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Hills Like White Elephants Analysis

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Black or White Hills: The Resolution of Hills Like White Elephants Hemingway is known as a master of the Iceberg Theory, which his short story Hills like White Elephants is a prime example of. The short story feels a lot like a fragment of a longer story – beginning and end are left up to the reader’s imagination and the story is mainly based around a single topic: the fate of their unborn child. It is a story about a couple in Spain waiting for a train. They have a couple of drinks and attempt to decide whether to go through with an abortion or not. At the end of the story, the reader is left with two main questions: will the girl go through with the abortion and will the couple remain together? The American and Jig are fundamentally incompatible. At the basis of this conclusion lies their lack of communication, or rather, their personal styles of speaking which are so different that communication becomes near impossible. Every attempt either of them makes at leading a pleasant conversation is either ignored or swept aside with a comment about a different subject. A prime example of this is the moment when Jig explains her comment about the hills being like white elephants and the man only responds with the question, “Should we have another drink?”. The American is very blunt, wants to get straight to the point, whereas Jig chooses to linger more on her surroundings and taking the time to gather her thoughts; she is also more emotional, whereas the American is rational – or

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