In his minimalistic writing style, Earnest Hemingway expertly depicts the struggle that a young couple faces in making a choice that would change their lives. In the story, “Hills like White Elephants”, an American man tries to convince his girlfriend, Jig, to proceed with an abortion so that their care-free lifestyle can continue the way it has been. Contrary to this, the girl desires a life of fertility and stability, yet does not want to disappoint the man. For the rest of the narrative the couple uneasily talks to each other, trying not to step on each other’s toes. These conflicting desires are shown through the dialogue of the characters and are mirrored more strongly through the setting of the story. Though he never explicitly states what the issue is, his use of scenery helps to depict the substantial decision of having the baby or not and the impact of that choice. Hemingway uses scenery to illustrate the theme of decisions through the use of the train station, the bamboo curtain, and the outside landscape. 

“Hills like White Elephants” depicts the couple at a crossroads not only in their relationship, but in their lives. This idea is echoed upon by the fact that they are in the middle of their journey at a train station for the duration of the story. It is almost as if everything was forced to a stop while they try to come to a decision on the baby. Before they arrived, their lives were fast paced and wild. This is shown in the text by the fact that the couple is unmarried and having a baby and when Jig states that all they ever do is “look at things and try new drinks” (Hemingway 528). They were on the fast train through life, enjoying anything they desired without thinking about the consequences. All of this was halted by the fact that they have a decision to make about whether to have the baby and slow down, or to abort it and continue the way they were going. The train station is essentially the middle ground, where the couple is forced to decide which direction, or train, to take. No matter which they choose, however, nothing will ever return to the way things were before. If Jig chooses to keep the baby, the American man will resent her for giving up his hedonistic life-style. On the other hand, if she aborts the baby, she will constantly feel melancholy about what could have been. The train they were on before just kept on moving through the station, never to return, and they must now choose on which train to proceed. Towards the end of the story the man takes their bags to the other side of the station and “looks up the tracks but could not see the train” (Hemingway 530). Going along with the idea that train means a decision, the man not seeing the train shows that a definitive answer is still in the air at the end and he cannot see what is coming. Through these symbols, Hemingway elaborates on the fact that every decision is final and no matter what choice they make, they can’t return to how they were before. 

The second element of scenery that Hemingway uses to depict the theme is the bamboo curtain which divides the couple at their seat, from the bar. This small part of the scenery represents a boundary which divides the couple’s opinions and thus results in disagreement. Similar to the baby in Jig, when the reader first encounters the curtain they do not know exactly what, or who, is behind it, until the American man talks “into” it to order a drink and the server replies. In addition to the curtain between the man and the bar tender, there is a wall blocking the decision that the couple is trying to make. On one side, the man wants the girl to abort the baby, while on the other the girl wants to keep it. These conflicting opinions block any good conclusion to arise out of their conversation, without one or both of them being hurt. Another parallel that the bamboo curtain highlights is that because of the boundary only simple things can pass through. In reality it is used for the waitress to bring out drinks. The pregnancy, however, causes the couple to avoid it by speaking in awkward small talk, and eventually shuts down the conversation completely. This happens when Jig is overwhelmed by the choice and says “I’ll scream” because can’t bear discussing it any longer (Hemingway 530). Overall Hemingway uses the curtain as a physical mirror of the barrier that Jig’s pregnancy creates between the couple. This shows the dividing effects that a difficult decision can have on people, who once wanted similar things.

Lastly, the description of the landscape around the train station, is extremely important in describing decisions that must be made and the consequences of each choice. Jig looks out in one direction of the station and describes the hills in the distance as looking like “White Elephants”. This idea that Jig brings to the attention of the man means an unwanted gift or burdensome possession, pointing at the fact that the man is unhappy with the baby inside her. The discontent that the man has for it causes Jig to consider aborting the child. Along with this, the hills represent the unborn child that would soon be protruding like a hill from her womb, but is unwanted. Surrounding these hills, the sun beats down on the barren, dry country side, lacking any fruitful plants or animals. This side of the valley represents the choice to abort the baby and never allowing it to spring forth into life. On this barren side, Jig contemplates the fact that in giving up the child, she would be saving her relationship with the man but losing the life of fertility. When Jig looks to the other side she sees a very different picture. “Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away beyond the river, were mountains” (Hemingway 529). Representing fertility, Jig sees the benefits to having the baby in the larger mountains that spring forth into life. Realizing, also, that if she gets rid of the baby, she can never get it back. This fruitful picture is soon covered by a shadow representing that the happiness of the baby might be overshadowed by the lost relationship with the man if she chooses this side. The landscape in this story most effectively shows the theme of decisions by the use of contrasting scenes on each side. A person cannot have it both ways. Eventually they must make a choice and live with the benefits and consequences that come with that choice.

In conclusion Earnest Hemingway uses the setting of “Hills like White Elephants” to display the deeper meaning of the text. The conflict of the story is never stated, however by the use of the train station, the curtain to the bar and the scenery outside, the reader can understand that there is a choice to be made for the characters. The three elements show a couple stuck in the middle with conflicting ideas trying to choose which life is the best for both of them. Though a decision is not definitively met by the end of the story, these three elements show the impact of decisions. Overall, the setting contributes to this theme by mirroring and illustrating what is going on in the story to create a stronger message. This story teaches that every choice, to some degree, is final, has the power to divide the strongest bonds and has a consequence that cannot be avoided. 