What does this conversation tell the reader about man and woman communications and the characters in the story "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest...

s writing is
often journalistically styled with clear dialogue and few descriptive words.  Very little direct
information is given about the characters or the scene. In , the reader discovers a brief but
important conversation between a couple that is facing a problem

This
conversation is still being repeated today.   Reading the dialogue more than once may be
required to pick up on the nuances in the conversation.  Few details are given about the
couple.  Only her name is learned later in the story. Age, ethnicity, citizenshipthis
information has been left unwritten. 

 The womans seemingly innocent
statement that the hills are like white elephants quickly turns into a competition with the man
over who has traveled more. This is not the conversation that both of them know is
needed. 

 Underneath this conflict lies a major complication. Without much
emotion from the characters, the discussion is about the woman getting an abortion.  The reader
feels that she wants him to say that he does not want her to get one.  Their banter is never
specific enough to directly address the subject. The man is not unpleasant toward her and
repeatedly tells her that it is up to her.  She becomes colder as the conversation progresses. 
The communication between the two is poor and elusive.

The lady is called
Jig.  There are certain things that the reader does learn from the conversation about
Jig:

• She relies on the man because he speaks Spanish and she does
  not.
• She has seen white elephants before.
• She is
  drinking.
• She has known women who have had abortions, and it did not go
  well. If she has an abortion, it will mean that she no longer cares about herself.

It is obvious that she wants to have the baby and settle down. Like many
women, she hints and smiles to tell him what she really feels.  Men usually do not understand
this kind of communication.

Reading their conversations is frustrating
because the reader wants to shake them both and tell them to lay the problems out on the table
and actually discuss them.

I said that we could have
everything.

We can have everything.

No, we cant.

We can have the whole world

No, we cant.

We can
go everywhere.

No, we cant. It isnt ours any more.

Its
ours.

What in the world are they talking about with this
back and forth jibber €“jabber!  Truthfully, she feels sorry for herself, and he is trying to
make her think that nothing has changed. At the end of the story, the topic is left hanging in
the air.

There are choices for the couple: having the baby; the woman raising
it alone; adoption; getting married and raising the child; having the abortion. If they do not
stop the circular discussion, nothing will improve in their positions. 

The
man tells Jig that he loves her which speaks well for him The reader learns that he does not
want to get married but will if she wants to. Obviously, he wants her to get the abortion and
seems to think that it is no big deal.