How do Jig’s perceptions change as she looks at the landscape in Hills Like White Elephants?
Direct Answer
In Ernest Hemingway’s short story Hills Like White Elephants, Jig’s perceptions of the landscape evolve from passive observation to active symbolism: first she casually remarks that the hills “look like white elephants,” then she engages with the view by walking to the other side of the station and sees more fertile land, and finally her shifting gaze and the contrast between the barren side and the green side reflect her internal conflict and decision-making process. Her changing perception of the terrain mirrors her changing attitude toward the pregnancy and relationship, suggesting doubt, hope, resistance, and possibly acceptance. The landscape becomes a visual metaphor through which her psychological state is revealed and through which she negotiates her own desires, autonomy, and sense of the future.
Context and Expanded Discussion
1. Introduction to the Setting and Jig’s Initial Gaze
In Hills Like White Elephants (1927), Ernest Hemingway places the characters—an American man and a young woman, Jig—at a train station in the Ebro Valley in Spain, where they wait for a train to Madrid. Early in the story, Jig looks out at the hills and comments, “They look like white elephants.” This opening gesture establishes her as an observer of the landscape, yet the meaning of her remark is non-literal and open to interpretation. Critics have argued that Hemingway’s minimalist “iceberg” style — where much is left unsaid beneath the surface — invites readers to infer what lies behind the words. Ford Forum+1
At this stage, Jig is still lightly engaged with the landscape: the hills are curious, poetic, perhaps whimsical, rather than deeply symbolic. Her gaze signals a willingness to view the world around her with imagination. Yet the man’s response—“I’ve never seen one” (white elephants)—deflates the metaphor immediately and suggests a tension between her imaginative perception and his pragmatic, dismissive attitude. What begins as a simple glance becomes the first marker of a subtle but growing shift in her awareness of place and possibility.
2. The Symbolic Value of the Landscape: Two Sides of the Valley
As the story progresses, the landscape becomes deeply symbolic. On one side of the tracks lies a “brown and dry” terrain; on the other side, across the station, lie fields, trees and a riverbank. Textual critics interpret these contrasting landscapes as representing divergent life-paths — the barren side reflecting sterility or the life they currently lead, and the green side representing fecundity, growth and the possibility of new life. IvyPanda+1
When Jig rises from the table and walks to the end of the station, her movement signifies a change: she transitions from passive listener to active viewer. She looks over the valley, contemplates the scene and then returns. At this moment her perception of the landscape deepens: the “other side” is not just scenery but a symbol of what might be. As one scholar notes, “the two sides of the valley … represent two ways of life, one a sterile perpetuation of hedonism … the other a participation in life in its full natural sense.” Ford Forum
Jig’s gaze thus shifts from the hills as aesthetic object to the valley as moral/ existential object. Her perception becomes charged. The hills “like white elephants” turn into markers of her dilemma: to stay in the barren, surface-level world or to move into the richer terrain of decision, consequence and growth.
3. Jig’s Changing Perception and Its Reflection of Her Internal State
The evolution of Jig’s perception parallels the shifts in her internal state. Initially, she views the hills with a light detachment. She comments with curiosity. But as the dialogue over the “operation” (implicitly an abortion) proceeds, the landscape takes on a more emotional resonance for her. The hills, the valley, the train tracks—all become embedded in her decision-making process.
For example, after viewing the greener side, she says: “And we could have all this.” Five minutes later the man asks, “But I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to.” Her earlier glance at the fertile side of the valley suggests that she is considering life in a broader sense — beyond the immediate sexual travel lifestyle they have been living. The shift in her perception of the landscape (from passive glance to thoughtful look) mirrors her growing awareness of the weight of the decision. Critics note that the moment when Jig distances herself spatially—walking to the end of the station—is also when she distances herself psychologically from the man’s dominance. Connotations+1
Thus the landscape is not a neutral backdrop. It becomes a psychological canvas. Her changing perception signals that she is no longer simply going along; she is reflecting, choosing, imagining. She moves from being the “girl with him” to someone who momentarily draws her own horizon.
