The Hills Like White Elephants

White Elephants

The story “The Hills Like White Elephants” surround with plenty of assumptions of the plot and the meaning behind it. Readers will have different point of view of the story after they read since the author let the readers pull off their imagination and perspective. This leads to an active reading as readers try to put all the pieces together from the story. The author is pleasant enough to give the readers’ symbols and direct dialogues between the two characters that lead to a possible conclusion. When the story begins, readers already got some clear setting and symbols that are possible to connect with the meaning of the story. Furthermore, the author describes how different type of symbols could portray the whole story and give possible assumptions for the readers.

There are two stands out symbols that are clearly shown and repeated in the story. The first symbol is the title itself “The Hills Like White Elephants.”  "They look like white elephants." The man replied, "I've never seen one." Then she replied, "No, you wouldn't have." A white elephant symbolizes something no one wants in this story, the girl’s unborn child hat both of them haven’t experienced any kind of situation like this. The girl’s comment in the beginning of the story that the surrounding hills look like white elephants originally seems to be a casual, spontaneous observation, but it actually serves as a conflict for her and the guy to discuss their baby and the possibility of having an abortion. The girl later denies this comment with the observation that the hills don’t really look like white elephants, an indirect hint that perhaps she wants to keep the baby after all.

The second symbol that represents the story is drinking. Both the man and the girl drink alcohol throughout their conversation to avoid each other and the problems with their relationship. They start drinking large beers the moment they arrive at the station as if hoping to fill their free time with...