Barcelona, Spain, a conversation takes place between two lovers sitting outside of a bar. Hemingway’s writing style is very minimalist, and so it is up to the reader to decipher what message, tone, or imagery is being conveyed. In this short story it is a hot day, there are train tracks nearby. The hot weather could have symbolized the tension between the woman, called Jig, and the American man- the train tracks their differing viewpoints. The story begins with the woman asking the man what he would like to drink, to which he replies, “It’s pretty hot.”
Right from the beginning of the encounter, you get the feeling that a very serious conversation is about to take place, since
alcohol …show more content…
In “Moving to the Girl’s
Side of Hills Like White Elephants,” by Stanley Renner, the idea that the woman does not do as the American man wishes, comes into play. Renner points out how in the beginning of the short story, the couple is looking at the barren and dirt colored hills, and by the end, the woman has distanced herself from the American man, and is looking off into the distance where the hills have lots of greenery and rivers and wildlife. This is what she is seeing as her life if she keeps her child. In the beginning, the woman is much weaker, and pliable to the American man’s will, but she is also very sarcastic and questions him as to whether their love will be the same if she has the procedure. He argues that things will be as they have been, but when she looks back at all they have done together, it seems like they just look at things and have drinks. As she thinks, it becomes clear how much having this child means to her, and how having the abortion will in no way repair the relationship she and the American man have.