Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is a rather confusing and hard to follow dialogue between a man, the American, and the girl, Jig. The pronoun “it” is used throughout the story numerous times. I propose that the man’s use of the word “it” in the story is an attempt to belittle the abortion and the unborn child. He desperately wants Jig to have the abortion so he is constantly pitching the idea of it to her.

“It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig.” And “I know you wouldn’t mind it Jig. It’s not really anything.” (528) These are the first instances the American refers to the abortion by using “it.” He is making the operation seem like a walk in the park when it clearly is not. From these lines alone readers may believe that the man is describing an extremely minor procedure such as the taking off of a mole or an ingrown toenail removal. After he gives her the spiel about how simple the abortion is, he then precedes to tell her that she will not mind it and states that it is nothing. An abortion is clearly something and is a monumental decision, what the man is really saying is that the operation is nothing to him because he is not the one having it. He does not care how it will make her feel, he just wants to make sure that she goes through with it so he can be relieved of responsibility.

“They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural.” (529) The man is making the operation seem like a common task, almost like it is a procedure everybody encounters at some point in life like getting wisdom teeth taken out or having a colonoscopy. He is clearly making it sound so common and “natural” in an attempt to dilute the severity of it when pitching the abortion to Jig. 

“I don’t want you to, I don’t care anything about it.” (530) Now the American is back peddling from his previous attempts to sway the girl. He realizes that Jig is peeved with him and is clearly having trouble deciding what she should do so he is just trying to seem unbiased about which option she should choose. It is blatantly obvious throughout the text that he does want her to have the operation, he just wants her to not feel pressured so she will do exactly what he wants. 

“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.” (530) The man is now clearly stating his opinion that he does want the girl to have the abortion. He is still trying to sound like he wants what she wants but it is really just another tactic to push her towards having the surgery. 

“That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy.” (529) The American states here that “it”, the unborn child, is all that holds the couple back from happiness. He is clearly trying to persuade Jig by pointing out an unborn baby, that has done nothing to anyone, as the cause of their unhappiness. It is even more evident that the man wants her to have the abortion here because he is directing all the blame to it.

“I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you.” (530) In this quote the man is telling the girl that he will go through with having the child if “it” means anything to her. He is just minimizing the responsibility it takes to be a parent and completely belittling their unborn child. The American, though he says he is perfectly willing, is clearly not willing and does not want to have their baby. 

A counter argument to my claim that the American uses “it” to disparage the operation could be that he is just so afraid of the decision and what their future holds that he just cannot even say the word “abortion.” Some may say that he is confused and is just trying to figure out what he wants. Others may argue that he is afraid that he will not be a good parent and just does not want to bring a kid into a bad situation. The man clearly is not afraid when he is hounding Jig about having the abortion. He is extremely persistent and adamant about what he wants. If it were up to him the child would already have been aborted but since Jig is carrying the child, he is trying to butter her up and “guide” her to make her own decision.

An argument to refute my claim that the man uses “it” to minimize his unborn child could be that he is trying to not give the child an identity or dehumanize him so it will make their decision easier. He could possibly be attempting to keep himself emotionally detached from the child in order to keep from clouding his judgement.  Some could say that he is trying to make Jig not feel bad about her possible choice so he is using “it” keep her from feeling guilty and attached. The man does not care anything about the child and he definitely is not worried about getting attached to it. He uses it in order to try and simplify it all and it just shows how selfish and inhumane the man is.

The word “it” is used throughout the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” to belittle and dehumanize the abortion and the unborn child. Often times people manipulate or use broad words to refer to people or things in order to make them not sound so horrible or to get their point across. The American uses “it” constantly when referencing the abortion or child just so he can get the girl to do what he wants her to do. 