Hills Like White Elephants Complete Story
Click here to see the Literary Analysis for ‘Hills Like White Elephants’
Hills Like White Elephants
By Ernest Hemingway
The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the building and a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open door into the bar, to keep out flies. The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went to Madrid.
‘What should we drink?’ the girl asked. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.
‘It’s pretty hot,’ the man said.
‘Let’s drink beer.’
‘Dos cervezas,’ the man said into the curtain.
‘Big ones?’ a woman asked from the doorway.
‘Yes. Two big ones.’
The woman brought two glasses of beer and two felt pads. She put the felt pads and the beer glass on the table and looked at the man and the girl. The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry.
‘They look like white elephants,’ she said.
‘I’ve never seen one,’ the man drank his beer.
‘No, you wouldn’t have.’
‘I might have,’ the man said. ‘Just because you say I wouldn’t have doesn’t prove anything.’
The girl looked at the bead curtain. ‘They’ve painted something on it,’ she said. ‘What does it say?’
‘Anis del Toro. It’s a drink.’
‘Could we try it?’
The man called ‘Listen’ through the curtain. The woman came out from the bar.
‘Four reales.’ ‘We want two Anis del Toro.’
‘With water?’
‘Do you want it with water?’
‘I don’t know,’ the girl said. ‘Is it good with water?’
‘It’s all right.’
‘You want them with water?’ asked the woman.
‘Yes, with water.’
‘It tastes like liquorice,’ the girl said and put the glass down.
‘That’s the way with everything.’
‘Yes,’ said the girl. ‘Everything tastes of liquorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for, like absinthe.’
‘Oh, cut it out.’
‘You started it,’ the girl said. ‘I was being amused. I was having a fine time.’
‘Well, let’s try and have a fine time.’
‘All right. I was trying. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn’t that bright?’
‘That was bright.’
‘I wanted to try this new drink. That’s all we do, isn’t it – look at things and try new drinks?’
‘I guess so.’
The girl looked across at the hills.
‘They’re lovely hills,’ she said. ‘They don’t really look like white elephants. I just meant the colouring of their skin through the trees.’
‘Should we have another drink?’
‘All right.’
The warm wind blew the bead curtain against the table.
‘The beer’s nice and cool,’ the man said.
‘It’s lovely,’ the girl said.
‘It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,’ the man said. ‘It’s not really an operation at all.’
The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on.
‘I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in.’
The girl did not say anything.
‘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.’
‘Then what will we do afterwards?’
‘We’ll be fine afterwards. Just like we were before.’
‘What makes you think so?’
‘That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy.’
The girl looked at the bead curtain, put her hand out and took hold of two of the strings of beads.
‘And you think then we’ll be all right and be happy.’
‘I know we will. Yon don’t have to be afraid. I’ve known lots of people that have done it.’
‘So have I,’ said the girl. ‘And afterwards they were all so happy.’
‘Well,’ the man said, ‘if you don’t want to you don’t have to. I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to. But I know it’s perfectly simple.’
‘And you really want to?’
‘I think it’s the best thing to do. But I don’t want you to do it if you don’t really want to.’
‘And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?’
‘I love you now. You know I love you.’
‘I know. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you’ll like it?’
‘I’ll love it. I love it now but I just can’t think about it. You know how I get when I worry.’
‘If I do it you won’t ever worry?’
‘I won’t worry about that because it’s perfectly simple.’
‘Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I don’t care about me.’
‘Well, I care about you.’
‘Oh, yes. But I don’t care about me. And I’ll do it and then everything will be fine.’
‘I don’t want you to do it if you feel that way.’
The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees.
‘And we could have all this,’ she said. ‘And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible.’
‘What did you say?’
‘I said we could have everything.’
‘We can have everything.’
‘No, we can’t.’
‘We can have the whole world.’
‘No, we can’t.’
‘We can go everywhere.’
‘No, we can’t. It isn’t ours any more.’
‘It’s ours.’
‘No, it isn’t. And once they take it away, you never get it back.’
