Those Hills...

  In addition to this blog, be sure to read the sample of a beginning critical analysis for this story, posted to the Hemingway study sheet (item  "2" on the sheet--scroll to end of the document) 

 

"Hills Like White Elephants": The title clues you in--you can't "get" the central conflict of this story without close consideration of the setting and dialogue--this is really all you have; almost like a poem, every word and detail count here.  Images and image contrasts tell a "story" here that can't be arrived at by simply considering plot--in fact, that nothing "happens", a least externally, is itself thematically significant.  In any case, look closely at elements of set--descriptive passages, but also where it becomes part of the dialogue.  So much to think about here--from descriptions of the landscape, to the beaded curtain and the suitcase, to the number of drinks the man has, and where and in what context--and details of all these, as well as particular patterns of details  (As one critic notes, for e.g., the repetition of twos, or "couples," so to speak, in the story--as well as patterns in action and setting involving two things--is significant): everything will help reveal the conflict in the point of view character (Jig); elements of setting are particularly important here in revealing a conflict that the young woman herself is not able to conceptually articulate, but that is worked out though what she observes--this is the case on most good stories; set--including character description--dialogue, action, plot, character interaction all become symbolic within the frame of the story, and help to reveal character conflict and change.

First, as far a specific overview, what is the age difference of the couple, apparent relationship? Where are they? It is important to note they are Americans traveling in Spain.  What is the time period of the story? You should emphasize that Jig is the point of view character, and be specific, in your introductory thesis, about the conflict and larger issues involved You should emphasize how details of setting, as observed by Jig and revealed through a focused third-person narrative perspective, as well as other elements of the story, help articulate the main character's internal conflicts.

As to larger issues: The story is a commentary on a certain lifestyle, a way of being (or not being) in the world; the essential conflict has to do with different values, or perhaps values and their lack.  It’s not abortion per se that is the issue, but what having a child represents in the story, its significance to the world view Jig represents, and what this contrasts with in the story.  For an historical context for this, Google "the Lost Generation" (the Wikipedia and Britannica entries will give you what you need).

 

 Again, the contrasts in the landscape, the tracks, everything is symbolic.  The central part of conversation between the two when Jig says “we could have everything,” and both understand that in very different ways…Jig’s realization here is significant ; it is prefigured by her views of the surroundings, not least of which are highlighted by the title of the story (as I imply above, setting functions as a character, here, in the sense that it suggests much of the central character’s conflict)…Consider , for eg., the beaded  curtain— Gary Elliott , in his Explicator article, suggests this represents a rosary, which implies one aspect of  Jig’s conflict—but who moves the beads in the curtain, who/what passes through them, what do they separate, how does Jig interact with them, etc.—look at the details for other clues… look at all details, and esp. details of the landscape, in this way….

 

You must consider elements of the setting, esp. the contrasting descriptions of the landscape, how Jig sees the hills, etc. to get a sense of what's at stake, here--not just for these two characters, but the world views they represent. 

Remember: the story is not about the abortion or the operation; for the author, this is a means to generate a conflict that reveals larger socio-cultural, existential issues.  But this is the case in all stories; details of set, dialogue, action, etc. are never just for their own sake, as is apparent in Chopin (nice coincidence) as well.  You must look closely at details of set, character interaction and dialogue, and how characters interact with their environment as well as each other (the fact for eg that the man goes off on his own to have a final, single drink--remember the pattern of 2s that this plays against--is significant; 2, btw, does not necessarily mean 2 together--it can also mean 2 in opposition, or in the same space but apart.... 2 going different directions, as in the tracks.... ).  There are many such details to examine in the story....

Something else to think about: we mentioned patterns of twos in the story (ironically, two together is also to separate, disconnected), but there are also two threesomes (that, ironically, we could refer to as ménage à trios

)--what are they? how is their contrast significant, and further hint at the "girl's" ultimate decision? consider for e.g. how people are identified in each threesome (the names given to them), and the different worldviews/lifestyles represented/implied by each... 

Also:: a minor but significant correction RE the annotated version of the story online: The annotations to the story on the website suggest that, when the bartender is called back to the table, "four reales" refers to a charge for drinks spoken to another customer.  More likely, it is spoken to the couple, since when she is called back to the table she is assuming the man wants to pay the bill for the previous two beers (two reales each).  Why is this more likely? it would figure into a pattern of misunderstandings throughout the story.-- another way of representing, though a minor character not involved in the conflict, the pattern of miscommunication: when she is called back to  the table, she assumes the man wants to pay the bill, whereas he actually wants something else... similar to the way the man misunderstands Jig's wants and needs, and her various comments and realizations, how for eg the man misunderstands what having "everything" means when jig says it, etc. (his "everything" is not hers...), etc.

Btw, speaking of bar tabs--Jig: three beers ("big ones") and one Anis del Toro; the man: three beers and two Anis del Toro--all within 35 minutes, though neither appear drunk, suggesting this lifestyle of traveling place to place and drinking is something they've become accustomed to....  the drinking may also suggest, on Jig's part, a passive/aggressive way of dealing with her conflict, esp. if she has already decided to "go through" with "it"...


Along these lines, there are two (yep, two again) types of liquid, also flowing in different ways through the narrative--what are they? Play with these contrasts a bit... how they differ in their uses, effects; how do they amplify the essential conflicts and tensions?

Teaser: look up the American idiom, "to be left holding the bag": what does it mean to be the one left holding the bag, and how can you apply that here? Who is left holding the bag? could both main characters be left holding the bag in some way (careful, as more than a literal bag is at implied)?

See the study sheets on Bb, and my comments  on current blogs.