The Hills in Hills Like White Elephants

I never got a chance to discuss the hills today in our discussion of Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants." I was discussing their significance in my group on monday.  Some people thought that they were just put in as a background, however I and several others disagreed.  Why would Hemingway put them in the story if they didn't have a purpose? I think the fact that the hills are white symbolize fertility, and that it is the color commonly associated with babies.  They are also round, like the stomach of a pregnant woman.  I just realized now that this may have been Hemingway's way of trying to eliminate any possible confusion the reader may feel and help him or her catch on to the fact that the couple is talking about an abortion.

Comments

[Colin Michael P.]

Yeah, that is weird that the title doesn't have an obvious importance in the story. I was thinking though, could it be possible that the line "hills like white elepants" has no importance to the story. I know it probably seems unlikely that Hemingway would do that, but the lines really appear to have no special meaning. Maybe Hemingway titled the story this way because the line is completely unrelated to the discussion that follows about abortion. The woman says it in the beginning of the story while the couple is getting beer, and it is a completely random observation. At this moment the couple is quiet and not yet affected by the stressful conversation that soon follows. Maybe this contrast is why Hemingway used the line as the title.

[Eliezah D]

I learned in english last year that Hemingway was trained as a journalist, and that all of his stories/novels/etc. were short, sweet, and to the point. He never put in any extraneous information. The title of this story obviously has some important significance based on Hemingway's background. Good observation, guys...I probably never would have guessed either of those things for the symbolic meaning of the title.

[CiCi F.]

That's a really good point. In the actual conversation, I think her mentioning the hills goes to show how much these two people are avoiding talking about the abortion. And for analytical purposes, or Hemingway's reason for putting white elephants in there, the resemblance to a pregnant woman makes a lot of sense.

[StephL.]

One thing that i think is interesting and very different from most stories is that there is no resolution at the end of the story. We are left without knowing what will happen about the abortion at all. I wonder why Hemmingway leaves this story so open ended, do you think this adds or subtracts from the story? Sometimes I like it when stories dont tell you everything that happens in the end, but for some reason this story leaves me feeling like, "whats the point?"

[Rachel M.]

I definitely think that "Hills like white elephants" has some signifigance. It reminds me of our metaphorical journey poems. Mr. Heidkamp had suggested we use a title which helps the reader figure out the metaphor. I think Cam is dead-on here. Although it is still obscure, I think Hemingway is trying to lead us to the abortion theme, with the elephants reference. At one points the girl mentions how the hills look filmy through the trees, or something to that effect. To me, that suggests a pregnant woman, with the baby concealed inside, murky, and unknowable. Or, something. That sounds sort of silly now, but I did get the general impression of something more behind the girl's comments about hills, in addition to just the general avoidance of the topic at hand. It is also ironic that in the avoidance of the pregnancy, the girl comes up with a clever comment that can have connotations to what she's trying to aviod. It's like the pregnancy/abortion is always hanging over them.

[Eric Decker]

White Elephants, with two meanings:
1. The unwanted. Ever have a gift exchange where you find the most awful gift to bring? This is from sheiks who would traverse the desert to visit their neighbors, bringing 100s of people, food, gifts with them for the journey. Fun to visit but also a burden. After the host was wiped out, he would offer a white elephant to the guest -- precious, rare, unusual, but one more mouth to feed. This was the sign to head home. Clearly, the fetus was unwanted in Hemingway's story.
2. A topic no one wants to discuss. The short story is based on this premise. Another similar phrase is, "The 800 pound gorilla no one is talking about."

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