Hills Like White Elephans

Ernest Hemingway 's short story Hills Like White Elephants ' is a widely read and widely discussed piece of literature . It makes sense in any conversation about Hemingway to analyze what he is best for - dialogue . This story is no exception in that Hemingway 's dialogue reveals so much and so little to the reader at the same time Hemingway 's masterful use of simplistic dialogue reveals the character of these two people and the kind of relationship they have in very important ways

The dialogue beginning in the second paragraph reveals

volumes about this relationship . First of all , the girl ' starts the conversation by saying , What should we drink ' She is the initiator in this relationship . She is the one who wants to make the important decision that their dialogue evades and avoids . He responds by directly avoiding her question , by saying , It 's pretty hot ' Throughout the story the American man ' will avoid the girl by not making direct responses to her . He will blur his own intentions and wishes in to not directly say what he wants to say . She then makes the decision Let 's drink beer ' Again , the girl is the initiator and the decision-maker

What else can the reader deduce from the dialogue ? The reader can deduce that the girl is much more creative and imaginative than the man They look like white elephants ' she says of the hills in the distance . This shows her artistic , creative nature . The man responds with I 've never seen one ' Clearly , she has never seen one either but she can imagine what they must look like . He cannot imagine his practical nature does not allow him to visualize what she sees . Later on , when she mentions the subject of white elephants again , he gives her no more than a cursory response

The reader can also deduce from the dialogue that the girl does not speak Spanish . The man s for her , and every time the waitress comes , the girl asks what she said . She also cannot read what is printed on the bead curtain . Maybe this plays no significant role in the short story , but it does tell the reader that an American and a European girl are simply traveling through Spain . The reader knows virtually nothing else about the characters except for the statement that sums up the gist of their relationship . That 's all we do , isn 't it - look at things and try new drinks ' The lack of depth , the superficiality of their relationship speaks volumes in this very simple dialogue . These two really have no deep connection , which makes the subject of their real conversation even sadder

Further on , the reader finds out that the masked discussion is one of abortion . The reader must come back to this opening dialogue in looking at the roles these two people play . The girl wants to make a decision together . She questions the man repeatedly in to clarify his feelings . The man avoids saying what...