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

Start Free Trial

Hills Like White Elephants Questions on White Elephants

Hills Like White Elephants Study Tools

Take a quiz Ask a question Start an essay

Hills Like White Elephants

The main conflict in "Hills Like White Elephants" is the couple's disagreement over whether the woman should have an abortion. The story focuses on their indirect and tense conversation at a train...

5 educator answers

Hills Like White Elephants

The use of irony in "Hills Like White Elephants" is evident in the characters' dialogue and the setting. While they discuss a serious and life-changing decision, they avoid directly addressing it,...

21 educator answers

Hills Like White Elephants

The key elements in "Hills Like White Elephants" are the symbols of white elephants and the hills, representing the couple's relationship and the unborn baby. The climax occurs when Jig contradicts...

4 educator answers

Hills Like White Elephants

The "white elephant" in the story symbolizes something unwanted or burdensome. It represents the couple's pregnancy and the conflicting feelings they have about it, highlighting the tension and...

2 educator answers

Hills Like White Elephants

The dramatic tension in Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" is achieved through his use of sparse dialogue and subtext. The characters' indirect communication and the underlying, unspoken issue...

2 educator answers

Hills Like White Elephants

The landscape descriptions and drink orders in "Hills Like White Elephants" reflect the characters' emotional states and relationship limbo. The barren train station and distant hills symbolize the...

1 educator answer

Hills Like White Elephants

The man's carefree reaction to his girlfriend's comment about the white elephants in the hills suggests that he is insensitive to her and unconcerned about her. Her sarcastic response--"No, you...

2 educator answers

Hills Like White Elephants

Hemingway utilizes his plot and symbolism to maintain the theme of Doubt and Ambiguity.

4 educator answers