Hills Like White Elephants is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway, first published in 1927. Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American journalist and writer, author of seven novels and a few short-story collections, many of which have become literary classics. Hemingway’s writing style is extraordinary, the writer himself referred to one of its main features as the ‘iceberg theory’ (Hemingway, “Death in the Afternoon” 98). It means that only some of the facts appear on the surface, but the most significant part of them is still hidden, it is only alluded to or implied. Besides, Hemingway prefers avoiding complicated syntax – often, his sentences are short and simple, which, however, does not affect the depth of the story itself. Hills Like White Elephants is a good representative of Hemingway’s style, with short stories in particular. A big part of the story is taken up by a dialog. It is happening between a man, who is referred to by the author as the American, and a young woman. They are lovers who have recently traveled together and are now waiting for their train at a small station somewhere in Spain. The dialog at first may be unclear to the reader – or at least the object of it – but it is evident that the couple has a lot of built-up tension between them. The issue in question is the woman’s pregnancy or, to be exact, their unspoken conflict about whether or not she should have an abortion. Both of them are pretending to feel okay and willing to do what the other one wants, while it is clear that their desired outcomes are pretty much the complete opposites. This is where the problems begin – instead of having an honest heart-to-heart conversation about everything, the couple is refusing to communicate their true feelings, which only leads to more tension and unresolved conflict. One of the first interactions between the couple in the story is when the woman compares the hills to ‘white elephants’ (Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants” 824). The man immediately becomes dismissive, saying he has never seen one so he cannot judge. They both are being passive-aggressive with each other, which reveals a covert conflict between the partners. The woman is frustrated by the lack of attention and care from the man, desperate for something to ease off the tension, but the man’s reaction only adds up to it. This scene also shows the mental difference between the two people – she is idealistic and innocent; he is obstinate and self-centered. “The man insists on the ‘facts’ and ‘proof’ while Jig talks of fantasies, emotions, and impressions,” states Smiley in her article (3). “Jig’s conversational objective is to establish intimacy through emotions and joke-telling. … The American’s reply, ‘I’ve never seen one,’ effectively ends that conversational tactic” (qtd. in Smiley 3). The man is only concentrated on his interests and thoughts, and the only thing he cares about at the moment is abortion. For the American, the prospect of having a baby is the least favorable. It will stand in the way of him having a free and uncommitted relationship with the woman, which is why he is so insistent with the ‘operation’. Meanwhile, Jig is worried about the complete opposite – asking the man how he sees their relationship afterward. “If I do it, you’ll be happy and t