Hills Like White Elaphants

Analysis of Jig
Ernest Hemmingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” deals with one of America’s biggest issues today, abortion.   In this short story a girl named Jig gets pregnant. Now she has to choose between keeping her unborn child or do the alternative. In the story Hemmingway created this symbolic dialogue with no direct statement to what she wants to do, but throughout the dialogue she tries to find her true character.
Jig in many ways is the protagonist. First off, the whole story is about her. It is about her making a decision. She also is the only character to be given a name, a unique name at that. Jig can be defined as many different things. For example it could mean joke or trick; to bob or jerk up and down; or a temporary position or job. The other character is simply referred to as The American. Secondly, Jig is the one to start the dialogue. Thirdly, she did not initiate the topic of abortion, so at the beginning Jig was in defensive against him. She is making it seem as if she were against him, but going along with him; although, she cannot vocally express how she truly feels.
Hemmingway expresses her true unspoken feelings through how she looks at things or symbolic thought. For example, “The mountains looked like white elephants.” (401). This could mean several different things. White is the color or pureness and innocence, as white is her unborn child. A white elephant is something unique to see. She also admires the rest of the scenery. She always viewed it two different ways. One side had tress with a river and was beautiful, but on the other side there was no shade and it was brown. The only way she saw the world was through two ways but neither of those ways are going backwards.
Jig seems very uncertain about her decision. Her life style seems to be nothing more than “…-looking at things and try new drinks (401). This life style means that she could live a carefree life, which included “looking at things and trying new drinks”. Now...