"Hills Like White Elephants" Summary

A young couple sits in a train station bar waiting for their train. They have traveled a great deal and seem to be bored with the routine. They have an uncomfortable conversation in which they discuss an unnamed activity. The girl says that she wants to do it but the boy is worried that she only wants to do it to please him.

"Hills Like White Elephants" Analysis

As in many Hemingway works, the unspoken topic of conversation between this young couple is an abortion. The white elephant mentioned in the title is a symbol for this abortion. A white elephant is a gift that someone does not want, just as the abortion is a gift between the couple that neither of them wants but which they have decided to accept.