Like it should be in the classical short story, there is an introduction that very quickly introduces us the main characters and gives a brief but quite exact information about the place where the action of the story happens. From the first lines we meet two people - a man and a woman who are waiting for the express train from Barcelona, sitting at the bar at one of the junctions. By the 'dry' dialogue between them it becomes clear that there is a certain strain in their relations because of the undesirable pregnancy

of the girl. And that is actually the reason why they came to Spain where the girl could make an anonymous illegal abortion. By the words of the man this awfully simple operation, as he calls it, would make them both happy again.

The character of the man, by his actions and words makes rather negative impression for his selfishness and his unwillingness to pay for the careless actions. There is no doubt, however that he likes the girl, but his feelings to her consist in the desire to enjoy the nights together and nothing more. His consuming attitude and cowardice do not evoke any respect but dislike and hostility. The statements like 'but I do not want you to do it if you don't really want to' sound so fake - he repeats it so many times that the reader understands that underneath lies the opposite meaning of it. He is trembling at the thought that the girl - Jig -would change her mind and decide to leave the baby ... As for the girl - she really deserves the sympathy, I believe, she gets. She realizes that that was not the man of her dream, that he has betrayed her and her feeling as sh

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ernest Hemingway, White Elephants, short story, white elephants, Hills White, hills white elephants, current situation, simple operation, ernest hemingway, hills white,
Approximate Word count = 738
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)