Ernest Hemingway

The Life:  Born on July 21, 1899, in Cicero (now in Oak Park), Illinois, Ernest Hemingway served in World War I and worked in journalism before publishing his story collection In Our Time. He was renowned for novels like The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and The Old Man and the Sea, which won the 1953 Pulitzer. In 1954, Hemingway won the Nobel Prize. He committed suicide on July 2, 1961, in Ketchum, Idaho.

“Hills Like White Elephants”  Set at a train station in Spain, “Hills Like White Elephants” is a brief “snapshot” of a young man and a young woman named Jig, who are traveling through Spain in the late 1920’s. The story is told from the objective point of view—nearly all dialogue with very little narrative intrusion.

The setting: The Ebro river and the hills behind

Clearly, the young couple are traveling about, enjoying youthful freedom, and perhaps indulging a bit in the bohemian lifestyle.

But there is conflict! What do you see revealed in this exchange?  The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry.  'They look like white elephants,' she said.  'I've never seen one,' the man drank his beer.  'No, you wouldn't have.'  'I might have,' the man said. 'Just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything.'

It seems there is trouble in paradise. Jig seems discontented with their rootless existence.  'It tastes like licorice,' the girl said and put the glass down.  'That's the way with everything.'  'Yes,' said the girl. 'Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for, like absinthe.'  'Oh, cut it out.'  'You started it,' the girl said. 'I was being amused. I was having a fine time.'  'Well, let's try and have a fine time.'  'All right. I was trying. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn't that bright?'  'That was bright.'  'I wanted to try this new drink. That's all we do, isn't it - look at things and try new drinks?'

Absinthe, the alcoholic drink Jig refers to in the story, was reputed to have psychoactive effects, and was also reputed to be poisonous if overindulged in. Because of these supposed affects, Absinthe became popular among artists and those who thought of themselves as “bohemians.”

Absinthe was popularly supposed to cause hallucinations.

As we can see, the legendary effects of Absinthe are still being touted today.

What is the conflict between the two young lovers?  'It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig,' the man said. 'It's not really an operation at all.'  The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on.  'I know you wouldn't mind it, Jig. It's really not anything. It's just to let the air in.'  The girl did not say anything.  'I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural.'

What kind of operation could he be talking about?  'You've got to realize,' he said, ' that I don't want you to do it if you don't want to. I'm perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you.'  'Doesn't it mean anything to you? We could get along.'  'Of course it does. But I don't want anybody but you. I don't want anyone else. And I know it's perfectly simple.'

Critic Kenneth Johnson remarks:  The man, identified only as an American, is the villain of the piece. He is a selfish, insensitive, emotional bully, the eternal adolescent who refuses to put down roots or to shoulder the responsibilities which are rightfully his. His empty, barren life style is summed up by the girl: “That's all we do, isn't it—look at things and try new drinks.”

 The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees.  'And we could have all this,' she said. 'And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible.'

The short description of the valley of the Ebro suggests something to Jig. It is an image of life’s possibilities.  Doris Lanier remarks that critics “generally agree that the brown, dry, and infertile land represents a rootless, empty, and sterile life—like the one the couple is presently living—while the fertile land along the Ebro River represents the meaningful and fruitful life they could have if they would not go through with the abortion.”

The title of the story refers to a white elephant. How is that significant?

“White Elephant” is an English idiom:  Critic Kenneth Johnston remarks, “A white elephant, in one meaning of the term, is anything rare, expensive, and difficult to keep; any burdensome possession; an object no longer esteemed by its owner though not without value to others. This is basically how the man feels about the unwanted child.”

How is this story about “imagination?”  The two young people are at a time in their lives when they are free and independent, and can travel and explore the world. This is a time when people often feel the world is theirs for the taking, and they can imagine an exciting future for themselves.  Travel itself is often said to be mind expanding— seeing new places and experiencing new things adds to one’s idea of the possibilities of life.

Who has the greater imagination?  For the young man, having a baby clearly would be an impediment to the free, rootless lifestyle he wants at the moment. As he tells Jig, “But I don't want anybody but you. I don't want anyone else.”  So, is it fair to say that the young man cannot imagine having a baby at this point in his life?

What is Jig’s viewpoint?  Jig remarks to her lover, 'Doesn't it mean anything to you? We could get along.'  Earlier in the story Jig has an epiphany as she gazes at the fertile valley of the Ebro river: 'And we could have all this,' she said. 'And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible.'  What is it that they are making more impossible? A future together? A life that is something more than a freewheeling journey from place to place?  Clearly, when it comes to the baby in question, Jig has more imagination than the young man. She can imagine a life with a child while he cannot.

What happens after the story ends?  There is clearly tension between the couple as the story comes to an end:  'Do you feel better?' he asked.  'I feel fine,' she said. 'There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.'  What do you think will happen? Will she have the operation?  Will they “get over” this little incident? Do you think they will stay together in the long run?

Works Cited:  Johnston, Kenneth G. "'Hills Like White Elephants': Lean, Vintage Hemingway." Studies in American Fiction 10.2 (Autumn 1982): Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale,  Lanier, Doris. "The Bittersweet Taste of Absinthe in Hemingway’s ‘Hills Like White Elephants’." Studies in Short Fiction 26.3 (1989): Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol Detroit: Gale, 2012.