In the short story “The Hills Like White Elephants” Ernest Hemingway writes on a very touchy subject for his time. The story consist of two people, a couple, and the topic of abortion. Though the word abortion is never used the words and conversation of the couple make it very obvious. Throughout the story we see the female, Jig, battling with the thought of it as the America man tries to coach her into having the simple operation. While Jig faces her internal battle of having the abortion, she also thinks of the joys of maybe keeping the baby. Yet, with the American man breathing down her neck the question is still unanswered. Will Jig go through with it or decide a different life for her and her unborn baby? While sitting at the train station in Spain, the conversation of a couple can be heard. A conversation that was illegal and very rare in the 1920’s. The conversation is of a couple that are sitting waiting for their train and drinking alcohol. Jig, who is only referred to as a girl, steers off the topic of drinks and states that the hills “look like white elephants”. Usually the topic of the white elephants is referring to maybe a gift that was given that one does not want. Leading the couple into the topic of the procedure, or “simple operation”. The whole time the American man is …show more content…
Which for that time period was rarely heard of, women usually were quiet house wives that had dinner ready for the husband and did all they could to help him relax after a hard day’s work. The closer the couple get to the topic of the “operation” it can be seen that Jig becomes more sarcastic or one could say more direct about how she feels toward the conversation. Getting to the point where she begs the man to please stop talking. This just shows the tension between the two. According to Charles M. Oliver, that after Jig tells the man she is fine and there is