Hills Like White Elephant By Ernest Hemingway

“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway is a short story about a man known as the American and a girl named Jig who are a couple. Both are at a train station in Barcelona surrounded by hills waiting for the train to take them to Madrid. The weather was warm and the couple sat outside the station at a bar to order beer. All of a sudden Jig looks at the landscape and says that the hills look like white elephants to which the American man answers that he has never seen one. After the first drink they order more and begin to discuss that taste of alcohol as well as how they should enjoy themselves. Jig does not seem as if she is having fun and later states that the hills do not look like white elephants anymore. Another round of drinks is placed and the agitated American man says he wants Jig to have an unspecified operation since he believes its
The man says it will bring happiness because not performing it will make things tough. Jig unconvinced agrees, as the American asserts he would not force her to have the operation even if he says its the best decision. So then the American begins telling Jig he really cares about her, but Jig doesn’t care what happens to her anymore. Furthermore they go over the whole operation discussion again and Jig loses it as she threatens the American to stop talking or she would scream. Finally the bartender brings the last order of beers and tells the couple the train would arrive shortly, but Jig doesn’t understand and asks the American to translate. Finishing the last sip of beer the American takes the luggage to the train and returns to the bar to ask Jig if she feels better. She answers that she feels alright and that there is nothing wrong with her. The theme of “Hills Like White Elephants” suggests that lack of communication can result in difficulty to find a common ground in any type of