The Girl's MetamorphosisIn Ernest Hemingway's short story "Hills Like White Elephants", Jig's shifting focus on the surrounding landscape and environment , as well as his dialogue, signify his development from a dependent character who embodies traditionally feminine qualities, to an autonomous individual with more androgynous traits. The opposing landscape on either side of the station in the Ebro Valley represents Jig's two possible courses of action regarding her pregnancy. One side has white hills and “neither shadow nor trees” (273). This side represents the possibility of terminating one's unplanned pregnancy. The other side of the valley is rich in plants and river, which makes the land so fertile, representing the possibility of carrying the pregnancy successfully. Initially, Jig plays a traditionally feminine role in which she is passive and dependent on the American she is with. As she sat in the shade outside the station, “the girl looked at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the land was brown and dry” (273). Looking at the lifeless side of the valley, she considers having an abortion. When she tells the American that “[The hills] look like white elephants,” he retorts, “I’ve never seen one” (273). While Jig is content to be observant and "brilliant," the man's typically masculine hyper-rational response indicates that his observation is somehow irrational and characteristic of women's overwhelming emotions and delusions. The man is quick to dismiss his comparison as incorrect because it is not a reasonable, masculine statement. White elephants also symbolize good fortune and prosperity, but have become synonymous with something of value that is both... middle of paper ......nt. She asserted her power in the relationship and on the subject of abortion. She is completely transformed, going from a dependent woman to a free individual. Throughout the story, the girl and the American discuss how things were or will be okay after the abortion, but after her transformation, Jig tells her, "'I feel good... There There's nothing wrong with me. I feel good” (278). Through his personal growth and overcoming the conventions of gender roles, which are reflected in his interactions with his environment, as well as his dialogue, Jig decides to keep the baby, because it is not a problem to be fixed. on. She won't be well after an abortion. She's already doing well. Works Cited Hemingway, Ernest. “Hills like white elephants.” 1953. Ernest Hemingway's short stories. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, nd 273-78. Print.