‘But they haven’t taken it away.’
‘We’ll wait and see.’
‘Come on back in the shade,’ he said. ‘You mustn’t feel that way.’
‘I don’t feel any way,’ the girl said. ‘I just know things.’
‘I don’t want you to do anything that you don’t want to do -’
‘Nor that isn’t good for me,’ she said. ‘I know. Could we have another beer?’
‘All right. But you’ve got to realize – ‘
‘I realize,’ the girl said. ‘Can’t we maybe stop talking?’
They sat down at the table and the girl looked across at the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her and at the table.
‘You’ve got to realize,’ he said, ‘ that I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to. I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you.’
‘Doesn’t it mean anything to you? We could get along.’
‘Of course it does. But I don’t want anybody but you. I don’t want anyone else. And I know it’s perfectly simple.’
‘Yes, you know it’s perfectly simple.’
‘It’s all right for you to say that, but I do know it.’
‘Would you do something for me now?’
‘I’d do anything for you.’
‘Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?’
He did not say anything but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights.
‘But I don’t want you to,’ he said, ‘I don’t care anything about it.’
‘I’ll scream,’ the girl siad.
The woman came out through the curtains with two glasses of beer and put them down on the damp felt pads. ‘The train comes in five minutes,’ she said.
‘What did she say?’ asked the girl.
‘That the train is coming in five minutes.’
The girl smiled brightly at the woman, to thank her.
‘I’d better take the bags over to the other side of the station,’ the man said. She smiled at him.
‘All right. Then come back and we’ll finish the beer.’
He picked up the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks. He looked up the tracks but could not see the train. Coming back, he walked through the bar-room, where people waiting for the train were drinking. He drank an Anis at the bar and looked at the people. They were all waiting reasonably for the train. He went out through the bead curtain. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him.
‘Do you feel better?’ he asked.
‘I feel fine,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.’
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76 Responses to “Hills Like White Elephants Complete Story”
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there is a line spken by the American man which changes the whole meaning of the story. My students have been quite confused because of this error. Please make the correction.The line is spoken by the man after Jill says: “I said we could have everithing.”
Then the American says: “We can have everything.”
‘And we could have all this,’ she said. ‘And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible.’
‘What did you say?’
‘I said we could have everything.’
‘No, we can’t.’
‘We can have the whole world.’
‘No, we can’t.’
‘We can go everywhere.’
‘No, we can’t. It isn’t ours any more.’
‘It’s ours.’
‘No, it isn’t. And once they take it away, you never get it back.’
‘But they haven’t taken it away.’
‘We’ll wait and see.’
‘Come on back in the shade,’ he said. ‘You mustn’t feel that way.’
Thanks Stella – The Story is now 100% correct.
Stella, FYI the name of the character is Jig not Jill.
thanks this site helped me a lot…:)
Helped alot. thanks it helps once you think in a different way and take a step closer and really get into the story and each little problem that comes into play. like at first the two tracks ment nothing to me just some info that was un-needed but then i realized that it is two choices that they dont’t know which way to go either to Barcelona or madrid, but the country names dont matter its to keep the baby or get abortion.
once again,
Thanks!
This helped out so much!!!
[...] Click Here to Read the Full Online Text of Hills Like White Elephants � This is an in-depth analysis of Hills Like White Elephants on the Virginia Community College [...]
AT FIRST I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND THE STORY, BUT AFTER READING KYLE’S COMMENT AND THE LITERARY ANALYSIS I UNDERTOOD IT PERFECTLY. SO THANKS!
On the bookmark link Hemingway is spelled Hemmingway. One too many m’s. Just thought you’d want to know….
[...] Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway [...]
it’s a wonderful job. thanks for this information, it is so very understood either for taking notes or just for enjoyment…
[...] after giving them Hills Like White Elephants and after they’ve read it and discussed it for awhile, they could chart out the peaks of the [...]
THIS STORY SUCKS!!!
