Hills like White Elephants

The story starts off with a couple defined as the American and the girl, walking into a bar that is attached to a train station in the valley of Ebroe. They are waiting for the express train from Barcelona to Madrid. Hemingway never specifically says in the story what the couple is discussing but there is a lot of symbolism within the story that suggest abortion is the topic. The first examples of symbolism are right in the title of the story: "Hills Like White Elephants". The hills in the title are found in the dry, sunlight scenery referenced by the girl while drinking the beer. The word hill first brings to mind an image of any raised mound of earth, however in the story it comes to mean so much more. A pregnant woman's stomach could also be symbolic of a hill. The more figurative meaning of a hill could be a barrier that isn't easily crossed or to overcome, such as a conversation in which the couple have an inability to communicate in order to come to an agreement, possibly over something as important as an unplanned pregnancy. During the conversation it almost seems as though she realizes the great burden that the child could place upon her and her partner.

The next symbol in the story is found in the following passage: "Everything tastes of liquorice...". One of the most commmonly known syptoms of a pregnancy is that, it can effect your taste buds. Further more the railroad tracks that they are sitting by could symbolize, that even though they run side by side they can never meet, showing the kind of relationship the girl and the American are sharing. The baggage, represents the past, which is the same as the future to the American. When he picks up the suitcases and carries them to the other side of the station, he is indicating that he wants to continue as before.