Manipulation In Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

The Ultimate Choice Without standing up for what is right in a disagreement, manipulation often wins. Ernest Hemingway wrote his short story, “Hills Like White Elephants” according to the iceberg theory. In the story, a couple is discussing an unknown operation in which they have different opinions on. Hemingway doesn’t come right out and say what the operation is because he believed the deeper meaning of the story should not be evident on the surface, but instead shine through implicitly. By analyzing the setting, a reader can come to the conclusion that “Hills like White Elephants” is about a couple’s decision on abortion. In the beginning of the story, the couple is sitting outside of a bar sharing drinks. Although they’re sitting
The American had a different opinion regarding the pregnancy, and wanted Jig to abort her baby. Through manipulation, the American made it seem as if he had Jig’s best intentions in mind. Jig wanted to have a nice night out, but the American continuously brought up the operation. As Jig would comment on the mountains, he would explain to her that the operation is “awfully simple” (2), and all the doctors would do is “let [some] air in” (2). To him, having the abortion would get rid of any responsibility. To her, the abortion would eliminate any joy that would come from having a child. Anytime the operation would be mentioned, Jig wouldn’t participate in the conversation. She knew that she wanted to have the child, but she didn’t want to lose the relationship she had with the American. After the American explained to her that the operation would be simple, Jig started to question “what [would] [happen] afterwards?” (3). Instead of taking responsibility for getting Jig pregnant, the American made it seem as if the pregnancy made both of them unhappy. Although he knew that he wanted the abortion to happen, he kept telling Jig “if [she] [didn’t] want to” (3) go through with the abortion, “[she] [didn’t] have to” (3). Although still pondering whether the abortion was “the best thing to do” (3), Jig is at a crossroads
Once again, Hemingway used the setting to describe the thought process of how Jig decided on abortion. Jig knew the relationship would fail, and started to look “at the hills on the dry side of the valley” (pg 4). Before, she was so consumed in the thought of losing her child, but her attention quickly shifted to the relationship with the American. She told the man that she “didn’t care about [herself]” (pg 4), and after it was done, everything would be fine. Instead of putting faith into the difficult decisions she had to make, she put her faith in the American who manipulated her. Including the baby, he said “he [didn’t] want anybody but [her]” (4). Though the man stated that he didn’t “want [her] to do it if [she] [didn’t] want to” (4), he said it merely because he wanted the process to go a lot