“Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story that connects to every one of us. Ernest Hemingway reaches out to the reader, telling him or her that when relationships start to spiral downward, love is still important. Hemingway also argues that love is never an easy thing, and passiveness is something that will hurt everyone when in a relationship.  Setting is an important element in Hemingway’s short story; the railroad tracks symbolize either the couple’s departure from one another, or a possible reuniting tool. Short, vague dialogue is another important element Hemingway displays. As the woman and man argue, this dialogue, along with syntax, is used to show how bad of a situation the couple has been plundered into. Hemingway leaves a lot up to the reader to decide of the context of the story through this vague dialogue. Hemingway also uses characterization to put a lot on the reader’s mind; since the male has a somewhat established background and the female does not. Through thick times in relationships, Hemingway begs of us to display our true feelings and honesty. Without these qualities, human relationships cannot exist. 

The exotic environment of the cities of Spain may seem like a fantasy, but for this couple it has been everything but that. Without much background, the couple is placed at a restaurant outside of a train station, right against the tracks. The setting along with the combination of characterization allow for the context of the short stories vagueness. The male is mentioned as an American, while the female has no identity mentioned. Hemingway combines this with the setting; all that is told is a train is on its way to Madrid. Hemingway uses these devices to show something within the couple’s relationship. The hardships of the relationship are what have lead the couple to this point: The American seems to be departing or leaving the woman home, or almost “behind.” The restaurant that Hemingway places them at is something deeper than just a restaurant. The restaurant is that one string pulling them together in their relationship. Without this restaurant, one would believe that the couple would be ignoring each other, extreme argument. The couple keeps referring back to their beers; as they sip the beers, more and more dialogue is squeezed out of them as they talk about a touchy topic. Hemingway’s setting and characterization are crucial tools used to lay the foundation of awkwardness. 

Hemingway highlights the importance of the awkwardness in his short story, however the more important part in his overall message is how the couple attempts to recover from these awkward vibes. This is where Hemingway begins to reveal how humans need to react in these type of situations. The man and woman both have dialogue that are extremely short, no more than 7 words at a time, for about half of the short story. They stall, as the yap on and on about their beers that they have bought, not getting to the true purpose of the conversation they're about to have. The American male shifts the mood when he mentions the “operation” to the woman, and Hemingway’s sentences get longer and longer. The intriguing part about it is as the sentence size increases, genuine feeling about their relationship is discussed. Hemingway is secretly telling the reader that we should not be straight forward with the ones we develop relationships with. From “The beer’s nice and cool” to “That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that made us unhappy” the dialogue length along with the mood is changed quickly. 

Ernest Hemingway warns us of human emotion when put in difficult situations with a partner. Hemingway shows how relationships can crumble, and explains exactly what not to do when a situation like this occurs. As the man begs the woman to go through this surgery, the female does not assert her true opinion. She is too passive, and allows the male to continue to ramble. As they debate over the surgery, the male of a couple establishes his dominance, due to the woman’s quietness: “‘It’s a really simple operation, Jig’ the man said. ‘It’s not really an operation at all.’ The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on” (528).  The girl presumably has a fire of emotion raging inside of her, but refuses to say anything, since the boy has established his stance on the operation. Later, the woman continues to display her passiveness; “I’m fine… There’s nothing wrong with me, I feel fine” (528) is definitely not the best way to converse about something that may affect the rest of your life. Hemingway argues assertiveness in combination with honesty is our greatest power in human relationships. 

The many elements Hemingway shows is used to get across a simple message. The vagueness of “Hills Like White Elephants” is an interesting way Hemingway relays messages that every reader can interpret differently. Short dialogue, unclear setting, and ambiguous characterization symbolized the couple’s relationship status. To add, Ernest Hemingway begs the reader to be articulate during these cloudy times in our relationships. 