Hills Like White Elephants Reflection

Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. He was the oldest son of a doctor and music teacher. While Hemingway grew up in Oak Park, he spent his summers in Michigan. Michigan gave Hemingway rich experiences and background to fill his writings with. The article “Ernest Hemingway” tells us, “In Michigan Hemingway found the material for his early fiction: events of sudden tragedy and pathos endured by the local Indians; the life-and-death consciousness of the hunter and fisherman; and the adept participant and empathic witness that he discovered in himself” (“Ernest Hemingway”). In 1917, Hemingway graduated from high school and choose not to pursue college. Instead, he worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Star, went
The story says, “On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun.” This highlights the fact that the couple in the story has nowhere to go, and the spotlight, or sun, is focused on them. They only have forty minutes until their train arrives and they have nothing to turn their attention to. There is a bar, separated by a curtain of bamboo beads. The couple orders drinks from here throughout the story. The landscape in the setting is barren. We see this in the line “the country was brown and dry.” However, when the girl is fantasizing about their future life she sees the landscape as more than barren. It is described as, “Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees.” The story is told in third person and doesn’t dive into either the man or woman’s feelings. We only see the exterior conversation. This is to make the reader wonder what exactly the couple is arguing
The couple’s dialogue is the main focus of the story. Their conversation is jolted and strained. They know they need to have a serious conversation but have trouble starting it. Their attempts at small talk are rough and show a lot of tension. When they finally start to delve into their larger issue, which seems to be about marriage and abortion, it’s brought up by the man abruptly. The man tries to make abortion seem like a simple procedure that is nothing to worry about. Jig doesn’t respond quickly but when she does she has a lot of questions and doubts. Jig seems to want to please the man and will do whatever he decides, though she struggles with the idea of an abortion. She just wants to be happy and have their relationship go back to the way it was. Choices is another theme of the story. This is shown by the setting and how the couple is at a literal crossroads. It is also a large part of the couple’s conversation. They have to make the decision of whether or not to get married and have the baby or have an abortion and go on the way they were. Alcohol is another theme in the story. It is brought up in the beginning and persists until the end of the story. “What should we drink?” is the first piece of dialogue we receive. When there is a lull in their conversation and the man translates the Spanish on the curtain, Jig immediately wants to try the advertised drink. The girl makes a remark