"Oh, cut it out!" (Hemingway 171). Could this be the true feeling of the American toward his unborn child? In the short story "Hills Like White Elephants" written by Ernest Hemingway, the two main characters find them selves in a moral dilemma in Catholic Spain. Jig, the protagonist, is pregnant by her lover the American. The American, who is not named by the author, wants Jig to have an abortion but she is not convinced. Both …showed first 75 words of 841 total…

…showed last 75 words of 841 total…and the fertile field (the child) to her left"(Hannum5). As she looks out beyond the Ebro River, she comments, "And we could have all this"(Hemingway172). Jig realizes what is really valuable in her life and does not allow her lover to convince her otherwise. The setting and dialogue in Hemingway's short story is rich with symbolism. He skillfully uses the main characters' dilemma to bring out the dualistic nature found in the story.