An Inferential Analysis of Hemingways Hills Like White...

In Hemingway s Hills Like White Elephants I found many layers of symbolism, and a fascinating psychological underplay afoot between his two characters. It begins with the girl s comment about a line of white hills seen in the distance, which she compares to white elephants. The man responds with the comment I ve never seen one. The symbolism of a white elephant is widely known as something very large or apparent that no one wishes to acknowledge or speak of in American society. It is an interesting opening to a very strained conversation concerning an apparent pregnancy, and the man s wish to terminate it. The couple s careful avoidance of actually naming the problem, or the proposed solution, suggests the situation in which a†¦show more content†¦She gives up trying to communicate her feelings at this point, and asks him to stop talking about it. He responds to this nervously, repeating that he doesn t want her to do it, it doesn t matter to him. The girl then threatens to scream; one might think she is tired of his craven disassembling. At that point, the waitress tells them the train is due in five minutes. The man escapes with the bags, carrying them to the other tracks. This portion might suggest another symbolic element in the story. Just as the two have switched their life course, they are n ow switching trains, heading down a set of tracks carrying them towards a different outcome. He retreats to the bar inside, where he has a drink alone while looking at the people waiting reasonably for the train, then rejoins Jig, who smiles at him. And so the struggle between Jig and her lover is resolved. He has won, and she has given up her dream. The elements of the story suggested a carefree couple that traveled and drank their way across foreign landscapes together, with no responsibilities, until suddenly, they faced one of the biggest responsibilities of all. Hemingway s depiction of their conflict is in my opinion a stunning expose of a scenario that is all too common in the human tradition, rife with assumptions and masterful in its inferential