"Hills Like White Elephants" a short story written by Ernest Hemingway, is a dialogue of a couple set in the Spanish countryside. No names are used in the story to describe its characters; the man is addressed as the American, while the girl is called "Jig". Although the subject is never fully disclosed, the language and tone that the story is written in supports the strong symbolism Hemingway uses from beginning to end. The language used in the story is what makes it compelling to the reader. Through his words we are allowed to create a mental picture of the conversation as though we are in the next room watching through the beaded curtain. This is a story written about two lovers faced with the reality of their relationship, and decisions imperative to the course of their lives.
             Although the subject of disagreement is not once made directly obvious to the reader, it is known and understood because of symbolic words and meanings in the story. Right at the beginning of the story the animosity is felt, through the way the characters speak to each other. Statements like 'Just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything",(350) indicates the defensive and agitated talk of the characters. The simple comment about the white elephants made by the girl annoyed the man and that is shown by his responses to her. The reader is conscious of the fact that a couple who is naturally on good terms speaks to each other with a sweet essence that is not displayed in the dialogue between the American and Jig.
             Hemingway never refers to "Jig" as a woman, suggesting that she is a young girl that is involved with an older man susceptible to his wishes. If "Jig" were to be referred to as a woman, then the reader would not perceive the female character as a confused and in a sense, manipulated girl; but as a woman who was sure of herself and whatever decisions she would make in he
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