[...] “Hills Like White Elephants”, which is a great story and if you haven’t read it, click here. I don’t want to ruin what is spoken but never said here, but it rhymes with [...]
I really like this story. The last line ‘I feel fine,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.’ I think that this line could be taken in so many different directions that I do not think this story really had resolution.
this story is really amazing. i feel her pain on a very deep level. it’s raw and true and just a little bit scary. ernest hemmingway is amazing and this story is beautiful.
inspirational
good, great choice of words.
if you take out a line in this story, everything is ruined.
my favorite line: “we can have the world”
hills… is one of the best hemingways storys. tnx alot.
This story was amazing, just like my poem. All my friends liked it and felt it.
i dont understand this poem
or story rather
I really like how Hemingway incorporated dialogue into this short story. It allowed the reader to gain insight on the personalities of the main characters.
And can someone please clarify what the operation the speakers in the stories were referring to? My friends and I read this story but we couldn’t quite figure out what it was.
I read this story today in class. Honestly I didn’t much care for the story. I didn’t like how it became very annoying because we don’t know what is being argued about between the characters in the story. I understand that it adds a certain mysterious aspect to the story but I still don’t like how we don’t really know what it’s about.
I also did not like how they continued to argue in the dialogue for so long back and fourth and made no progress. I felt as though it was just a lot of repetition and kind of pointless.
This is just my honest opinion.
The short story by Hemmingway is a brillint short story that is based on a typical subject of human socity. The conflict between love and work and convincing other people to go with your ideas.
I too read this story in class today and found it difficult to understand the content. I also would have appreciated more information of the setting in which the story takes place. Despite all this i still think Hemmingway is a great author and writer.
This is one of Hemmingways’s most powerfull short stories studied and read by the world. I can see to understand way. a short story so simple that discride something of everyday sociaety the conflict between love and work and convincing people to go with your ideas.
I do believe Hemmingway is an amazing auhtor,Although i had trouble understanding what he was aiming for and what the story was mainly about.
I do like the dialogue the characters showed in this story
i find that the key characterization in the story is of the girl;it is that she is just that, a girl. He is the alpha male man, pushing her to the operation and convincing her its not a big deal, he is the Man, while she is nothing but a girl. She is the innocent, confused, impressionable child willing to do everything for her companion.
I enjoyed reading this story by Hemingway. His unique choice of symbolism was very interesting to observe. At first I didn’t quite understand what the characters were referring to, but after rereading the text, I picked up some quotes that implied Jig was getting an abortion. For example “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig. It’s not really an operation at all.” Hemingway’s style of writing challenges the reader to really observe the text and look for hidden clues as to what this story implies.
I read this short story a few days ago in class and didn’t really understand it. Today we went over it in class and I thought it was brilliant. The way that Hemingway gives us the readers such little information but so much can be derived from it is genius. I truly believe this has been one of the greatest short stories i have ever read. Another thing i appreciated a lot was the symbolism used by the author in order to give us information in a non direct way. The title for instance has great symbolism as do the curtains mentioned in the story and the landscapes. Brilliant
I read this short story a few days ago in class and didn’t really understand it. Today we went over it in class and I thought it was brilliant. The way that Hemingway gives us the readers such little information but so much can be derived from it is genius. I truly believe this has been one of the greatest short stories i have ever read. Another thing i appreciated a lot was the symbolism used by the author in order to give us information in a non direct way. The title for instance has great symbolism as do the curtains mentioned in the story and the landscapes. Brilliant
I thought that this wasa great story. It was really opened ended as the two main characters sort of danced around what they were exactly talking about. When i read it the first time i had no idea what they was going on. But after rereading it a few times i nitced some of the symbolism and started to pick up hints, such casual hints, such as the girl looking away when asked about the operation, that Hemingway drops in the course of the story. Overall, I thought it was very cleverly written and trukly is a great story.
