Values in Hills Like White Elephants Essay

On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. This is one of the most important quotations in Ernest Hemingways Hills like White Elephants. Values differ between one another and in any relationship, communication and sacrifice are two of the most important aspects to happiness. Hemingway uses these elements to demonstrate how difficult a relationship can become without compromise.

The story begins with a young American man and a woman sitting in a bar as they wait for their train. The woman seemed distracted as she glanced at the hills across the Ebro River. The hills are meant to be representative of the pregnancy of the woman. Hemingway describes the hills as looking like the stomach of a pregnant woman. He also uses the white elephants to represent an unwanted gift such as the unborn child that the woman is carrying.

The American wants the woman to get an abortion so that they can continue travelling. In his attempt, he tells her Thats the only thing that bothers us. Its the only thing thats made us unhappy. Meaning that the only thing that has made them unhappy is the fact that the baby would interfere with the traveling that the American has planned. As Hemingway mentions in the second sentence of the story On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun, this is referring to the values of the man, the abortion. He feels as though the abortion is a very simple thing, just to let the air in, as if the baby is an hindrance in their lives.

On the other hand, the woman is very uncomfortable with the fact of getting the operation; she is leaning towards having the child. She would much rather settle down and start a family with the American instead of travelling the world. But she is very insecure to start with; she is easily persuaded by the American and begins to question her motives towards the baby. But as the story progressed, the girl began to reinforce the fact that she wanted the baby. Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. This sentence is symbolising the values of the woman, the side of fertility. And even though she would rather keep the child, she is willing to do whatever makes the American happy. Even if it means that she would have to sacrifice her own happiness.

Hemingway uses a lot of symbolism and dialogue to describe the values of the two characters. When he describes both sides of the Ebro River, one side represents the values of the American and the other represents the values of the woman. This use of symbolism shows the fundamental views in the story. The dialogue or more so the lack of, shows how the characters are almost as if they were avoiding the situation at hand. They talk about drinks, travelling, and how if they had the child they would throw that all the way.

By the end of the story, the values of the young American had changed. He had finally seen things from the point of view of the woman, accepting the fact that she wanted to keep the child.

Values differ between one another and in any relationship, communication and sacrifice are two of the most important aspects to happiness. Hemingway uses these elements to demonstrate how difficult a relationship can become without compromise. Compromise is what leads to the happiness of these two characters even though their values were on opposite sides of the spectrum.