and James Woods.

Bibliography and Further Reading

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Sources
Connolly, Cyril. A review of Men Without Women. In New Statesman, November 26, 1927, p. 208.

Hannum, Howard L. “‘Jig Jig to dirty ears’: White Elephants to Let.’’ In The Hemingway Review, Vol. 11, No. 1, Fall 1991, pp. 46-54.

Hollander, John. ‘‘Hemingway’s Extraordinary Reality.’’ In Ernest Hemingway, edited and introduced by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985, pp. 211-216.

Lamb, Robert Paul. “Hemingway and the Creation of Twentieth Century Dialogue.” In Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 42, Winter 1996, pp. 453-480.

Messent, Peter. Ernest Hemingway. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1992, pp. 90-92.

Parker, Dorothy. A review of Men Without Women. In New Yorker, October 29, 1927, pp. 92-94.

Renner, Stanley. ‘‘Moving to the Girl’s Side of ‘Hills Like White Elephants.’’’ In The Hemingway Review, Vol. 15, No. 1, Fall 1995, pp. 27-41.

Reynolds, Michael. Hemingway: The Paris Years. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989.

Smiley, Pamela. “Gender-Linked Miscommunication in ‘Hills Like White Elephants.’’’ In New Critical Approaches to the Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway, edited by Jackson J. Benson. Duke University Press, 1990, pp. 288-299.

Smith, Paul. ‘‘Introduction: Hemingway and the Practical Reader.’’ In New Essays on Hemingway’s Short Fiction. Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 1-18.

Stampfl, Barry. ‘‘Similes as Thematic Clues in Three Hemingway Short Stories.’’ In The Hemingway Review, Vol. 10, No. 2, Spring 1991, pp. 30-38.

Woolf, Virginia. A review of Men Without Women. In New York Herald Tribune Books, October 9, 1927, pp. 1, 8.

Further Reading
Meyers, Jeffrey, ed. Hemingway: The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1982. This collection includes many significant contemporary reviews of Hemingway’s works, featuring reviews of Men Without Women by Virginia Woolf, Dorothy Parker, and Edmund Wilson, among others.

Reynolds, Michael. The Young Hemingway. Oxford: Blackwell, 1986. A comprehensive and engaging biography of Hemingway’s early years by a distinguished Hemingway biographer.

Rovit, Earl, and Gerry Brenner. Ernest Hemingway. Boston: Twayne, 1986. An excellent introduction to Hemingway studies, offering biographical insights, critiques of many of Hemingway’s works, and a useful bibliography.

Smith, Paul, ed. New Essays on Hemingway’s Short Fiction. Cambridge University Press, 1998. A compilation of recent critical essays on Hemingway’s short stories, including a valuable introduction by editor Paul Smith, ‘‘Hemingway and the Practical Reader.’’

Wagner, Linda W., ed. Ernest Hemingway: Six Decades of Criticism. Michigan State University Press, 1987. A collection of significant reviews and critical articles on Hemingway, covering his entire career.

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