In “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, the prominent issue of communication in a relationship is primarily introduced to the audience. This short story consists mainly of banter between the two main characters, the American and the girl. Through their dialogue, conflict is presented with the “elephant in the room”, the clearly unwelcome topic of abortion. Due to their inability to articulate their clashing opinions, the situation is thrown further into a dark hole of complications. The girl in this short story makes a brief attempt in voicing her own opinion but is undoubtedly unable to because of her flaws as a weak character. Right at the start of the short story, she says, “[the hills] look like white elephants”, initiating the beginning of an uncomfortable conversation. Although it is not apparently stated, the audience is able to pick up that they are speaking on the topic of abortion. The girl faces an immense decision that has the potential to change her future. It is clear that she is quite unsure about her decision and is unwilling to stand boldly by her own ideals. She is given the choice to stick with her old lifestyle or adjust to a new one. The girl clings to her old habits, confronting major complications in letting go, revealing her low self-esteem that pushes her towards being submissive. These “complications” include sitting in a relationship that refuses to progress in a beneficial way towards her being. Her old habits stick to her like glue, as she shows no clear form of responsibility and only the sole intent of pursuing pleasure. She hides her true feelings behind a veil of vague commentary that alludes to her ideas, which the American’s ignorance fails to detect. In “Hills Like White Elephants” there are clear gender distinctions between the way a man and a woman view the issue of an unwanted pregnancy and abortion. While the woman perceives pregnancy as nature’s beautiful gift of life, the man holds a dramatically opposite opinion. The woman’s pregnancy is implied ambiguously throughout their conversations. When the girl refers to the neighboring hills as white elephants, she makes an allusion to the hills as her own pregnant situation. The hills refer to her own situation in that it represents the swollen breasts and abdomen of a pregnant woman. Although the woman believes birth is a miraculous thing, the man undeniably contradicts her views.
As the girl casually talks about the white elephants saying, “they look like white elephants"; the man replies, "I've never seen one". The girl then agrees with the man, as she responds, "No, you wouldn't have". He then rebuts by responding, “I might have…Just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything." When the woman simply implies that the man has never truly experienced the difference between what is beautiful and what is not, the man bares his fangs with a defensive quality. The conversation continues on, and the girl curiously asks, “But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you'll like it?” At this point in the narrative of the short story, the girl has already formally withdrawn her previous comment about the nearby hills imitating that of white elephants. She withdraws her comment when she states, “They don't really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees”. In doing so, she has hinted to the American that her desire is to keep the baby, and not go on with an abortion.
Although the girl is quite content with her subtle decision, the man is unquestionably distraught with her choice and continues to push for an abortion because he simply does not want a child. While the American holds strong to his belief in disregard to the girl’s own free-will, the girl shows signs of fragility, unable to confidently stamp her foot and end on the note that she should have a say in the matter also. After briefly asserting her own opinion, the girl
