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 Themes

The three main themes in “Hills Like White Elephants” are choices and consequences, doubt and ambiguity, and men and women.

  • Choices and consequences: The characters must make a decision that will have life-altering consequences.
  • Doubt and ambiguity: The characters are unsure of what to do and what the outcome will be.
  • Men and women: The story explores the relationships between men and women.

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Themes: Choices and Consequences

In "Hills Like White Elephants," a couple is facing a significant dilemma. Although they are not married, the woman is expecting a child, and the man, who is responsible for the pregnancy, is urging her to have an abortion. He believes that by choosing abortion, they can return to their previous way of life before the pregnancy occurred. He is unwilling to share her with anyone else, particularly not a baby, and he fears that having a child will...

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Themes: Doubt and Ambiguity

The narrative of Jig and the American is filled with uncertainty and ambiguity, affecting both the characters and the audience. Although the American speaks with apparent confidence, his real motives are ambiguous. Additionally, he struggles to fully grasp the implications of the abortion he so eagerly wants Jig to have.

Jig seems skeptical that abortion is the best choice, yet she still seeks reassurance from the American that he will stay with...

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Themes: Men and Women

In "Hills Like White Elephants," Hemingway explores the interactions between men and women. His stories often feature a strong masculine perspective, with leading characters who are typically patriarchal and sexist. However, as Peter Messent notes, this particular story "foregrounds a woman’s point of view." The more the American man talks, the more ridiculous he seems. For example, he tells Jig, "It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig......

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Themes: Sterility and Vacuity of the Modern World

“Hills Like White Elephants” calls to mind the “A Game of Chess” section of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land(1922); like Eliot’s masterpiece, Hemingway’s story deals with the sterility and vacuity of the modern world. The boredom of the man and the desperation of the girl reveal the emptiness of the postwar generation and the crucial necessity of taking responsibility for the quality of one’s own life. Both Eliot’s poetry and Hemingway’s...

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Themes: Existential Freedom and Responsibility

Hemingway’s characters seem to live in a world without a God, without traditions or clear and established values; they are, in Jean-Paul Sartre’s words, “condemned to be free” and consequently are responsible for their own meaning. The man here is unequal to the challenge; he is a bored and listless fragment of a human being. He resolutely refuses to speak truthfully, to acknowledge his own hypocrisy. His unwillingness to be honest—and, by...

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Themes: Reason vs. Emotion

One particularly interesting aspect of Hemingway’s uncompromising dissection of the poverty of the modern world in this story is the juxtaposition of reason and emotion or imagination. The man is perfectly reasonable. He lives in a senseless and violent world; he has the financial resources to do as he pleases; he reasonably concludes that he should enjoy his life, not encumber himself with unnecessary conflicts or responsibilities, certainly not...

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Themes: Gender Dynamics and Superiority of the Woman

Another interesting facet of this story in the context of Hemingway’s fiction is the clear superiority of the woman to the man. Hemingway is not particularly kind to women generally, certainly not to women who want to have children. Usually such women are interested in asserting their sexual power over men and in depriving men of their freedom and their maleness. This girl may prove to be angry and frustrated enough to evolve into a castrating...

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Themes: Condemnation of Modern World

Hemingway’s brief and seemingly objective story is a powerful condemnation of the aimlessness, hypocrisy, and moral and spiritual poverty of the modern world.

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Themes: Relationships

In "Hills Like White Elephants," the theme of relationships is central, exploring the complex dynamics between the American man and Jig. Their relationship is marked by emotional dependency rather than genuine love, reflecting Hemingway's modernist perspective on the post-World War I world. The story uses symbolism, particularly through the landscape, to illustrate the couple's strained connection and differing desires.

The story opens with Jig's...

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Expert Q&A

What are some examples of argumentative themes in "Hills Like White Elephants"?

I wanted to argue that The American is only concerned with his own best interest but I'm having trouble finding sufficient evidence to support this claim for my argumentative essay.

Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" seems to be about a man who wants his girlfriend to get an abortion, but she does not want to. He tries to convince her that they should have an abortion, and she still refuses. Here is a quick summary of the story: A man and a girl are sitting at a table drinking beer at a train station in Spain. They are waiting for the man's friend, who has gone on ahead to book them tickets for their trip back to America. The girl is pregnant and does not want the baby because it would ruin her figure and her future marriage plans. The man wants her to have an abortion and she disagrees with him because he doesn'

What is a common theme in "Hills Like White Elephants," "The Story of an Hour," and "Trifles"?

A common theme in "Hills Like White Elephants," "The Story of an Hour," and "Trifles" is the exploration of gender roles and the position of women. Each story highlights how women are often manipulated, oppressed, or marginalized in a patriarchal society. In "Hills Like White Elephants," Jig faces pressure about an abortion decision. "The Story of an Hour" reveals Mrs. Mallard's realization of freedom post-marriage. "Trifles" portrays women's insights being dismissed by men.

Themes and Symbolism in "Hills Like White Elephants"

In Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," the landscapes and hills symbolize the couple's relationship and the unborn child. The barren terrain represents their strained connection, while the fertile landscape suggests the potential of having a child. The hills, likened to "white elephants," symbolize burdensome gifts, reflecting the couple's differing views on the pregnancy. The story, centered on the couple's conversation about abortion, highlights their conflicting desires and the man's self-centeredness, leaving the resolution ambiguous.

How does the setting in "Hills Like White Elephants" and "The Chrysanthemums" enhance the themes of isolation and disconnection in gender relations?

The settings of “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck both reflect the isolation and estrangement between the characters and the struggles of the female characters in particular. Let's look at the settings of both stories and how they mirror the internal and external conflicts of the characters. We'll start with “Hills Like White Elephants.” A man and a woman are sitting at a train station in Spain waiting for their train and talking about an “operation” the man wants the woman to have.

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Themes: Choices and Consequences

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