Hills like White Elephants

Joe Morrow

January 23, 2006

W132 - Carey

M-W 10:00

"Hills Like White Elephants is a short story by Ernest Hemingway and it is an extraordinary tale that packs a lot of information into a few pages. I cannot imagine what it was like to tackle such a controversial subject in Hemingway's day.

The story starts with an older American man, probably in his mid-thirties and a young European girl, probably in her early twenties, waiting at a train station northern Spain. They are sitting in the bar waiting for a train to Madrid. They make some small talk; have a beer, and then a "licorice-tasting" drink. There is a reference to a "simple operation" which later is referred to by the man as "natural - not really and operation at all." The story ends with the couple boarding the train together, although the reader would be quite sure the girl does so reluctantly.

There is a lot of tension in the dialogue between the two. Hemingway skillfully writes the girl so that you cannot tell for sure if she is dependent on the man, sad for losing a lover she knows is already gone, or using him. The latter is greatly suspect when following the dialogue unless she is master at using people. The "licorice-tasting" drink is a symbol of how things this girl has looked forward to have left a bad taste in her mouth, especially the recent past. At the end of the story the two board the train for Madrid and the tension remains unsolved. She appears to pacify him by telling him she is "fine" but one can easily visualize the expression of the girl on the train and we know she is not fine.

Throughout the story Hemingway masterfully sets the scene, and through simple dialogue, the reader can easily picture what is happening. The man is portrayed as a fraud to many, because of his apparent insincerity about the girl's condition. I believe it is also possible that he is just embarrassed and riddled with guilt for putting this young girl at risk. He could possibly believe he does not deserve her after what he has done to her even though it takes two to tango so to speak. He may feel that this is what is best for her and that he should not be in her life. At any rate, he is coming across badly as uncaring and a fraud.

I have never read this story