Reading Response: Hemingway

When I read Hills like White Elephants for the first time I was very confused. It remained difficult even as I reread. The first paragraph set up the scene very well. I had a clear picture in my head of the bar on the sunny hillside next to the tracks. However, there was very little detail about the American man and the girl even though their conversation dominated the story. It seemed like a lot of the story was meant to be inferred because their dialogue was incredibly vague and repetitive. What I was able to infer is that they were in a relationship, but they communicated poorly. Perhaps it was a new relationship or an adulterous one. At first, because she was described as a girl, I though it might've been a father and daughter. Based on both of their tones, though, and the worrisome operation being discussed, my opinion changed. Hemingway did mention that the man was acting strangely because he was worried. Maybe prior to this day they got along well and didn't argue or put each other down so much. I don't think I 'll ever find out based solely on the story though. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a book and had no sense of plot. The best thing about the story was that even though it was odd it remained intriguing throughout. I read all the way to the end without stopping once. I wanted to find out where the plot was going. I wanted all to revealed at the end. That didn't happen, though. It was very anticlimactic. I guess Hemingway's intention was to make the reader think and analyze.