Journal 3

Read and respond to Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants." Who are the characters and what are they doing? What is the setting or atmosphere like? What clues does the dialogue reveal about what's going on?

In Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants," there are two main characters. One character, the male, is referred to as "the American." While the other character, a female, is referred to as "Jig," by the male. They both are at a train station waiting for a train to arrive. The story takes place in Spain during what seems like summer due to the description of the weather (it's a very hot day). The dialogue gives off some clues but is not very specific. It is obvious, however, that the male character is trying to get the female character to do something. He mentions a few times that he doesn't want her to do what he wants her to do unless she really wants to. She assures him at the end of the story that she is fine with her decision of agreeing with him.