“Hills Like White Elephants” Lecture Notes PLOT SUMMARY • • • • •
The story is set at a train station in the Ebro River valley of Spain. A young American man and a woman referred to as “the girl” (later named “Jig”) wait for a train to Madrid. They engage in a tense, indirect conversation about a procedure the man wants Jig to undergo, strongly implied to be an abortion. The landscape around them—barren hills on one side, fertile fields on the other—mirrors the emotional and moral crossroads they face. The story ends without resolution: the train arrives, and the decision remains ambiguous.
THEMES & ANALYSIS 1. Communication & Miscommunication • The characters talk around the central issue (abortion) rather than addressing it directly. • Hemingway’s dialogue-driven narrative reveals emotional tension through what is left unsaid. • Their inability to communicate reflects the broader emotional disconnect in their relationship.
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