For Ap Literature & Composition, D. Mcnew

Themes, Motifs, and Symbolism in
“Hills Like White Elephants”
For AP Literature & Composition, D. McNew

“Hills Like White Elephants” was
written by Ernest Hemingway and was
published in 1927 in a book titled
“Men Without Women.”
THEME – the main thought or central idea expressed by a work
One theme is Communication 

including
• A conflict between the

couple
• Their inability to
communicate effectively
• The girl’s dependence

upon the man
Another theme...Selfishness and Manipulation
“You don’t have to
“Well, let’s try and have a “We’ll be fine be afraid. I’ve
fine time.” afterwards. Just known lots of people
like we were that have done it.”
“I think it’s the before.”
best thing to “I’ll go with you and
do.” I’ll stay with you all
the time. They just
“I love you now. let the air in and then
You know I love it’s all perfectly
you.” natural.”
“It’s really an awfully
simple operation, Jig. “Well, if you don’t
It’s not really an want to you don’t
operation at all.” have to. I wouldn’t
have you do it if you
“That’s the only thing didn’t want to. But I
that bothers us. It’s know it’s perfectly
“I won’t worry simple.”
the only thing that’s about that because
made us unhappy.” it’s perfectly
simple.” “But I don’t want
“I know you anybody but you. I
wouldn’t mind it, don’t want anyone
“I don’t care anything
Jig. It’s really not else. And I know it’s
about it.”
anything. It’s just perfectly simple.”
to let the air in””
A final theme... Choices
• Confronting and accepting

the future
OR
• Evasion of responsibility
MOTIF – Something that recurs throughout the piece to
develop the theme. This could be a recurring activity or
incident in the story
Alcohol is one motif

There is drinking throughout the story
• First they order two glasses of beer
• Then the girl wants to try Anis del Toro
• They order a second round of beers
• Then they order a third round of beers
• After moving the luggage, the man stops
in the bar room and has another drink
In trying to avoid conversation and the issue at hand, the
couple fills their time with alcoholic drinks.
At the end of the story they each drink alone
He sits at the bar and drinks an Anis
She is at the table finishing her beer

from the third round
A second motif  The man’s
over-simplification of the
“operation”.
Using this euphemism, rather than the
harsh word “abortion”, is one way he
minimizes this choice.
His continuing statements stress how

“perfectly simple” this process can be
and also imply his strong opinion that
she should just “do it”.
SYMBOLISM – the use of words, places, characters, or
objects that mean something beyond what they are on a literal
level. A symbol is a word or object that stands for another
word, object, or idea.
The title actually contains three different symbols  including hills, the
color white, and the white elephant
Hills
the rounded enlargement of the
girl’s stomach with a baby
The Color
White Symbolizes the innocence and purity of
her unborn child
White uselessness or
Elephant Symbolizes being unwanted
A white elephant sale, for example, is a type of yard sale or bargain-bin sale. At these sales,
stuff that is unwanted is sold. This reference could imply that the unborn baby is useless or
unwanted.
avoidance of a difficult
White Symbolizes topic (“an elephant in
the room”)
Elephant
The phrase “an elephant in the room” is a euphemism for a topic painfully obvious that no
one wants to discuss – it refers to a question, problem, or issue that is obvious but is being
ignored.
Bamboo boundaries the couple is facing at this
point in their life OR the separation that
exists between the couple
Curtains
Anis del Toro
This new drink that tastes like
licorice can represent the
innocence of Jig, since she has
never heard of this drink before.
This powerful liquor can

symbolize the excitement that
her American boyfriend has to
offer to Jig, but the drink fails to
deliver.
Railroad Tracks
These tracks are the
dividing line
between the green,
fertile land, and the
brown, dry land,
representing the
division that exists
between the couple.
These are tracks that run side-by-side, yet

never meet, and could represent the
relationship between Jig and her boyfriend –
being together – yet never coming together.
the point where a decision must be
Train Symbolic of
made, as it is the midpoint between
their journeys
Station
Green Side
of Station
(Lush, fertile, vibrant green landscape)
fertility – the growing baby – a
new life – a new beginning
Barren Side
of Station
(Brown and dry landscape)
Death – the abortion – the

end of life
Ebro River
Symbolic of the
Represents life passage of time
and vitality
Baggage
the past
Hotel Labels on Baggage
all of the places
the couple has
traveled to
the man’s spirited and
unrestricted lifestyle,
which he will have to give
up if he needs to settle
down and raise a child
“Hills Like White Elephants” is similar to
many of Hemingway’s other short stories.
He uses straightforward writing, simple
prose, and skeletal sentences.
He leaves
Hemingway knows information out of
how to trim language this story
and has been said to intentionally. This
“get the most from allows the readers to
the least.” fill in the blanks and
come to their own
conclusion.
Hemingway uses a style that analysts call

the “Iceberg Theory.” This is very evident
in “Hills Like White Elephants.” His hard
facts float above the water but most of the
supporting structure, filled with symbolism,
operates underwater.
Iceberg theory is a minimalistic style
that focuses on surface elements without
explicitly discussing underlying themes.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Elephant in the Room.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/elephant_in_the_room. (4/6/10).
Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Moonstar.com.

http://www.moonstar.com/~acpjr/Blackboard/Common/Stories/WhiteElephants.html.
(3/31/10).
“Hills Like White Elephants.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hills_like_white_elephants. (3/31/10).
“Hills Like White Elephants: A Study Guide.” Cummings Study Guide.

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides4/Hills.html. (4/1/10).
“Hills Like White Elephants Symbolism, Imagery & Allegory.” Shmoop Beta.
http://www.shmoop.com/hills-like-white-elephants/symbolism-imagery.html.
(4/1/10).
“Hills Like White Elephants – Literary Analysis.” Virginia Community College Systems Literature Website.
http://www.gummyprint.com/blog/hills-like-white-elephants-literary-analysis/.
(4/1/10).
“Hills Like White Elephants: Themes, Motifs, and Symbols.” SparkNotes.

http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/hills-like-white-elephants/themes.html.
(4/1/10).
“White Elephant.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/white_elephant. (4/6/10).

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Themes, Motifs, and Symbolism in

“Hills Like White Elephants”

For AP Literature & Composition, D. McNew

One theme is Communication 

• A conflict between the

• The girl’s dependence

• Confronting and accepting

Alcohol is one motif

He sits at the bar and drinks an Anis

She is at the table finishing her beer

His continuing statements stress how

Elephant Symbolizes being unwanted

This powerful liquor can

These are tracks that run side-by-side, yet

Death – the abortion – the

Hemingway uses a style that analysts call

Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills Like White Elephants.” Moonstar.com.

“Hills Like White Elephants.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

“Hills Like White Elephants: A Study Guide.” Cummings Study Guide.

“Hills Like White Elephants: Themes, Motifs, and Symbols.” SparkNotes.

“White Elephant.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

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