‘Hills Like White Elephants’ by Ernest Hemingway is narrated from a third-person point of view, specifically an objective perspective. This means that the narrator does not delve into the thoughts or feelings of the characters. Instead, the story unfolds through dialogue and observable actions.
This choice of perspective is significant as it allows readers to interpret the emotions and motivations of the characters—Jig and the American—without any overt commentary from the narrator. The dialogue-driven nature of the story places the nuances of their relationship and the tension surrounding the discussion about the potential abortion in the hands of the readers. By using this point of view, Hemingway effectively engages the audience in deciphering the hidden meanings and unspoken emotions between the characters, often creating a sense of ambivalence and conflict.