“Hills Like White Elephants”, written by Ernest Hemingway in 1927, is about the nature of relationships.  This short story tells the tale of an American man and his female partner discussing an unrevealed problem as they wait for a train to pick them up.  The theme of the story is that lack of communication can be destructive to a relationship.  By analyzing the literary elements of simile, symbolism, tone and 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 simile in the passage that substantiates this 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, whose skins are dried out making them change from their original color to 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 example, when she is looking for something to talk about, “The girl was looking off at the line of hills” (p 527), which reveals the dynamic of 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 represent how the “issue” is dealt with by the woman.  The woman shows that she is unable to deal with the problem by trying to distract herself from the current situation in hopes that it will just go away.  Her inability to bring up her ultimate concerns or discuss things seriously shows the lack of communication between the woman and the man, since they cannot even discuss it at all.    All in all, the major comparison of this passage shows dry nature of the two companions’ relationship and the woman’s inability to face her “problem”.  

Not only do comparisons reveal the connection between the man and woman and the woman’s way of handling it but symbolism also explores the links shared by the companions. This contributes to the concept that bad communication hurts our relations with others.  The most prominent symbol that is associated with this story is the elephant. The elephant represents the “elephant in the room” or the main unstated 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 on a subject of this magnitude.  In addition, drinks are other symbols that are included consistently throughout the piece.  The drinks signify the young partner’s attempts at refreshing their relationship in particular the girl says, “I wanted to try this new drink.  That’s all we do, isn’t it—look at things and try new drinks?” (p 528).  The refreshments, as well as the scenery, serve as the main source of their conversation suggesting that the couple is attempting to replenish and restore their bond.  However, the minimal communication between the couple regarding the problems in their relationship suggests that simply trying to hit the “refresh button” is not going to change the current state of their relationship.  Through this (through what?), 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.  The tone showed a major change as the topic of conversation switched to talking about their lives.  The moment they stop talking about objects and talk about themselves, the tone transitions from a slightly tense but mostly relaxed state of dialogue to a tense and uncomfortable exchange.  Also, through tone you get a picture of the dynamic of their pairing.  When their conversation flips to their relationship, the man became particularly vocal and the woman acted submissive with subtle signs of doubt.  The man expresses his opinions on the matter, “…But I know it’s perfectly simple” (p529) and the woman hints at her doubts but is unwilling to openly express them to her partner.  Furthermore, the sentence structure of the dialogue is also associated with the tone of the discussion.  Throughout the story, the sentences start off as small general statements. As they talk about their relationship, the sentences become longer and are more emotionally charged.  However, the biggest shift occurred when the conversation switches from relatively long statements to complete silence, the girl begs, “Would you please please please please please please please stop talking” (p 530).  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 that one of the consequences of bad communication can be the loss of the relationship itself.  

