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Of Abortion In Ernest Hemingway's 'Hills Like White Elephants'

1705 Words7 Pages

Abortion: to be or not to be? ‘Hills Like White Elephants’ is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway in May 1927. It was published in Transition Magazine in August 1927. The story is situated in Spain, more specific in the bar of the train station, according to some sources the location is Casestas. A girl, named Jig, and a boy (the American) are waiting for the train, as regular people they are having a discussion. On first sight there is nothing special to notice, it is just a normal conversation between two grown ups. But whatever the reader does not notice during the first reading session is that in every word Hemingway uses, there lies a deeper meaning behind it. With less than enough words Hemingway gives us a bright look on how two young people discuss abortion. There are a lot of indications which point into the direction of the subject ‘abortion’. But what every reader has in mind is: ‘Will the girl commit abortion?’. Difficult to say …show more content…

She is afraid of loosing him and is considering to get the child removed. Maybe this is why she blames the American at the beginning of the story for doing this to her. ‘You started it.’ (252). She does not want to be the only one who is responsible for their mistake. The child can be connected to the white elephants. The white elephants are seen as a symbol for something unexpected and unwanted, but also as a great gift. However, she already made a bond with the unborn child. ‘They’re lovely hills, she said. They don’t really look like white elephants.’ (252). The girl accepted the fact that she is pregnant and is searching for a solution, the only solution she can think of is abortion. In my opinion the girl will keep the baby because of her growing motherly instinct. Also the fact that she keeps thinking about it makes it more

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