The Choice

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. . . we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible’” (Hemingway 477). Jig knows that the life of the child she carries could change so much for them. She also knows that if they take away the child, life will not be the same, and she will never be able to get her child back. If Jig chooses to have the operation, “she knows that she will never again have a chance at choosing happiness” (Culture of Life 5).

To help along Jig’s decision, the man continues to try and reassure her of the simpleness of the operation and that everything will go back to normal once she has it done. He tells her that he does not want anyone else but her. Him saying this indicates that he wants their relationship to remain with just them, and he really does not want the child. The man leaves to move the bags to the other side of the station. Jig is finally alone with her thoughts for a while and she can think upon the decision she has to make. The man returns and asks how Jig feels. “‘I feel fine,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine’” (Hemingway 477). By saying this, it can be inferred that Jig has made her decision, and her decision is to keep the child.

Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is a very powerful short story that confronts a big issue without ever actually naming it. Jig is continuously pressured by the American to get an abortion so that they can move on with their lives, but Jig is unsure as to whether or not she wants to have it done. In the end Jig chooses to keep the child, even though she knows that is not what the man wants, and the man might possibly leave her. Coercion in abortion happens every day. Often in an unplanned pregnancy, even if the man does not accompany the girl to the abortion clinic, she still feels the pressure of his threats to leave her if she has the baby. A lot like the American in the story, the man in real life may also pressure the girl into getting an abortion because it is the “best thing” for her.

Works Cited

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Pritchett, V.S. The Oxford Book of Short Stories. New York, Oxford University Press,

1981, pp. 341-45.

Teaching The Culture of Life: Hills Like White Elephants. 2015,

cultureoflifestudies.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CLSP_HillsLikeWhiteElephants.pd

f. Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.

White Elephants, Railroad Tracks, and a Confusing Couple. 2010,

engvc.unm.edu/Publications/BestStudentWriting/Bestof102/English102Essay.pdf.

Accessed 12 Feb. 2017.

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