By looking at imagery, diction, and metaphor in Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” we are able to see that the girl and the American have two very ideas of what they should be doing with their unborn child. This tells us that the man in the story is the dominant figure and the woman has very little power or say in what happens to her child or her body. The story was written in 1927 and mirrors an unbelievable number of stories which took place back then and still take place today in which the man is the dominant figure in the relationship and possesses all of the power over the woman and her choices. Abortion today is still a highly talked about problem in society. There is still debate over a woman’s right to choose and whether or not it is truly up to her. It has been an ongoing problem. Hemmingway’s short story sheds an important light on the negative effects living in a patriarchal society can have on a woman and her body as well as her well-being.

Hemmingway chose very particular words to convey to his readers the large difference in power between the two characters, the girl and the American man. First, he chooses to say the American man. America is and was at the time an incredibly powerful and superior to many others nation. This is representative of the man in their relationship. He is powerful and dominant and in the case of whether or not the woman has an abortion at the end of the day is his decision. In contrast throughout the story Hemmingway consistently refers to the woman as the girl. As we know in our culture and most others power comes with age. When we are younger boys or girls we have to answer to the older men and women around them. Hemmingway makes a point even to call another minor character in the story “the woman” but never the protagonist who is always referred to as the girl. This paints the character in a youthful and naïve way, letting us know that her opinion is rather insignificant. Secondly, Hemmingway chooses important words in which they girl speaks to the American man. She says, “fine” repeatedly as well as “can we maybe stop talking”, and “I don’t care about me”. The choice to use the word fine lets us know that she is not in any way happy, she is also too concerned to complain about this to the man. Additionally, rather than telling the man to stop talking or shut up or being rude she says “maybe”. The choice of the word maybe shows that he statement is a request rather than a demand. She is not forcing him stop or showing her anger in anyway, but instead politely asking the man to stop harassing her about having an unwanted abortion. Lastly, choosing to say that she doesn’t care about herself shows that she puts the man’s requests before her own. The woman acts very neutral throughout the entire story, however, there are small instances thrown in where we can tell that this is just a front being put up and she does in fact care deeply about having the child. 

Along the same lines, throughout the entire story white elephants can be used as a metaphor for the baby. We know this for two main reasons. First, the color white is symbolic of innocence and purity, both characteristics a baby possesses. Secondly, we know this because it is similar to the expression “the elephant in the room”. The baby is the elephant in the room. At no point in the entire story does Hemmingway use the words abortion or baby. It is left for the audience to infer based on very solid context clues. However, it is made clear that the baby is in fact the elephant in the room. Both the man and the woman dance around the subject dance around the subject, yet neither of them actually comes out and says it ever. This is because abortion and babies out of wedlock were a very sensitive subject back then, and often times still are today. The woman feels inferior to the man and therefore will not be the first to say it. The man knows it is a topic which is never spoken about especially in public and he too decides to refrain from ever mentioning the words abortion or baby. 

Lastly the setting and the imagery of the setting plays a big part in showing us where the couple is and where they, more specifically the woman, would like to be. Hemmingway writes, “The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry”. This is another instance where the color white comes into play. She and the man are in the country together right now. While they are sitting there she cannot help but to gaze into the distance at the mountains which are described so beautifully. We know that this is a place that she would much rather be than in the country which is described as brown and dry, leaving us with a less than desired picture of where they are. This serves as symbolic too. The baby and the mountains off in the distance are both what the woman wants and the man and the gross dark sad county are what the woman has. This contrast shows us how far the woman is from where she wants to be. This can be connected to women’s rights back then, and I would argue it can still hold true in many cases today. There is a large gap in equality between women and men. There is a great contrast between where we are and where many people would like to be. This is supported again later in the story when the woman says, “’They’re lovely hills… they don’t really look like white elephants. I just mean the coloring of their skin through the trees”. The coloring of their skin through the trees is the woman’s last ounce of hope for keeping her baby.

As Margaret Sanger, a women’s rights activist once said, “No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body”. This holds entirely true in Hemmingway’s short story. The girl lacks so much control over herself and her body. Her life is dictated by the dominant figure in it, the American man. This story is still of great relevance today. With the upcoming election taking place and all of the issues which have been going on lately with abortion and institutions such as planned parenthood this 1927 story is still applicable in our modern world. The idea that the female protagonist does not have control of herself and her body is conveyed to us through Hemmingway’s use of imagery, diction, and metaphor.
