“Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemingway brings about a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. When I first saw the title of this short story, I thought it was going to be some ridiculous story about elephants. Little did I know that the story was so much more. Once I read through it enough times to really grasp the concept of what was going on between this couple, I had to read it again to fill in all of the blanks in my head. The plot of this story was not what I expected it to be at all. It is pieces like this that get you to go deeper, and try to find true meaning that drag me further into the world of great literature.
In this short story by Hemingway, the American and his girlfriend are having drinks at a train station. They start off making small talk about the scenery and drinks. As the small talk dies down, the American starts talking about the operation the girl should have. It seems he tries to comfort her into it saying “’It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig’”(592). They go on talking about this operation, and it seems the man wants her to do it, but she is uneasy about it. She is less concerned about the operation and more concerned about what will happen with their relationship once she goes through with it. The American tells her that everything will be fine, and they will be “just like they were before”, and they’ll “be happy”, (592) and he will love her. The woman seems to shortly realize deeper into the discussion that they won’t go back to how they were before and she begs him to just stop talking. In the end, when he asks her if she is feeling any better, she tells him “’I feel fine. There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine’” (594).
This story takes place at a train station that is a stop between Barcelona and Madrid. While they are waiting for the train, they sit outside of a small bar and order drinks. As they discuss this o...