Hills Like White Elephants

A detailed Summary of Hills Like White Elephants


Analysis of "Hills Like White Elephants"

"Hills like White Elephants" written by Ernest Hemingway is about an American man and a girl named Jig who are traveling throughout Spain together. The couple is in Barcelona outside of the train station sitting at a table at a bar. While they wait for the next train to arrive, they order drinks and discuss whether or not Jig should have an operation. At first Jig makes small talk with the American when he brings up the operation. The American is talking about abortion and he is trying to convince Jig that an abortion is perfectly natural, however Jig feels unsure about getting an abortion. The couple has a difficult time communicating about this subject and as tension levels grow, Jig says that she feels fine and that everything is fine leaving us to believe that she is going to go through with the operation. The central idea of this story is that people who put others' needs before their own could end up unhappy.


er in this story is Jig because the story plays off of her actions and revolves around her decision to have or not to have an abortion. Jig's inability to make decisions throughout the course of the story changes in the end when she decides what is best for her. This personality change makes her character dynamic. Jig shows her character's indecisiveness by constantly seeking reassurance from the American before making any decisions. Jig's action when ordering drinks supports her inability to think for herself. Her weakness in character is illustrated by Jig agreeing with everything the American says. Jig shows codependency because she fears her decision concerning the abortion will jeopardize her relationship with the American; therefore, she is willing to have the operation to keep him. Jig's insecure and weak personality is displayed when she keeps giving the American clues that she is unsure about having the abortion, but will not tell him how she really feels. In the end when Jig

Some common words found in the essay are:
American Jig, Hemingway American, White Elephants, white elephants, american jig, hills white, Hills White, tone changes, hills white elephants, jig's tone changes, operation jig, decision abortion, jig makes, jig feels, jig's tone,

Approximate Word count = 672
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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