Hills and Elephants

I found Hills Like White Elephants to be an awkward piece, and I think Hemmingway did a good job of painting the picture he wanted us to see. Let me explain what I mean when I say awkward. I believe there was an “awkward” tone in the righting on purpose, as if Hemmingway wanted the reader to notice something was wrong in the story. Right from the onset of the story it is clear that there is something hindering the relationship between the man and the girl. For starters, even though they are clearly a couple, Hemmingway never specifies this and he also never calls them anything other then “the man” and “the girl”. When “the girl” first brings up the White Elephants, instead of questioning her or trying to understand what she says, “the man” simply says, “I’ve never seen one”. Through just these two sentences it is clear that something is on his mind and he is not fully committing himself to the girl or to the conversation. The label “girl’ should also be noted. It is clear she wasn’t given this title by default, as she could have been called “woman”, just like the waitress. The name “the girl” was given to show her innocence, and this child-like innocence is displayed throughout the story in various points. Her ignorance to the taste of alcoholic drinks (comparing it to licorice) as well as her talking about the white elephants alludes to her childlike innocence. But the awkwardness of the story really lies in the conversation. Hemmingway did a great job of using conversation to set up the scene and mood. I see the man as brooding and thinking over an issue that has come up in the relationship. This is evident in the text when the couple talks about drinks and the conversation suddenly moves to “the man” talking about the operation (abortion) and how simple it would be. I sensed a tone of exasperation because it was really the only place he called her by name. The girl clearly had mixed feelings of the operation and the man kept pushing her to do it, even going as far as to claim that he didn’t want anyone but her. The couple was holding onto the notion that after the abortion everything would be well again, but clearly that would not be the case. There was also a sense that the abortion was pushing their relationship too fat into places they did not want to go. I believe this was verified with the train situation. “The man” was told that the train was coming in 5 minutes and rushed really quickly to move the bags over. When he didn’t see the train in sight and saw everyone else relaxing he realized that the train was nowhere in sight. The concept of rushing for a train that was not there could be applied to the relationship of the couple. Maybe they just needed to realize that there was no hurry at all and taking it slow was necessary.