Decisions In Ernest Hemingway's 'Hills Like White Elephants'

Olga Serzhantova
English 1A
Sean Kim
13 September 2010
Essay 1
Hills Like White Elephants
Everyday people make decisions that might have a big influence on their future lives. One can never say if this or that decision is right simply because there is no right or wrong. The choices that people make or believe in depend on their individual qualities and personal preferences. Therefore, what is right for one person might be totally wrong for the other. The only thing we shouldn’t forget is that once the decision is made there is no way back, once the action is done there is no way to change it.
Ernest Hemingway, one of the most influential writers of the first half of the twentieth century, in his realistic story “Hills Like White Elephants”
tried to depict and understand contradicting human nature while making a life choice. The story takes in the Ebro River valley of Spain, where an American man and his female companion Jig are waiting for a train and having drinks discussing "doing it." Obviously, by "doing it," they're referring to whether or not they should have an abortion. In order the readers to understand the core of the problem the author uses such powerful literary elements as setting and symbolism. The story takes place in a very short period of time and presents a dialogue between two main characters. It is very laconic, but yet tells a tale that is much bigger than itself.
From the very first paragraph the author introduces the setting which is very intense. This atmosphere will surround the rest of the story and will help the readers to penetrate into the inner state of the main characters:
The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. […] The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went to Madrid. (523)
The whole image of the train station is very strong as it implies the point of life when one should make a drastic decision which will change everything. There are only two choices, two directions, which just like the two rail lines that pass by the station. The loneliness and openness of the place make a hint that there is no way to avoid the problem, it’s right here like an eyesore. The heat intensifies the pressure and doubts the girl is experiencing. The landscape that encompasses the station plays a fundamental role in the conflict of the story through its extensive symbolism.
When the girl sees the long and white hills she says that they look like “white elephants.” A white elephant is a metaphor for an expensive possession that is a financial burden to maintain. This expression originated in Thailand, where albino (white) elephants were considered sacred, and were not permitted to be forced into work. Thus, a white elephant was only a burden to its owner; it consumed food without providing any useful service to its owner. It becomes obvious that “white elephant” is a baby, a unique and precious present from God. The color white symbolizes the innocence and purity of Jig’s unborn child. Another piece of symbolism includes the train tracks that form a dividing line between the barren lands stretching towards the hills on one side and the green fertile land on the other: “Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Elbro” (526). These two sides symbolize the choice that the characters faced and their different points of view about the pregnancy. Another symbolism which doesn’t seem to be very obvious is the very name of the girl. One of the meanings of the word jig is a “hook,” a “tool for fishing.” It’s pretty brilliant how Hemingway played with each single pattern of the story to make it symbolic. He made us feel the tale rather than read it.
For the American man the girl is just a tool in his life for satisfying his desires and needs.
He doesn’t see Jig as a person, individual with her own feelings and values. Through the conversation that takes over eighty percent of the story it becomes obvious that this couple used to travel a lot enjoying their carefree time. And now this time is under the threat, because if they decide to keep a child all the time and money will be consumed by it. The American manipulates Jig into having the abortion by presenting the operation as a simple procedure that is in her best interests. He tries to persuade her that after the abortion is done, everything will be the same again: “And we could have all this. […] And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible. […] We can have the whole world” (526). But the girl replies that “it isn’t [their] any more, once they take it away, you never get it back” (527). As she considers his point of view she looks at the dry side of the valley, which is barren and sterile, symbolizing her body after the abortion. Moreover, it’s not only about her body that will not be the same any more, not only about the baby that will be taken away, it’s also about this romantic and naïve relationship between Jig and this man that will be lost. Jig faces the immense decision that will change her future. She has to choose between the old and the new lifestyle. It’s definitely a very hard decision for the girl and probably she realizes she
needs to change, but it only goes that far. She goes along with it for the sake of continuing their lifestyle that they are accustomed to. She seems to care a great deal about the man, to the point where she as a character, is torn between these two decisions. At some point of the story it seems that Jig doesn’t want to take her own responsibility for making the final decision. She keeps saying that if the man will be happy after all, she will be happy too, because all that matters is him: “But I don’t care about me. And I’ll do it and then everything will be fine” (526). She is not willing to talk about the problem that bothers both of them so much and keeps changing the topic. She is trying to help both of them "have a fine time" (526), suggesting new drinks to try and making nice comments about the look of the hills. The abortion was undoubtedly the man’s idea in order to keep his own status quo over all else and his personality is pretty clear and simple in this story. The reader sees him as someone who is putting his own needs first. He is also not given a proper first name in the story, while Jig is. His comments of “I don't want anyone but you” and “I don't want anyone else” illustrate his personal desire to keep their relationship as it is by not introducing a child into their life.
As we follow the story, it becomes clear that Jig’s conflict is not resolved. She realizes that she will not be able to have a child and her life will not be the same anymore because she will not be able to enjoy it the way she did before. First, Jig tries to persuade herself that she might have everything back after this operation is done, but, as the story progresses, the reader sees it’s hopeless for her. An abortion will not make things like they were; their lifestyle will never gratify her again.
The story doesn’t give everything to the reader.
We only see the surface of what is happening. The reader is able to have his own ending and take part in the story. Even though it’s unknown whether the girl decides to have the operation or not I am not satisfied as the girl chooses to shut out her feelings and to go through something that she feels miserable about. For the reader it’s not clear whether the result of the abortion will be negative or positive. The only thing that is clear to us is that the girl doesn’t feel right about it. One of the most famous quotations by Maria Robinson, a psychologist and independent adviser, is: “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” The life has already changed for Jig, the question is if she is willing to accept the changes and keep the baby. Jig’s story has many parallels in real life, abortion-related and otherwise. Hemingway’s purpose in creating the character of Jig is to look at human nature, about how we go against ourselves and to do something undesired just to please
somebody.