Since its publication in 1927, Ernest Hemingway's seemingly simple short story "Hills Like White Elephants" has led readers to argue about the pervasive issue of women's rights. At first glance, "Hills Like White Elephants" appears to be about a man and a woman having drinks and casual conversation while waiting for a train. However, this seemingly light and breezy period is actually much more serious and a matter of life and death for the woman and her unborn fetus. As the American and Jig admire the desolate landscape around them, the American continually tries to convince Jig to have an abortion because "it's really a simple operation...it's not really an operation at all" ( Hemingway 590). The careful framing of this short story ultimately reflects the three possible outcomes of the relationship between Jig and the American. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First, there's the train station bar setting, the liminal terrain, in which the two characters make up the majority of the story. This liminal space reflects the fact that Jig and the American are undecided about whether to keep the baby or get rid of it. Second, there are the dry, barren-looking hills, which would ultimately mean Jig would get rid of the baby. The last option for the couple would be the beautiful lush forest on the banks of the Ebro River that Jig explored alone, which would mean Jig would have the baby and leave the American. As the characters explore these possibilities, they become further apart from each other and each eventually comes to their own conclusion. Throughout the text, the liminal train station and change of scenery allow both characters to explore what their futures may hold for them and to face the truth that Jig ultimately holds the power to make the decision to keep his baby or get rid of it. Throughout the text, Jig and the American use the setting around them in the station to reflect their inner, liminal state. At the beginning of the story, Jig and the American are sitting in a train station which on one side had "neither shade nor trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun." (589). This station, located between two rail lines, allows for conversation about liminality. Jig and the American could literally make the decision whether or not to keep the baby one way or the other. In addition to the liminal space of the station, Jig and the American are also seated "at a table in the shade, outside the station." building." (589). Here there is a contrast between the station being in the sun and Jig and the American sitting in the shade. The station, illuminated by light, symbolizes truth or realization. However, there where Jig and the American sit in the shadows, we can read that they are literally shadowed by denial and doubt: at the beginning of the story, both men are not ready to face the light. Outside, the “girl looked at the hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry (589). also the fact that they are white means that they have positive connotations and that they are pure, compared to the brown and desolate country around them Yet, Jig and the American girl are always in the shadows, illustrating the. both the liminal nature and the avoidance of the question of her pregnancy In the story, the liminal setting begins to send the American woman back into the past and forces Jig to think about her future. The liminal structure of the beaded curtain on which is painted “Anis del Toro” separates Jig and the American from the inside. (589). Since alcohol played such a large role in Jig and American's past relationships, one could assume that the beaded curtain symbolizes the couple's past - and coming back through the curtains means returning to their old ways party.and not having a baby. Jig comments: “That's all we do, isn't it: look at things and try new drinks. » (590), here she focuses on the desolation and superficiality of her relationship with the American. If all Jig and the American do is drink and be irresponsible, is it really love or a quality relationship that could sustain a child? As Jig realizes that she and the American are going to separate, she begins to humanize the baby by saying, "they're pretty hills...they don't really look like white elephants", I just meant the color of their skin through the trees. »(590). By calling the hills beautiful, Jig romanticizes her pregnancy and begins to understand that having a child would not be as bad as the American makes it out to be, but that having a child with the American would be pretty bad. Although Jig has gained consciousness, the American is still stuck in her partying days and has the lingering mentality that Jig will have an abortion. As Jig sent the American to carry their bags to the other side of the station, he “said nothing but looked at the bags against the station wall. They had labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent the night. (592). First, the fact that the American takes the bags to the other side of the station might suggest that he is indeed changing his mind about aborting Jig, but the fact that he romanticizes the labels hotels forces one to believe that he is still determined not to be tied down. This quote reinforces the American's perpetual liminal state of mind, even though Jig clearly seems to make up his mind, the American never arrives at a concrete conclusion. Through the progression of the story, Jig's interpretation of his environment allows his agency to move from the liminal state. space. Ultimately, the conversation between Jig and the American goes nowhere, and Jig begins to have power and is able to move out of liminal space. Out of frustration: the young girl got up and walked to the end of the station. On the other side were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. In the distance, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud crossed the grain field and she saw the river through the trees. (591) At the end of the station, the imagery is lush and fertile. By leaving the liminal bar and walking away alone, Jig is able to clear her head and find a positive place, where there is life and probably happiness, as opposed to the dry, barren land inhabited by the American. In fact, as Jig returns to the bar where the American is staying, the imagery becomes desolate again: "they sat at the table and the girl looked at the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her and at the table” (592), the American is here linked to the negative infertility of the hills. The two men's different interpretation of the setting around them leads to tensions. By the end of the story, Jig has come to the conclusion that she is going to have the baby, and the American looks around and sees other people, "reasonably waiting for the train" (592). This quote gives the impression that the American is perpetually stuck in the past, in a state of adolescence. Instead of moving on, growing up, and starting a family like most "normal" people, he wants to travel, have guilt-free sex, and drink alcohol.