Ernest Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants

Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants starts off by describing a tense scene in Spain where an American man and woman, Jig, sit at a train station. Drinks are served to the two, and an exchange of words leads to a stern conversation about an operation the man wants Jig to get. Through deeper analysis, this conversation is found to be about whether or not Jig is going to receive an abortion. Hemingway, who was considered one of the greatest 20th century writers, wrote this for his 1927 collection, Men Without Women. Throughout Hills Like White Elephants, Hemingway uses point of view, style, and setting in order to convey the conflict between the man and Jig about whether or not she shall pursuit getting an abortion. This piece of prose

He also does not explicitly state the meaning of the story that also represents the conflict at hand. Both the man and Jig are having to derive each other’s feelings for the topic at hand by what they are and are not saying. Neither of them come out and distinctly say what each other feels. For example, the man says, "-if you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to. But I know it's perfectly simple.” (Hemingway 176) Jig knows that he is definitely pushing for this abortion, although he says she doesn’t have to. Jig seems very hesitant and upset about this decision. This bitter characterization of the man, similar to one of a pro-abortion American today, creates an uncomfortable mood for the readers. Hemingway also uses unadorned diction that helps develop the conflict by creating imagery and metaphorical aspects of the writing. It proves to be true that how the characters say something is way more important that what they say in this short story. Another key element of Hemingway’s style is the repetition of words in the story. The words, “know” and “fine,” are used multiple times in order to emphasize their alternative meanings and portray the