This short story was unlike any other I have read before. I really liked how Hemingway gave us a lot of information through symbolic meaning rather than just outright saying it. When the story talks about the operation, you must look back into the story and figure out the clues, such as the tension between the two and the wishful thinking about what could possibly be the future in order to understand that she is having an abortion. Hemingway did not really tell the story. Rather he let us figure it out for ourselves. What I really enjoyed about this story is how there is no clear cut ending. The reader does not know what takes place in the end and it is open to interpretation. This story was well written and had a unique style, one I have not seen before.
Great comments Hillel crew. I’m happy to see how many of you took this opportunity to voice your opinions. Great points about symbolism and characterization. Food for thought: What can we infer about Hemmingway from his treatment of the subject matter and characters in this particular story? We’ll continue to explore this question…
These last few comments are fantastic observations – I do invite you to read through my own literary analysis, which I have posted on this very website:
http://www.gummyprint.com/blog/hills-like-white-elephants-literary-analysis/
I really enjoyd reading this story but one thing I do not get is why she drinks while she is pregnant!? I meen that is just so irresponsible, isn’t it?
i kept waiting to get kicked in the face with what the operation was had to read it a few times to realize it was an aportion. to lene’s coments firt of all its pretty clear she is going to do whatever her man wants so she mind as well drink, secound of all, the story takes place in the 20’s they just dont have the facts we have the benifte of today.
i was struck early on by hemingways use of the line “The American and the with him” i hemingway was known as a drunk abusive man with no respect for women right? evan though he trys to make the chouse the s i dont belive it is
this is a dumb story
abortion?? if u say so well which critical analysis approach could best be used with this story?
yes abourtion what do you thinck it is?
sorry abortion its to late to be doing homwork
un Alex, you could just go do something else
this is my homework….
intimate language..
why do they go to Madrid? To get an abortion?
Well, he describes their luggage: “There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights.” It sounds to me that they maybe are together traveling, exploring different places, and then this happened, and the American really doesnt want to stop this lifestyle, he enjoys it. With Jig being with child, he sees it as the end to his travels and explorations. So, to better answer that, I don’t think that they went to Spain to have the abortion, but that they might have found out on the way to one of their destinations, so they found a location to ‘get it taken care of’ on route to where it is that they might be traveling/visiting. Also I’m not sure if anyone took the time to look up what Jig means, I looked it up. There were a lot of definitions, but one that caught my eye in relating to this story were an old fashioned slang used to describe a good time. Could that be what the American thought Jig? It seems so.
There is a song called “Hills Like White Elephants” at the above website…
[...] You can also have the Objective Point of View. Here the writer (you!) tells what is happening through the story’s action or what the characters say, but never tells what the characters are thinking. As a writer, you are simply an observer. This is best for a story that is mostly action and dialogue. Take a look at Hemingway’s short story, “Hills Like White Elephants” for a good example of this direct observer. You can find it as: http://www.gummyprint.com/blog/archives/hills-like-white-elephants-complete-story/ [...]
I guess I’m tired, but I really didn’t appreciate the “symbolism” and being given “so much information in an indirect way”. Just tell me what the heck you’re talking about, and give me dialogue that isn’t so difficult to follow. I didn’t like this story, and I *am* an educated person.
[...] with the additional cringe at my own appreciation of Hemingway’s manly manness, but “Hills Like White Elephants” is sublime as is The Sun Also Rises. Gertrude Stein is rolling in her grave. Sorry [...]
SHE KEEPS THE BABY
it was nice, b coz our sir was not giving us notes ..it helped me a lot..
I’ve read this story twice now, and the conversation can be taken a couple of different ways beside abortion. At first glance I thought they were running away to elope and our girl Jig was getting cold feet hence the drinking. Then I thought why would they be running away together in the first place? That got my mind wandering was because she’s so much younger? Or not as wealthy? Or maybe even not the right nationality? Abortion never really dawned on me until the class discussion but after reading the story again I can see that being the case. Hemingway was truly a very brillant writer.
