Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

In the short story, “Hills like White Elephants” by Earnest Hemingway, it tells the tale of a couple traveling from Barcelona to Madrid. The man is an American and his girlfriend, Jig, has an unspecified nationality. The story proceeds forward, and we pick up very quickly that there is some kind of unspoken tension between the two characters that neither of them care to discuss. During the back and forth dialogue, it is safe to assume that the two are expecting a child. We can read between the lines as the American man says: “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig. It’s not really an operation at all. I’ll go with you and I’ll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural” (Hemingway 2). The duration of the story shows that the couple’s relationship is collapsing, due to the issue of her being pregnant. The man wants her to get an abortion, but the woman is not in favor of that idea. I believe
They were not very familiar with having different opinions and a voice of their own. The NC Museum of History states: “Despite increasing opportunities in employment and education, and the expanding concept of a ‘woman’s place,’ marriage remained the goal of most young women. Magazine articles and movies encouraged women to believe that their economic security and social status depended on a successful marriage. The majority worked only until they married” (NC Museum of History). In the story, it is obvious that Jig is very dependent on the American; she can’t even speak Spanish to get where she needs to go. There is dialogue that indicated Jig wanting to settle down and get married but the American doesn't like that idea because he is not ready to settle down. He makes comments such as: “We can have everything. We can have the whole world. We can go everywhere” (Hemingway