4. The Final Shift: Perception, Decision and Ambiguity
By the end of the story, Jig’s perception of the landscape has matured into something more ambiguous and nuanced. The final lines show her smiling, saying “I feel fine … There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.” This statement can be read in multiple ways: as resignation or as assertion. Similarly, the landscape she has looked at becomes a mirror of unresolved possibility rather than a simple symbol of fertility or barrenness.
At this point, her perception of the hills/valley has shifted again: from curiosity, to symbol of possibility, to a more complex representation of the tension between choice and compromise. The landscape is no longer simply “over there” but intertwined with her relationship, her body, her future. Critics argue that this third phase of perception shows that Jig is aware of the opposing terrains of her life but remains uncertain which path she will choose. DigitalCommons at USU
According to one reading, Jig’s taking hold of the beaded curtain and looking through it signifies her crossing a threshold—from observation to engagement. The landscape that once seemed distant becomes immediate, and her perception solidifies into awareness. Yet the ending leaves ambiguity: Did she decide to keep the child? Did she decide to go on with the abortion? Her perception changed, but her decision is not spelled out. The landscape remains symbolic of her choice and its consequences.
5. Implications: Why Jig’s Changing Perceptions Matter
Jig’s changing perceptions of the landscape hold a number of interpretive implications. First, they suggest that setting and place are not passive in Hemingway’s story—they actively shape character psychology and theme. The external landscape mirrors internal conflict, thus reinforcing the story’s unified aesthetic. Second, the evolution of her gaze shows an evolution of her agency: from passive companion to a figure in deliberation. Third, the ambiguity of her final stance underscores the story’s larger theme of communication and misunderstanding: her perceptions changed, but what she communicates remains inscrutable to the man and to the reader.
Moreover, by tying Jig’s psychological shift to her changing perception of the land, Hemingway invites readers to read the story not just as a dialogue about an “operation,” but as a visual-symbolic journey of a woman coming to terms with her identity, her body, her relationship and her future. The landscape thereby becomes a medium of inner life, and her shifting perception marks the arc of her consciousness in that moment. As one commentary puts it: “the landscape features in the story become meaningful through the character’s observation and imagination” (IvyPanda). IvyPanda
Finally, the fact that Jig’s perception changes but the man’s remains largely fixed underscores the gendered dimension of the story: she sees possibility, growth, life; he sees convenience, avoidance, the same lifestyle as before. Her perception of the world around them diverges from his, foreshadowing the possible divergence of their futures.
6. Conclusion
In conclusion, Jig’s perceptions of the landscape in Hills Like White Elephants shift significantly as she moves from passive curiosity to symbolic engagement to ambiguous resolution. The hills that first seemed like “white elephants” transform in her mind into a broader valley of possibility—and then into the threshold of decision and consequence. Hemingway uses the landscape not merely as setting, but as metaphor and catalyst for psychological change. Through Jig’s gaze we witness how external terrain becomes internal terrain: a reflection of hope, fear, desire and autonomy. The progression of her perceptions thus constitutes a key mechanism by which the story communicates its themes of choice, communication, gender dynamics, and the unspoken weight of decision.
References
Avitzour, Daniel. Why Does Jig Smile? Readings of “Hills Like White Elephants.” Connotations, Vol. 27 (2018). Connotations
Lopez, Paul J. “Beneath the Surface: An Analysis of Gender and Cultural Bias in Hemingway’s ‘Hills Like White Elephants’.” Chi-NICHOLS Literary Journal, Sept. 2, 2022. nicholls.edu
O’Brien, T.D. Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” (Structural Commentary). California State University Sacramento, 1992. Sacramento State
Washington, G. “’Hills Like White Elephants’: Epistemic, Nonepistemic and …” English Faculty Publications, Utah State University, 2015. DigitalCommons at USU
IvyPanda. “Landscape Symbolism in Hemingway’s ‘Hills Like White Elephants’.” 2023.