"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway

American literature history is rich in writers whose works contain ageless and fadeless problems that society is still facing today. One such writer is Ernest Hemingway, with his fabulous short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” published in 1927. This novel represents an inner and external conflict between a male and a female, their development, and their resolution.

Each literary work comprises five basic elements: a setting, a character, a plot, a conflict, and a theme (Flaherty, 2010, p.76). A conflict carries the connotations of agony, discord and opposition that occur within a character or between characters. In the literature, the conflicts are divided into internal and external. The internal conflict occurs when “the protagonist confronts own fears, shortcomings or battles within his mind” (Tucker, n.d., n.p.). External conflict occurs when the main character struggles with other characters, society, or nature. Both aim to detail the struggle, create the central action, sustain the plot, and lead to the resolution (Tucker, n.d..). To create the conflict, characters have to encounter a reality that imposes certain ideals and morals, obscuring what might be established as right and wrong.

Hemingway’s story draws the reader’s attention to a conflict that drives the action. It occurs based on the bitter truth of the life in Europe and America of the 1920s, when people eagerly battled against some implemented principles of society. The main characters are a couple, an American man and a girl, called Jig, who stand on the edge of their relationship. The development of the conflict between the partners can be traced from the beginning of the conversation when the subject of contemplated abortion is raised. The tension is exacerbated when the girl compares the distant hills with white elephants. The man responded that he had never seen one. In reply to what he said, the girl furiously stated: “No, you wouldn't have” (Hemingway, 1927, n.p.). The different tempers and points of view cause misunderstanding because the girl is vital and imaginative, dreaming about a baby, but the man is self-involved and phlegmatic, following morals and ideals (Yanling, 2013, p.107). Above all, the main characters are involved in the external conflict caused by disagreement and hesitation about an illegal abortion, whereas the internal conflict of Jig makes her keep the child.

The sense of the internal and external combat in the “Hills Like White Elephants” is to choose one way, either to remain in the field with no shadow and no trees or to stay on the opposite side of the hills with grain and shadow that undeniable guarantees pure and natural life. Consequently, the girl’s inner contradiction is promptly conquered by the male’s language that overpowers hers. Sorely frustrated, Jig, having no choice, agrees with her romantic partner that the operation is necessary and asks him to stop talking.

At the end of the story, Ernest Hemingway illustrates the opportunity of a male to manage the feelings and rights of a female. For readers, the resolution of the conflict remains obscure and intriguing, as Jig's thoughts are not revealed. The readers have no idea how the story will end, as the girl’s mysterious smile and reply, “I feel fine. There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine” (Hemingway, 1927, n.p.) could mean anything.

The short story called “Hills Like White Elephants” describes the period of an illegal abortion. Hemingway includes internal and external conflict traced through the whole story. “Hills Like White Elephants” depicts a man's superiority over a woman's desire and thoughts. The resolution remains concealed, probably allowing readers to guess what side of the hills Jig truly prefers.