Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. He was the oldest son of a doctor and music teacher. While Hemingway grew up in Oak Park, he spent his summers in Michigan. Michigan gave Hemingway rich experiences and background to fill his writings with. The article “Ernest Hemingway” tells us, “In Michigan Hemingway found the material for his early fiction: events of sudden tragedy and pathos endured by the local Indians; the life-and-death consciousness of the hunter and fisherman; and the adept participant and empathic witness that he discovered in himself” (“Ernest Hemingway’).
In 1917, Hemingway graduated from high school and choose not to pursue college. Instead, he worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Star, went on to be an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, and served in World War I. In 1921, he married the first of his four wives. Encouraged by Sherwood Anderson, Hemingway moved to Europe to work for the Toronto Star. Hemingway’s first novel, The Sun Also Rises, and his second, A Farewell to Arms, were both literary successes. In the 1930’s, Hemingway spent more time hunting and fishing than he did writing.
The few books he did publish during this period were about his hunting and bullfighting trips. His reputation as writer slipped and his personal life took a turn in the spotlight. He found literary success again with his novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. For a period of time, Hemingway was thought to have been done with his writing career until he wrote The Old Man and the Sea, which was met with great enthusiasm by both critics and the public. Hemingway’s fame only blossomed more in 1954, when he went through two plane crashes and was thought to have died.
When he was spotted alive, he was exalted as a hero. His final years brought depression and eventual suicide. Hemingway shot himself on July 2, 1961 in his home in Ketchum, Idaho. Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” takes place at a train station in between Barcelona and Madrid. The story says, “On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. ” This highlights the fact that the couple in the story has nowhere to go, and the spotlight, or sun, is focused on them.
They only have forty minutes until their train arrives and they have nothing to turn their attention to. There is a bar, separated by a curtain of bamboo beads. The couple orders drinks from here throughout the story. The landscape in the setting is barren. We see this in the line “the country was brown and dry. ” However, when the girl is fantasizing about their future life she sees the landscape as more than barren. It is described as, “Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains.
The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees. ” The story is told in third person and doesn’t dive into either the man or woman’s feelings. We only see the exterior conversation. This is to make the reader wonder what exactly the couple is arguing about. The main characters in the story are the American man and Jig. Jig is first referred to as “the girl with him,” from this we know that she is young. While she is young, she has had enough life experience to have seen white elephants and have drank absinthe. She spends a lot of time in her own head, thinking.
We know this because she says dreamily that the hills look like white elephants and she needs the man to repeat the waitress’s words when she isn’t paying attention later on. We also know Jig doesn’t speak Spanish because the man orders their drinks in Spanish for them, and she needs the Spanish writing on the curtain translated. She also drinks quite often. She comments, “That’s all we do, isn’t it-look at things and try new drinks? ” Jig also says she does not care about herself, and wants to put the man’s desires first. The American man speaks but English and Spanish.
He is somewhat prideful, we know this because he refuses to be told he hasn’t seen a white elephant, whether he has or not. He drinks heavily with lig, they have two large beers, and the man has an Anis del Toro, and an Anis on his way through the bar. The man is not as in tune with nature and his surroundings as the girl is. He is also adamant about wanting the girl to presumably have an abortion, though he says it is up to her. He is persistent and stubborn about getting his feelings across. The themes in the story are lack of effective communication, choices, and alcohol.
The couple’s dialogue is the main focus of the story. Their conversation is jolted and strained. They know they need to have a serious conversation but have trouble starting it. Their attempts at small talk are rough and show a lot of tension. When they finally start to delve into their larger issue, which seems to be about marriage and abortion, it’s brought up by the man abruptly. The man tries to make abortion seem like a simple procedure that is nothing to worry about. Jig doesn’t respond quickly but when she does she has a lot of questions and doubts.
Jig seems to want to please the man and will do whatever he decides, though she struggles with the idea of an abortion. She just wants to be happy and have their relationship go back to the way it was. Choices is another theme of the story. This is shown by the setting and how the couple is at a literal crossroads. It is also a large part of the couple’s conversation. They have to make the decision of whether or not to get married and have the baby or have an abortion and go on the way they were. Alcohol is another theme in the story. It is brought up in the beginning and persists until the end of the story. What should we drink? ” is the first piece of dialogue we receive. When there is a lull in their conversation and the man translates the Spanish on the curtain, Jig immediately wants to try the advertised drink. The girl makes a remark about absinthe and says how they never do anything but try new drinks. Near the end of the story the man finishes one last drink in the bar. I liked the story because of its simplicity. The conversation left a lot to be read into, but there was not too much else to distract from the meaning of their dialogue.
The simple landscape and informal, short sentences were life-like. The lack of long, descriptive sentences made the story feel more real. I feel like I could picture this story and the characters better than other stories that give long, in depth descriptions. I think Hemingway’s purpose was to leave the reader with the ideal that couple’s decisions to have abortions or not are very painful and hard to make and that it is no one’s business but theirs. It could also mean that choices like these and the decisions made can make or break a relationship. It also reinforces the benefits of using birth control.
