Imagine this situation. As a young girl, you endure a brutal and unfortunate situation in which you are forced into sexual relations with a man you did not consent to. You are left lonely and afraid with an unwanted child on the way. Do you keep this child or abort it? Although this situation is hypothetical, it is a situation that happens all too often. Abortion constitutes one of the world’s largest controversial topics because of the drastic yet diverse implications it may inflict on both males and females. Men will be the fathers of the child and forced to pay child support, while the woman must carry and nurture the child for nine months and for lifetime after birth. It takes two people to create a child, but who's decision should it be if the birth is chosen to be confiscated? Ernest Hemingway exemplifies these ideas of abortion and gender roles in his story, “Hills Like White Elephants.”

Abortion is a widely controversial topic regarding the legality of the operation. Should the young girl that was horrifically raped be forced into having a baby that she is unprepared to take care of? This is a human beings’ life at stake and should not be taken lightly, but rather cautiously. If one is not ready to have a baby, then she should have the opportunity to do what is best for her and for the child. This is a very situational argument, but women should have this opportunity if the circumstances are logical. The entire story “Hills Like White Elephants” is anonymously based on abortion and Ernest Hemingway does this so vaguely to avoid the volume of controversy and disputes that come with the subject. The man in the story constantly and selfishly assures the girl that “It’s an awfully simple operation,” and “I know lots of people that have done it” (Hemingway 528) signifying the operation of abortion. The man is so focused on himself in this situation that he fails to even recognize how the girl might feel in such a serious situation. In media, it is frequently said that a woman should not have the option to rid themselves of an unwanted unborn baby, but should this claim not be based on the status of the pregnancy? Should the thirteen-year-old school girl who was raped be forced to have and take care of a baby that she never wanted/planned on having? 

By the phrase “women should have the option”, it is precisely implied that women and women only should have the option. Now a days, too many abortions are pressured upon the female by the male for the sake of the males’ happiness or to salvage their relationship. In “Hills Like White Elephants” the man extensively pressures the woman, but then attempts to comfort her by saying things like “if you don’t want to you don’t have to…. But I know it’s perfectly simple” and “I think it’s the best thing to do. But I don’t want you to do it if you don’t really want to.” (Hemingway 529). The man tries to give her the impression that she has an option while he is insisting that she go through with it. Unwanted pregnancies are infamous for causing stipulations or even a termination to a relationship, which is why most women comply to the abortion when it is brought up by the male. These gender roles radiate the impression to women that they need to submit to their partner in decisions that should be completely the choice of the woman. The girl in the story says to the man “I don’t care about me. And I’ll do it and then everything will be fine” which signifies her consenting to the man and his idea to go through with this abortion to make him content and to retain their relationship. To avoid being broken up with and left feeling worthless and helpless, women regularly tend to do whatever the man says is best out of fear. In another study, Janet Ajzenstadt found that only about thirteen percent of fathers remained emotionally attached post birth, and seventy-five percent of men flee when hearing about the pregnancy, before paying any sort of abortion fees or support. Men should have little to no influence on whether the baby is kept or not because they are not the ones carrying and nurturing the baby. The male made the decision to impregnate the woman and it should be her choice to keep the baby or to abort it. This story depicts gender roles in that the man consistently pressures the woman to go through the operation of having an abortion with keeping only himself in mind. The man fails to address the emotional trauma that will overcome the female, solely because he is so determined to not have this baby. Female’s should make the ultimate decision for themselves in regards with what is best for themselves and for the unborn child, and not what is best for the male. 

Hills Like White Elephants is a genius literary work that discusses several topics that are considered delicate by dancing around the subject to stir up the readers imagination and values. Through the awfully simple conversations between the “American man” and the girl, one can see how the opinion of males greatly rub off on the decision of females. Ernest Hemingway crafted this story perfectly in that one can easily take part in either side of the arguments pertaining to gender roles and abortion. Although these topics are widely debated over, Hemingway carefully inscribes these themes into his work so flawless that it is almost impossible to note which side he takes, which is crucial to making this such an amazing work.