“Hills Like White Elephants”, written by Ernest Hemingway in 1927, is about the nature of relationships.  In this short story, it shares the tale of an American man and his female partner discussing an unrevealed problem as they wait for the train to pick them up.  The theme of the story is that lack of communication can ruin a relationship.  By analyzing the literary elements, simile, symbolism, and tone + sentence structure, we get a clear picture of the overall theme being presented.  

Simile is used to represent the nature of the relationship that exists between the man and the woman.  The most important similar in the passage that gives evidence to the theme is, “The girl was looking off at the line of hills…”They look like white elephants,” she said” (p 527).  The meaning behind this simile shows that their relationship is drying out and losing the vibrancy it once had.  Like white elephants, who skins are dried out making them change from their original color, thus why their skin is white.  Moreover, this quote can represent the dryness of their conversation.  The woman seems as if she is searching for things to say to her companion.  For instance, when she searches her surroundings to find something to talk about it, it reveals the dynamic between their relationship.  It reveals that they may not have anything in common and are only linked to each other through their “problem”.  This could also be a representation of how the “issue” is dealt with by the woman.  The woman shows that she is unable to deal with the problem and is trying to distract herself from the current situation.  In other words, she is trying to ignore the problem until the day it may go away.  Her inability to bring up or discuss the serious shows their lack of communication, since they cannot even discuss it together or at all.    All in all, the major comparison of this passage show dry nature of the two companions relationship and the woman’s inability to face her “problem”.  

Not only do comparisons reveal connection between the man and woman and the woman’s way of handling it but, symbolism also explores the links shared by the companions, which all contribute to the idea that bad communication hurts our relations with others.  The most prominent symbol in this text is the elephant.  The symbol of the elephant is associated closely with this particular story.  The elephant represents the “elephant in the room”, the main conflict of the tale.  It also represents the enormity of the issue at hand, which further supports the damaging effects that not communicating can have, especially on a topic of this magnitude.  Moreover, other symbols included consistently throughout the piece are drinks.  The drinks signify the young partner’s attempts at refreshing their relationship.  They serve as the main source of their conversation which may suggest that the couple is attempting to replenish and restore their bond.  However, the minimal communication about the problems in their reality suggest that simply trying to hit the refresh is not going to change the way things are.  Through this, the power of communication is emphasized because it is a possible solution to fixing their relationship, which is seemingly falling apart at the seams.  Clearly, the persistent images contained in this book are used to represent the major issues and give support to the importance of communication in terms of relations with others.  

The conversation of the young duo, particularly the tone and sentence structure of the exchange, work along with both simile and symbolism in providing evidence to support the theme of the written work.  The tone of the discussion starts off with light small talk to ease the mood of the already tense situation.  As the topic conversation switched to talking about their lives, that is when the tone shows a major change.  It goes from a slightly tense but mostly relaxing state of dialogue and the moment they stop talking about objects and talk about themselves the state of the exchange becomes tense and uncomfortable.  Through tone, you get a picture of dynamic of their pairing as well.  For instance, when their conversation flips to being about them, the man became particularly vocal and the woman acted submissive and showed subtle signs of doubt.  The man expresses his opinions on the matter and tells the woman what they are going to do without acknowledging her thoughts or ideas.  Furthermore, the sentence structure of the dialogue is also associated with the tone of it.  Throughout the story, the sentences start off as small general statements and as the topic of discussion evolves, the statements change along with it.  As they talk about their relationship, the sentences are generally longer and are more emotionally charged, as compared to the small talk in the beginning.  However, the biggest shift is when the conversations switches from relatively long statements to complete silence.  This represents a “break” in their connection, which is the ultimate sign of tension and frustration between them.  It is important to have good communication in promoting a healthy bond but, any communication is better than having no communication.  Obviously, the manner of the chat and its structural setup support the overarching theme in this story.  

In conclusion, the literary elements, such as comparison, symbolic representations, and tonality and format of the discussion, provide evidence to support the theme of “Hills Like White Elephants”.  The overall theme stresses the importance of communication and the consequences of bad communication, which can be the loss of relationships.  

