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Hills of Elephant

In: Historical Events

Submitted By Riolobo6
Words 1282
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James Bissell
Mary Breland, Instructor
English 102
February 3, 2011
Critical Review of “Hills Like White Elephants” In the story, “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, we are introduced to two main characters, Jig and the American. From the story, it appears that the couple has been living a carefree lifestyle, traveling around Europe, having a good time together. However, the couple has been faced with a dilemma that has caused much debate over the years. The couple is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy and they are going to Madrid to have the pregnancy terminated. At the time, a burst of air was the preferred method of abortion. It was a dangerous procedure since widespread antibiotics were not yet used. It was done by questionable doctors in secret. Jig is having second thoughts the longer she has to sit at the train station waiting for the trip. Jig appears nervous and insecure in the story. She is nervous about the growing baby inside her. She is nervous about the procedure she is going to have done, if it is going to harm her to the point she will not be able to have children again. Tensions grow as the discussion turns from drinks to the pregnancy, even though Hemingway doesn’t specifically say that is the cause. It appears in the lines, “Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things that you’ve waited so long for”(Hemingway 525) that the woman wants more than what she is being given by the man, as though she feels the man will leave her eventually. She fears the stigma that she will face if left alone to care for it. If she has the abortion, the regret will be too much for the relationship to bear and one of them will leave. If she does not and chooses to follow her desires of having the child, the man would possibly leave her for a carefree lifestyle that he has become accustomed to. The damaged relationship will be changed forever no matter what the choice is. The American seems to know everything about the procedure that she is going to have calling it a “simple operation”(Hemingway 525). He doesn’t, however, realize the psychological conflict that Jig faces. He is unrelenting in the pressure that he puts on her to have the procedure. He tells her that everything will be as it was before. He sees the pregnancy as a bother or a nuisance to their lifestyle. The line that states “I’ve known lots of people that have done it”(Hemingway 526) makes it sound like he is a playboy and that this is a situation that he has been in before with another woman. The consequences of the procedure do not affect him and he can go back to his way of life. He just wants her to get on with it so they can return their travels. His avoidance of responsibility in the story gives a cold feeling of indifference. Both of them seem to be rather self centered and immature. The American is frustrated that he cannot control the situation more with the passive Jig. When she asks him if she can have another drink, it shows that she is depending on the American to help her make decisions. When she asks him to please shut up and he says that she started it, it shows their inability to communicate very well. The conflict between Jig and the American pushes their relationship to the edge. Jig obviously wants more stability and to turn from the way they have been living. She is conflicted between her desire for a different life, and her desire for her lover. She wants to please her man, but also wants to do what is right. Jig realizes that she will not be able to have both her freedom and her child. She will not find happiness in the hapless traveling with the American, nor will she find the family she desires if she makes him choose between the growing family and the lifestyle they have at present. She states that she doesn’t care about herself anymore which could mean that she feels like her baby is becoming more important to her and that the decision is not just hers anymore. The setting of the story is symbolic of what is going on in the hearts of the two young people. It was in between World War I and World War II where people were traveling more, not concerned about the threat of war anymore. It was a time of freedom and discovery. The railway paths going in opposite directions can be indicative of the two paths that the two people are taking. One path or track leads to the life of fun and freedom. The other path leads to a completely opposite life with a family and children. However, like the railways, their paths will not ever cross. Their future does not appear to be together. Like the two side of the tracks, there is also a green side of the station and a dry side. This leads the reader to believe that one side is the life given by birth and the other is the death of the baby, and the death of the relationship. In the end, we do not know what the decision the girl makes. It appears as if she is going to go through with it, since she says she is “fine”. Any smart man knows that when a woman says she is “fine”, that all is not fine. The American moving the baggage to the other side seems to indicate that their relationship now weighs heavy with the baggage of the decision. She appears to making a compromise with herself, with her lover, and with her faith. One has to wonder if she is just saying fine and is going to stay at the station and have him go on to Madrid without her, or if she will get on the train and go through with it as he wishes her to do. Ernest Hemingway writes and eloquent story, and even though it is short, it still develops the characters so we as readers can see the conflict going on. He is also writing about a very taboo subject for the times they were in. Abortion was not really talked about in proper company, so the fact that Hemingway writes about it without actually naming it is telling of the type of society he lived in at the time. Hemingway’s story is very powerful, both for what is written and what is not written. The fact that he never reveals that they are talking about the abortions or the resolution of the conflict, leads the reader to draw their own conclusions about right and wrong, good and bad. It leaves the reader to make up their own mind about the way they feel about abortion. If the reader believes that abortion is acceptable, then the story would logically end with the girl getting on the train and going through with the procedure. If the reader is against abortion, it would surely only lead to the girl leaving the American to ride the train alone.

References
Cumnings, Michael. "Hills Like White Elephants." 2008. Cummings Study Guides. 3 February 2011 <http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/Hills.html#Setting>.
DeBorbon, Daniel. "Ernest Hemingway's Hills like White Elephants Analysis." 11 September 2008. AssociatedContent.com. 3 February 2011 <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/990496/ Schilb, John and John Clifford. "Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers." 4th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 523-527.

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