Hills Like White Elephants Literary Analysis

Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway, a renowned piece of literature, attracts the attention of many literary scholars. In this short story, a couple consisting of Jig, and the American, must decide whether or not to have an abortion. When first read, this story appears to have little depth and what the characters discuss is unclear. However after evaluation, it becomes clear that the story has much depth and is no longer about abortion but rather the emotions surrounding the situation. Through symbolism of the environments surrounding the railroad station and the hills, Hemingway gives depth to the story by showing the emotional conflict the couple faces emotionally and in their relationship.
The imagery created by the division of …show more content…
However the environment on the other side of the tracks is full of life with trees, mountains and water. The brown, dry side represents the American’s desire to abort the child, for this side is lifeless. The green, mountainous side however represents Jig’s view of life with a child because life flourishes. For example, there is water which symbolizes life and trees which can be seen to represent family trees. Renner explains that “the choice of abortion is associated with the arid sterility of the hills on the barren side of the valley” while he also explains that “the choice of having a child is associated with the living, growing things on the other side of the valley” (Renner 28). The American is content with his life, as he explains that with a child they can no longer have the world but for Jig, this brown lifeless side, represents the boredom she experiences with continuing her normal life without a child (Hemingway). Renner explains that the dry side also symbolizes the “aimless, hedonistic life” that the characters live (Renner 28). The symbolism of the tracks and differing environment deepens the meaning of the story by portraying that the couple must choose between two decisions that lead to two different ways of life. Jig and the American represent different sides of the tracks, showing how they disagree on their future. This conflict the couple …show more content…
Due to the separation of the couple, the hills symbolize their differing views. The white elephants represent a white elephant gift; a burdensome gift one must keep. For Jig and the American, this burdensome gift is the unborn child. In his article, Hemingway’s Hills like White Elephants, founded in The Explicator, Stanley Kozikowski explains that the unborn child is “like a white elephant, an unwanted gift, a seemingly remote but immense problem” (Kozikowski 107). For the American, this unborn child is a purely troublesome gift that he wants to abort. He even describes the abortion as an “awfully simple operation” and that “it’s just to let the air in,” even though abortion is not simple