Hemingway's short story 'Hills Like White Elephants' touches on an issue as ageless as time: communication problems in a relationship. He tells his story through conversations between the two main characters, the American and the girl. The conflict is created through dialogue as these characters face what most readers believe to be the obstacle of unexpected pregnancy. The plight is further complicated by the inability to convey their differing opinions to each other. Symbolism and the title's meaning are other effective means of communicating conflict
First, consider the man's point of view. Single and in his prime, he makes the most of his lifestyle by travelling and seeing new sights. The story is set on one such excursion, at a train station in Spain. Of the complications that might arise from starting a family, one is certain to him: travelling, sight-seeing, and his current lifestyle would be things of the past. These are some of his motivating thoughts as he pleads his case for terminating the pregnancy. He chooses his words advantageously, almost deceitfully, when trying to convince the girl that an abortion is easy surgery: 'It's not really an operation at all'. Those familiar with the abortion procedure can affirm that it is an operation, and is rarely a simple one. This remark reveals how desperate he is to make the decision for the girl. The man further complicates the discussion by contradicting himself. For each time he reassures the girl he wants what she wants, he spends at least one line identifying exactly what he wants. This is clearly seen in the following conversation: 'You've got to realizethat I don't want you to do it if you don't want to. I'm perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you.' So far it sounds as if his only wish is for her to do what she wants. But when she asks if it means anything to him, he immediately responds, 'Of course it does. But I don't want anybody but you. I don't want anyone else. And I know it's perfectly simple'
The man, however, is not the sole contributor to the communication
breakdown. Right away the girl begins to show her weakness and inability to
express herself. When the man initially directs the conversation to the
operation (abortion), her reaction is described: 'The girl looked at the
ground the table legs rested on [and]did not say anything'. Failure to
state her conviction is illustrated in this example, and is further indicated
by frail hints of her desire to keep the baby: 'Once they take it away,
you never get it back'. An obvious hint, yet she never clearly voices her
hunger to have the baby. She continues to desire his will over hers in lines
such as this one: 'Then I'll do it [have an abortion[. Because I don't
care about me'.
After a few of these vain attempts to convince the man to consider having the
baby, she implores him to 'Please. please please please please please
please stop talking'(272). The author uses her avoidance of confrontation
and denial of self-expression to assure the reader that the girl's weak and
dependent nature prevents her from verbally expressing her point of view. Even
the use of character terms --the man and the girl -- reinforces this effect.
For the sake of the story, Hemingway's display of communication breakdown
between the man and the girl is a beneficial one. The couple could have
resolved this conflict quickly if the man had stated, 'I do not want my
lifestyle altered by a baby and consider an abortion the only realistic
alternative' and the woman had responded, 'I disagree. I want to have
this baby and that is what I am going to do.' But if that happened, the
story would have begun and ended in a couple of boring paragraphs. The lack of
real conflict would have detracted from the obscurity of the story's theme and
the conflict of both characters' points of view. One of the attractions of this
story is the element of the unknown; it is the privilege of the reader to fill
in the blanks, to tie up loose ends at his or her own discretion. It is
advantageous to the reader that the man and the girl do not communicate
clearly. Additionally, Hemingway incorporates a clever title to add appeal to
this story.. A white elephant can also been defined as an item that is
worthless to one but priceless to another, bringing to mind the saying, one
man's trash is another man's treasure. In the case of Hemingway's couple, the
baby represents something of no apparent value to the man, yet priceless to the
girl.
