Throughout the short story, Hills like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway, he personifies the setting’s landscape and hills by comparing it to white elephants. The woman in the story projects her concerns at the hills, giving them significance as she compares them to white elephants. Hemingway purposefully has her do this in order to subliminally symbolize the hardship she is going through with herself and significant other. The phrase, “they look like white elephants” is repeated throughout the story, and in each instance alludes to one main idea—the elephant in the room. Ultimately, the white elephants reference embodies the problem causing a crossroads in their relationship. The problem, remains unaddressed throughout the story, as Hemingway utilizes the literary device of allusion. However, it becomes evident further into the plot as the couple discuss how it will impact their future, all while they remain indecisive in the present in regards to what to do about it. Without ever mentioning the true meaning of the “white elephants,” Hemingway ultimately pulls the reader in by giving the story a mystical atmosphere by providing no background information and using vague descriptions of the characters and their circumstances. By looking at repetition and the literary device of allusion, we see how Hemingway was trying to expose the problem at hand without actually saying it, which tells us he ultimately was succumbing to the complications of societal norms within the 1920’s.

In the beginning of the story, as the girl looks out at the line of hills from the bar, she claims they, “look like white elephants” (Hemingway 527). Immediately after, the man claims he has never seen one, alluding to the fact he is ignoring the elephant in the room. Her remark in the beginning of the story comes off as nonchalant, but the true meaning of her concerns suppresses a more serious significance. With so little detail as to what the couple could be talking about, it eventually becomes clear that the elephant in the room embodies life or death—should the couple follow through with the abortion, or should they bring another life into the world? This conversation, without directly pointing it out, exposes the fact the woman is pregnant and introduces the conversation the couple needs to have about keeping the baby or possibly having an abortion. This would have been an extremely difficult conversation to have in the 1920’s when this short story was written as having a child out of wedlock was taboo. As the American man continues to ignore her references to the abortion, it is evident the couple is struggling to find a common ground on which path they should take for their relationship. As she specifically states the hills look like “white” elephants, the color white symbolizes renewal, peace, and serenity. With the hills so far in the distance, there is ultimately a barricade between where they are in the present and what is ahead in their future—how must they achieve obtaining that peace, clarity, and renewal that will come with the birth of their child if they cannot agree upon whether or not they should begin their transition to parenthood? The barricade is putting a restriction on both the present and the future due to the indecisiveness of the decision that lies ahead. 

The phrase “the hills looked like white elephants,” was intended to allude the controversial subject at hand, as Ernest Hemingway not once mentioned the true meaning, but only used subtle clues to reference it throughout his story. The title of the story is the first clue, and one of the main clues, alluding to the true meaning of the story. The “Hills” part of the title distinguishes the woman’s pregnant belly, and the hills are described as looking like “white elephants.” As defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, a white elephant is “a possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of.” Hemingway strategically utilizes the meaning of the white elephant through allusion, as the baby is ultimately the valuable the man in the relationship is trying to pawn off. Bringing the baby into the world would be too high of an expense, too much of a time commitment, and would bring along too much change for the young couple with their established wild and free lifestyle. The girl says, “We can have the whole world…It’s ours” (Hemingway 530). The American replies, “No, it isn’t. And once they take it away, you never get it back” (Hemingway 530). This conversation alludes to the idea that she believes the both of them have the world at their fingertips with the baby a part of their lives. Evidently, he shuts this idea down immediately as Hemingway conceals saying anything about the baby with “they,” explaining that when “they” take it away (their world prior to the birth of their child), there will be no returning to normalcy. 

Throughout the short story, Hemingway discretely utilizes gender roles and their relation to the phrase “the hills look like white elephants” to emphasize who wields the most power.  It would have also been an extremely difficult conversation to have in the 1920’s when Hemingway penned this short story as having a child out of wedlock was unacceptable according to societal norms. It is also important to note that women did not have power, as it was more so what the man in the relationship wanted. The woman is given no name, nor is her nationality stated, ultimately making it clear that she withholds no control in her life, or in the baby’s life. She states further into the story again, “I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn’t that bright?” (Hemingway 528). The man responds with, “Oh, cut it out” (Hemingway 528). The girl then directly after reconsiders her statement and says, “They don’t really look like white elephants. I just meant the color of their skin through the trees” (Hemingway 528). In relation to gender roles and power, as she senses he is ignoring her feelings and references to the abortion, she changes her mind to please her significant other. From the beginning of the story, everything alludes to the man wanting the girl to have the abortion and is unaffected by what she wants and the feelings she is expressing. He gives her feelings no attention, as he shows no interest in what she has to say and disagrees with the fact she thinks the hills look like white elephants. The girl, at this point, has removed herself from his hold on her and realizes that there is no hope in fulfilling what she wants and needs—the man will ultimately do what he wants and thinks is best for the both of them. 

Within the short story, Hills Like White Elephants, written by Ernest Hemingway, the specific phrase, “they look like white elephants,” is repeated in order to emphasize the fact that the two main characters, an American man and his girlfriend, are at a crossroads within their relationship. Hemingway perfected his use of allusion to provide a story with a completely different meaning than what is interpreted on the surface. Through deep analysis and studying the symbols, the intended meaning can be acquired. With very little information given about the two characters, Hemingway purposely uses the phrase “like white elephants” as a way to expose who they are and why there has been a path change on the journey of their relationship. The repeated phrase ultimately symbolizes the object within the story that the both of them are ignoring, but Hemingway is also utilizing it as the scapegoat to denote the undesired “elephant in the room.”
