An Elephant Never Forgets

In the short story Hills Like White Elephants, Ernest Hemingway uses intense symbolism within the setting, as well as vague dialogue, in order to engage the reader and clarify the meaning behind the story.

The story takes place at a station in Spain, where a man and a woman are waiting for the next train. They drink as they wait. To one side of the woman sits dry and white hills to which she compares to "white elephants", an innocent enough statement. On the other side lays a green and fertile land, with mountains and a river running through the middle of it. The woman has a choice to make. This setting alludes to the fact that there are two choices before the girl: to go forward into the barren hills to which she compares to the wrinkly skin of "white elephants" or to travel down the fertile and green route. The American man in the story is pressuring the girl into a decision, perhaps an abortion, and the setting is all too fitting, portraying a bleak or a fruitful future for the two depending on the girl's decision. By the end of the story, one might infer that the woman does choose to go along with the abortion (and hop on the train into the white hills) as the couple drinks a few alcoholic drinks -- something one should not do while pregnant.

Hemingway also uses dialogue in a very significant way. Instead of describing the characters directly by using metaphors or other descriptive language, he allows the audience to come to their own conclusions through the characters actions and dialogue. While the couple converses, their words are very vague and not very meaningful in the grand scheme of things. The woman keeps hushing the man, as though she is ashamed to openly discuss the topic. They never directly dwell on the fact that the girl is contemplating to end her pregnancy. It causes the audience to feel as though the "operation" isn't just a trivial matter. It is serious and not openly discussed in public. Unlike the large, white elephant hills, the dialogue's importance is minimized.