Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants": Style and View Point

          Of all the stories that we read throughout the semester, I still remember “Hills Like White Elephants” the most vividly. I enjoy Hemingway’s style although this piece is exceptionally different from the Nick Adams Stories as a whole. The Iceberg Technique that Hemingway uses really interests me. I appreciated how Hemingway made the story line evident and showed that the story was about abortion without ever directly stating it in the lines. His approach to what would have been a somewhat scandalous topic in the 1920s is subtle and impressive.

             As “the American and the girl” travel the countryside, drinking booze and being somewhat careless, they approach a subject that is not all lighthearted. Hemingway shows us how the woman is thought of as less significant than the man because she is referred to as “the girl” and “Jig,” a nickname, throughout the course of the story. The man’s tone towards her is demeaning and condescending as he describes the “awfully simple operation.” It becomes clear that he is not willing to take the responsibility and is trying to influence her decisions to fit his own selfish wants. Despite his influence, Jig seems more realistic about the situation and her place in the future. She no longer has the future in the palm of her hand; once she has the abortion she will be losing a part of herself as well.

            Even though “the girl” is described as young and not mature in the story, Hemingway makes it clear that she is the more realistic one who is willing to own up to her responsibilities. I was surprised by the point of view that the story takes as Hemingway seems to be unusually perceptive of the plight that the woman faces. When Jig says at the end of the story that “there’s nothing wrong with [her],” I believe she is trying to convince herself that everything will be alright in the end when it won’t. Though many people in class expressed their view of her escaping the situation in the end and deciding not to get the abortion, I feel that the tone in the end of the story is significantly more downcast than that. It seems to me that the American is oblivious to Jig’s feelings and will continue to badger her into making the decision he wants. While the tone of this story is depressing at the end by my interpretation, I still think that Hemingway captures his point admirably. He outlines the controversial view of 1920s’ abortion in a way that empathizes with the dilemma of the woman of the era.