Ernest Hemingway

A man and his girlfriend wait for a train to Madrid at station in rural Spain, the almost casual nature of their conversation evading the true emotional depth of what’s happening between the two of them. “Hills Like White Elephants” is considered to be among Ernest Hemingway’s best short fiction, showcasing the author’s powerful ability to strip writing down to its bare bones and allow the reader’s imagination to fill in the subtext. One of America’s foremost journalists and authors, Ernest Hemingway as also a master of the short story genre, penning more than fifty short stories during his career, many of which featured one of his most popular prose characters, Nick Adams. The most popular of Hemingway’s short stories include “Hills Like White Elephants,” “Indian Camp,” “The Big Two-Hearted River,” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.” HarperCollins brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperCollins short-stories collection to build your digital library.

Short Story

Hills Like White Elephants

Ester Waclavova

Macy Johnson

Really makes you think. Very cool short story of a conversation whose meaning is completely elusive

Meaningful story about woman struggling with important decision.

Charlie Winchester 

Autumn 

Olivera Mitić

Daniela V.

“Yes,” said the girl. “Everything tastes like licorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for, like absinthe”


This is the first story written by Hemingway that I read. I picked it up because Goodreads recommended it to me for adding Memento Mori by Jonathan Nolan and I love Memento, both the movie and the story, so I had to try this one.

I'm really glad I gave this a try. It's a very odd story: basically a conversation between a woman named Jig and an american man on a train station in Spain. They order drinks and start to talk. She looks at the hills and mentions they are like white elephants. They continue talking and suddenly, the american insists that she should be involved in some kind of procedure or operation and that this operation is very simple, not an operation at all. As the train is coming, he carries her bags near it and a few minutes after, he finds her in the bar again. She only manages to say "I feel fine"

And that's the end...

Wait, but what do we know? Hemingway says a lot of things, without expressly writing them. What I figured out quickly was the nature of the procedure. (view spoiler)[An abortion (hide spoiler)], thus the reference to "hills like white elephants" in their conversation. (view spoiler)[Hills (pregnancy) are like white elephants; an rare but burdensome possession. The American could see the baby as a white elephant and doesn't want to raise it, while the girl could see the child as an extraordinary addition to her life of drinking and traveling. (hide spoiler)]

I loved the symbolism of the railroad station, meaning the characters are at the crossroads of life during a time of crisis. The American man and the girl cannot stay at the station forever. Would they go their separate ways after the incident?

And that's they thing... the magic beneath this story. We should make a choice.

Hills Like White Elephants Short Story

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