Hills Like White Elephants - Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is an abstract piece of literature that explores the extremely controversial topic of abortion. During my Sophomore year of high school, my class studied this piece and I remember being stuck by Hemingway’s ability to so cleverly disguise his theme. Abortion is under intense debate today and for Hemingway to have discussed this in the latter part of the 1920’s was quite remarkable. Hemingway also explores gender roles in this story, as the woman is consistently being told that her decision to have an abortion will make her happy and that everything will go back to the way it was before. The female protagonist is, essentially, being pressured into having an abortion because it is the choice that was right for her significant other. The men in Hemingway’s story try to simplify the severity of abortion by insisting “it really is an awfully simple operation” (Hemingway 553) and “not really an operation at all” (Hemingway 553). However, it is common knowledge that abortion is indeed a very serious procedure that leaves lasting emotional distress on a woman which is why she must make that difficult decision for herself. “Hills Like White Elephants” is not ahead of its time but a work that transcends it. Although this piece was written over eighty years ago, the issue of abortion is a huge moral and political issue that continues to be debated.