The purpose of the trip is not mentioned directly in the text of "Hills Like White Elephants." As in many of Hemingway's stories (e.g. "The Killers"), the reader is put in the position of an eavesdropper and has to make his or her own deductions. The main reason the American and the girl do not talk about the express purpose of the trip is that they have already discussed it at great length. Otherwise they would not be sitting there waiting for the train that will take them to Madrid. There is another reason they do not talk about the purpose of their trip. What they are doing is strictly illegal. The girl is obviously going to get an abortion--but that word is never mentioned. Abortions were illegal in most places in the world in the 1920s, and they are in a foreign country where Catholicism is the established religion; they probably have no way of knowing how serious a crime they are planning to commit. It isn't something they want to discuss out in the open. They are in danger, and they won't be out of it for a long while.

They are speaking in English, which is an advantage, but they don't know who else around them might understand English, and many people who didn't understand English might understand the terrible word "abortion." (The Spanish word is aborto. The girl doesn't want to talk about the purpose of their trip to Madrid. She doesn't even want to think about it. She tries to steer the conversation in any other direction, including to the hills that look to her like white elephants. But the American, who has obviouosly had a hard time talking her into the illegal and risky operation, doesn't want to let her get cold feet. He doesn't understand the emotions she is going through, but at least he understands that she is young and scared. That is the main reason she doesn't want to talk about it, or think about it, or hear about it. "It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig," the man said. "It's not really an operation at all." He gets no response from Jig. He probably should just shut up, but he can't.

He is troubled by a whole spectrum of emotions. He feels guilty for pressuring this poor girl to do something he knows is against all her instincts. He is afraid she will back out. He doesn't know his way around Madrid, and yet he is going to have to make all sort of arrangements when they get there--including arrangements that are strictly illegal and could get him thrown in prison. "I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural." From these two quotations there should be no doubt that the purpose of their trip is to get Jig an abortion. There is a touching sentence which tells a lot about her feelings: She is thinking about the beads that come on so many of things parents buy for infants. There are beads on cribs, on play pens, on high chairs, on strollers, and on some wooden toys. Jig has probably wanted to have a baby ever since she was a little girl and first understood that she could have a baby herself some day.

The reader's sympathies are entirely with the girl. The man is being a heel--and he knows it!Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961) started his writing career as a seventeen-year-old reporter in a Kansas City newspaper. During the First World War he volunteered as an ambulance driver in Italy. He was severely injured and spent a long period stuck in a hospital bed. This incident provided the setting for one of his most famous novels, A Farewell to Arms. western curtain rod finialsThe wounded, courageous hero disillusioned by the war and the brutality of modern society soon became Hemingway's trademark. baby pink curtains 66x72His preoccupation with bullfighting and deep sea fishing is also evident in his stories. curtain and blinds centre wicklow

As a war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War and as a reporter, he developed a particular style of writing characterized by spare dialogues and understatements. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. Why does this story appeal to so many people? One of the most obvious reasons might be because it makes a statement about being young - and vulnerable.Get ready to meet a couple at the very crisis in their relationship. curtains colours per vastuIf things are complicated with you and your partner any place could be the "battlefield", couldn't it? the bead curtain in hills like white elephantsIn this story a railway station provides the setting. acrylic curtain rods toronto

In such a public place someone might eavesdrop on your conversation. At this station in a remote place in Spain there is someone observing a young American couple having a row, or are they really quarelling? Do you recognize the curiosity stirred by witnessing people you do not know, having an intimate discussion? What are they talking about? In order to find out, you have to closely observe their body language, how they respond to each other and the place they are in. hestia curtainsIn this story the observer is the narrator, and we have to depend on him to provide us with useful clues. Spanish landscapeAs for the setting, we are told that the woman is remarking that the distant hills look like white elephants. What kind of connotations come to mind? There is a possibilty that American readers might have more references to "white elephants" than other readers, but what kind of ideas do you get when picturing white elephants?

And how is this related to what seems to be the core of the conflict (if it is a conflict). A bead curtain also plays an important part. With all the "props" and the dialogue this story is made for dramatization, and it might be that if you just look at what they are saying and not at what they are NOT saying, you will not get what they are talking about. You most probably will, if you act it out as a role play.Read the StoryHills Like White Elephants TasksWhite Elephants"White elephants" are not only referred to in the title, but at intervals also pop up in the conversation.Study the context in which the white elephants turn up. How does the conversation between the two characters about this topic evolve? Think of the connotations the words may carry. Do you have any idea by now how it might be a metaphor?The male character is saying: "I have never seen one", and it really would have been a coincidence if he had seen an albino elephant, because it is really rare. Look up how "white elephant" is used as an idiom in English .

Considering the idiom, read the first conversation about white elephants again. Why does the male character insist that he might have seen one after all? What makes us aware of the fact that this might be an argument?According to the dictionary "white elephant" is an expression used about something requiring a lot of care and money to get, but that gives little profit to the owner, or something one might throw away because it is not vaulable. How does this information highlight the plot in the story?Elaborate on how "white elephant" is used as a metaphor in the story. What makes us aware of the way the man and the woman think differently about the white elephant? They are obviously discussing a very essential question, which is fundamental in their relationship. Would you identify the attitudes expressed by the man and the woman as gender typical?The DialogueIt is often maintained that males and females have different communication styles.This often leads to conflicts between the genders.

While women are more relation oriented and want intimacy, men go straight to the point, give information and solve the problem without being dependent on the other party.Study the Dialogue.Describe the way the woman and man "perform" their lines. What do they speak about? Are they going straight to the point, or are they wrapping it up?Do you think the description about male and female communication style applies for this conversation? Why, or why not?There is a lot of small talk in this converation. What purpose do you think the small talk serves?At what point in the dialogue do you notice the tension between the couple? At what point does it become confrontational?The discussion between the two characters seems to be psychological. Do you think this conversation is the final blow in their relationship?Why is it so difficult to say difficult things straight out?Make a Role PlayThe story "cries out" for dramatization. Here are some guidelines Staging Short Stories.InterpretationClose-read the text.