Hills lIke white Elephants- Ernest Hemingway. - Vedica Bhasin

Hills like White elephants- Ernest Hemingway. 

Vedica Bhasin

            While I didn’t seem to understand the gist of the story initially, repeated readings later I understood that the story simply does not reveal every aspect of the ‘back-story’ the reader desired to understand. Hemingway uses a vivid description of the surroundings along with sharp visual and symbolic imagery that is bolstered with the use of color; for example- “They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry”. 

  The setting is described in great detail along with the physical stimulus or impact of those surroundings on the character; for example “the warm wind blew the bead curtains against the table”.  Ironically, the setting creates a calm and relaxing atmosphere that is in accordance with the exterior tone of the characters however potentially contrary to the chaos and tension that truly resides between them.

While there is limited description offered by the narrator for the characters, their actions and dialog open a window to their mind. Interestingly, the narrator does refer to the waitress as a woman and the ‘girl’ and as a ‘girl’. While initially I assumed this maybe be due to a simple differentiation choice the relatively insecure behavior of the girl later into the story made me reconsider the use of “girl”. The repetition of words by the girl “I’m fine”. “I feel fine”, “please.. please”, along with her silence and the sharp and short description the narrator uses to describe it “The girl did not say anything” gives the reader insights into the girls mind.

Finally, I too interpreted this story to be about an abortion- inferred from the subtle conversation between the American and the “girl”.