The very first time i read the story, i didn’t get it.
the second, a few pieces started to fit together and make sense.
the third was the same.
now the fourth time, I finally understood everything, and the whole story was no longer a good story, but a magnificient story.
i truly find this to be un my top ten favourite short stories
Its not correct. Towards the last few paragraphs it says “siad” no “said”
OMFG! STUPID STORY~! I would give this a 0 out of 10. I don get shit. Its so fucking stupid! Like holy shit! Get to the point already. Its confusing you from everywhere. I want a simple story that can be easily understood! I dont want no stupid sotry that wastes my 20mins just to understand the basics! FAIL STORY!
NOT RECOMMENDED TO ANYONE!
This is a dumb stupid story ! 1 !
Wow David, you r a stupid ignorant fuck. Your not smart enough to understand the story, just go read a pop book you dumb ass. Rudeboy your an idiot too. No intelligence at all.
@danielle: Thank you for a mighty fine explanation of this short story. You brought a much more detailed insight of the story that I could not picture. I was also curious about Jig, but only heard of this story today and have a paper due tomorrow. Thank you for your assistance
It could be interpreted like abortion, but I saw it as if she couldn’t get pregnant at all, and that she was going to get “help” for this in an awkward way. I don’t know. It can be interpreted in many ways, and I love that. =)
[...] Plus, sometimes, they’re just frickin’ awesome. [...]
David, you don’t get it because you are an idiot. Stick to comic books.
Joyce, Fan of Hemingway from China.
Thanks a lot.
i thought he was trying to get her to take an acid tablet. haha
[...] I’d love to know how many people out of the 24 comprehended the story at all. I imagine the questions were more along the lines of, “who wrote this story?” than, “where in Africa can you get an abortion?” [...]
i wished i need no external info that the operation refers to abortion.
A good story must expose the story within the story… does the hill like white elephant refers to bulging belly of a woman suggesting pregnancy? I wished there was a stronger allusion.
at any rate, i liked how the feelings of the girl has been capsulized: saying she’s fine but not really as part of her knows that if she refuses abortion, she’ll not be loved the same way, that her man will not see beauty anymore…
[...] This writing exercise is based on the famous story Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway. I remember being taught that story in college. My writing teacher compared the story to an arctic glacier. You can only see the top portion of the glacier that is sticking out of the water, but that’s usually only 20% of the glacier. The other 80% are under the surface, and the storyteller’s job is to explicitly show the 20% percent, while inexplicitly referring to the other 80%. I recommend reading Memingway’s story before starting your own writing exercise. He did a much better job than I ever could. http://www.gummyprint.com/blog/archives/hills-like-white-elephants-complete-story/ [...]
watta beautiful story…..
wow…..
TO AM, They are not in Africa. Pay attention!
this story is da bomb i wish that i was in it and that i was that lady.
This story is definitely all about the couple debating whether or not she should get an abortion. I admit that on my first read I did read into the idea of them running away to elope, but halfway through it became pretty apparent to me what was really going on. EH is a master of course. For those of you who haven’t read “The Sun Also Rises” novel read that immediately!
Incidentally, Hemingway uses a cool literary device in this story. It’s very common in literature that water is a symbol for life. So consider the part of the story that reads: Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees.
What this means is that they are talking about an abortion. But when they look at the river, it is fertile with grains and trees along the river; life is bursting there. Essentially, when she looks at the river, she is considering the pro-life, no abortion option
I’m pretty sure those of you that don’t have the brains to come up with your own interpretation of the story really should stick to the comic books, because you sincerely are ridiculously ignorant. Just drop out of school because obviously it’s not helping any and you probably annoy the people around you that actually have a brain. The point of the story is that you can pretty much relate it to anything, and everyone will see it differently because they have been through different things and lived through different experiences.
Wow Tiana, why don’t you tell us what you really think!
‘I’ll scream,’ the girl siad.
You misspelled said.
Thanks for posting this! It’s really hard to find any Hemingway in e-format. Cool little story.
I just wish I could get through The Old Man and the Sea as quickly as this.
this story doesn’t have a resolution because its left open for your own personal perception. Its intended to make you think what you would do in that situation if you were Jig.