49 pages • 1 hour read
Hills Like White Elephants
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Summary: “Hills Like White Elephants”
Ernest Hemingway’s 1927 short story “Hills Like White Elephants” was published first in the periodical transitions and then in his short story collection Men Without Women. One of his most well-known short stories, it utilizes many of the techniques that typify Hemingway’s writing, such as minimalism, direct dialogue, and indirect characterization. The story consists almost entirely of dialogue, with only sparse, sporadic narrative description. Please note that this story concerns discussions of abortion and may be triggering for some readers.
As the story opens, a woman and a man sit at a table outside a train station in the Spanish countryside, waiting for a train from Barcelona that will take them to Madrid. The man (known to the reader only as “the American”) orders two beers for the couple, calling out “Dos cervezas” through the doorway into the station bar; the bartender, who speaks only Spanish, brings the drinks.
The young woman, named Jig (though at this point referred to only as “the girl”), remarks that the hills in the distance look like Unlock all 49 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
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By Ernest Hemingway
