Hills Like White Elephants: Setting

      In the short story "Hills Like White Elephants", Ernest Hemingway describes the conversations between the American and the girl. The story happens in Spain and this setting makes the story exotic; even though it shows us a quite typical conflict that anyone can face in life. However, we can find this story atypical because of the setting. The writer informs us that the American guy can speak Spanish and see the situation simply and clearly; on the other hand, the girl cannot speak Spanish and see things she faces indecisively. The man seems to be relatively familiar with this kind of situation like he is able to do something in other country by speaking other language without difficulty. In contrast with him, the girl is a stranger in both the place and the situation. She actually seems to know what she wants, but she is not strong enough against his no-pressure pressure like she can say only "thank you" to the woman in Spanish although she might have to go through a new experience she doesn't want.
      The reason why the setting is the most important part to understand this story is that it shows us how different the way these two characters think about the same problem; and it helps us imagine what the place is like and how the characters feel like by picturing in our mind. This gives the reader strong impression in spite of the short length and the short conversation; we can see the inside meaning of each person's lines despite the fact that Ernest Hemingway doesn't give us so many details. Like he said himself, he nailed how great he is as a writer by giving us a chance to understand the story with our imagination from the small piece of the whole things that he showed us.