On the surface, the short story, "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway, appears to be nothing more than a simple story about an American man and a girl who are having a trivial discussion while waiting for a train in 1920's Spain. Knowing that Hemingway has an uncanny knack for leaving things left unsaid, we can dig deeper and eventually come to understand what this story might be about. Jig is a young, pregnant girl who is struggling to openly voice her opinion regarding the unborn child she is carrying and the abortion she is on her way to have. Instead of candidly discussing with her American lover the pros and cons of the moral dilemma they are now facing, Jig never confronts her lover with her doubts--always deflecting any direct conversation about the purpose of their trip--and thus blindly accepts what he believes is best for them causing her to make a decision that will change her life forever.
Clear communication is the foundation on which all strong, healthy human relationships are based. Without the ability to effectively convey one's true feelings, especially when making crucial, life-changing choices, relationships are doomed to fail and decisions may be made that can never be forgiven or forgotten. In true Hemingway style, exactly why Jig is reluctant to openly acknowledge her desire to keep her baby is never actually revealed, but evidence of this reluctance is present nonetheless. At one point in the story, Jig steps into the sunlight, walks to the end of the train station platform, peers out at the lush, fertile valley along the banks of the Ebro River and states: "And we could have all this" (276). The lush countryside represents her fertility or pregnancy and the river the life of her unborn child. We are able to deduce that Jig can clearly envision the beautiful life she now protects within and her longing to hold onto it. She continues by saying, "And once they take it away, you never get it back" (276), which is her way of letting her partner know that once they go through with the abortion, the baby will be gone from them forever and she is not sure that is a choice she can or wants to live with...