VCCS Litonline
The following essay projects some assumptions onto the couple that are not supported directly by the text but which do suggest some interesting cinematic techniques based on the ideas of a couple of critics, one of whom suggested that the table in the train station and the ending conversation seem like they hint at what might be going on during an abortion. Monica transposes the scenery of the railway station with the "scenery" that could be waiting for Jig if she goes through with the abortion. The assumption that the couple is inter-racial is also not supported directly by the text, nor by anything in Hemingway's other works, but it certainly suggests a complication that would put the couple under increased pressure.
Monica Jones
February 21st, 2004
Mr. Hibbison
English 112
"Hills Like White Elephants"
Looking Through the Eyes of Jig
Throughout this story the young lady who is barely twenty-one, desires the acceptance and unconditional love of the American man. Evidence of this desire is found throughout each passage. I believe each question that Jig asks the American, encouraged him to examine his heart towards the young lady. The silent ride to the train station left an uneasy feeling in the heart of Jig.
It is evident in the very beginning that the couple arrived together to the train station. Upon arriving to the café and sitting down at the table, Jig removed her hat and placed it on the table. This simple gesture opened up the conversation for what would be a series of heart-exposing questions.
The very first question Jig asked the American man was, “What should we drink?” She was then able to analyze what mood he was in. His facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language would tell Jig exactly where this conversation was heading. He boldly responded, “Let’s drink beer”. Jig realized that she would have to remain humble and submissive during this long forty-minute wait. Surely this would be the longest wait of her life. Jig appeared to often notice the line of hills. Perhaps this symbolized her soon to be bulging belly. The story tells us that they were “white” but the “country was brown and dry.”
Jig quietly and intently thought about the consequences of the arriving train. What would life be like caring for this interracial child in today’s society? As she continued in deep thought, she noticed a curtain made of bamboo beads hanging at the open doorway. As stated in the first paragraph of the story, it was intended to keep the flies out. As Jig looked through the curtain, the outcome of her visit to the train station became a reality. I believe this curtain symbolizes the separation area for the medical personnel only. The waitress symbolizes the nurse who is coming and going as she prepares Jig for the abortion. Her mind was unsure whether or not she wanted to catch this train.
Looking through the eyes of Jig, in her heart she didn’t want to catch the train. She thought about all the reasons she should keep this unborn love child. But while making up her mind to keep this child, she was unsure if it was worth losing the love of the American man. She asked the question, “Could we try it?” Is it possible we could have this child and not catch this train of unwanted death?
Once again, in paragraph thirty-five, she looked over at the hills. One can only imagine how beautiful those white hills looked to Jig as she intently gazed across to the sonogram monitor. “There lovely hills,” she stated. The more she looked the more she realized she couldn’t stand the thought of what was about to happen. Jig was hurt by the cold and insensitive
statement that the American man made. “It’s really an awfully simple operation Jig”, he replied. He referred to the operation as “nothing at all”. This statement revealed his true heart. Jig’s silence following this statement showed how hurt she was. But if having the abortion would make him happy again, she was willing to do it. Her request for another beer symbolized the sedative that she needed in order to follow through with the operation. Furthermore, his happiness was more important to her than her very own.
It is easy to understand how much she loves the American man based on the statement, “I don’t care about me”. “I care about you”. Jig expressed her desire to put him first. At the same time, she privately hopes that he will change his mind. He stood firm in his decision by speaking of the child as if it were already dead, as an “it” and she takes up the same cold theme when she says, “It isn’t ours anymore” and “Once they take it away, you never get it back”.
The man Jig loved so dearly and for so long was suddenly the most cold hearted and arrogant person she had ever known. The couple traveled with two luggage bags which symbolized the problems within their relationship. He decided to carry the baggage over to the other side of the station. When he looked up, he did not see the train. This symbolized the abortion not taking place. By the time he returned from his trip and having a drink, Jig feels much better about the outcome.
Based on the closing of the story, Jig comes to the realization that she can keep her child and be happy without the American man. She states that nothing is wrong and that she is feeling just fine. I agree with Elizabeth Flynn, who stated that she believed that one of the characters determined to leave the other. Definitely that thought crossed their minds, but love kept them together.
Perhaps this story shows the negative points of interracial relationships. Here two people from two different walks of life somehow fell deeply in love. However, they were unable to reconcile their differences. They let the opinions of society sculpt their future, and the future of their unborn child. In the end I believe that Jig was unable to change the man’s feelings but still kept the child. They remained a couple after this hardship, which proves the American man’s love was unconditional.
--posted by permission of the author in March, 2004
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