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Drinking is the only source of relief that the man and the girl can find from both the harsh, hot sunlight and the complications of their own relationship. For such a short story, both characters consume an extraordinary amount of beer and liquor. In fact, the only pause in their bickering occurs when they are ordering or consuming their drinks. It is important to note, however, that alcohol is not portrayed as a positive force here. While water produces life and nurtures living things, making them grow, the alcohol in the story affords only temporary relief—the relief of avoidance and the chance to briefly lose one’s self.
Alcohol Quotes in Hills Like White Elephants
The Hills Like White Elephants quotes below all refer to the symbol of Alcohol. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Hills Like White Elephants
Quotes
“They look like white elephants,” she said.
“I’ve never seen one,” the man drank his beer.
“No, you wouldn’t have.”
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“I wanted to try this new drink. That’s all we do, isn’t it—look at things and try new drinks?”
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He drank an Anis at the bar and looked at the people. They were all waiting reasonably for the train.
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Get the entire White Elephants LitChart as a printable PDF.
Alcohol Symbol Timeline in Hills Like White Elephants
The timeline below shows where the symbol Alcohol appears in Hills Like White Elephants. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Hills Like White Elephants
...of a train station located in Spain’s Ebro valley. In these opening details the landscape’s barren, hot, and shadeless nature is emphasized. Into this landscape appear an American man and his...
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When the woman serves the couple their drinks, they are not talking. The girl is staring at the distant hills, which are brightly...
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The girl, seeing a Spanish ad for a special liquor painted on the bar’s beaded curtain, asks the man to translate what it says. He...
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The girl makes another seemingly benign comment about the licorice taste of the Anis drink and how everything tastes like licorice. The man snaps at her, asking her to “cut...
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The conversation lapses into small talk, as the two comment on the beer they are drinking, until the man suddenly brings up the subject of “an awfully simple...
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...“the end of the station,” taking in the landscape around her. Through her eyes the barren hills look fertile, full of grain and trees, a river far off, and “the shadow...
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...care about the operation, and the girl threatens to scream. The woman appears from the bar to let the couple know that their train will be arriving in five minutes, which...
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...their tracks where the train is not yet visible. As he walks back through the bar he stops to get another Anis del Toro alone. As he looks at the people...
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