The setting of a story gives readers insight into the main characters. Setting is the time and place where an event occurs. It can help set the mood, influence character behavior, and reveal the circumstances of the main characters. In Hemingway's “Hills Like White Elephants” the setting reveals the circumstances of the main characters; Jig and the American. In this story the setting is the environment of the characters which include; the train station, the vegetation, the landscape and the weather. The story explores the difficulties of a couple who are debating whether or not to have an abortion. Their thought process and beliefs are shown through the setting. Three main aspects of the setting of this story are the train station which, according to the girl's initial opinion, on the hills look like white elephants. In ancient India the king gave white elephants to his enemies. Its enemies would have no choice but to take care of it and would need a lot of time and money. Therefore the hills represent something that no one wants, in this case a child. The white hills indicate a life of servitude. This attests that she is thinking about not having the baby. As the story progresses, the girl changes her previous assessment. The girl now believes, "They're lovely hills... they don't look like white elephants at all" (2, line 26). Now she's realizing that she doesn't want to get rid of the baby. It's very hot at the station and there are a lot of flies. The heat represents the heated argument the couple is having. Neither wants to listen to the other and the heat symbolizes this. Flies express the irritability one feels. The couple, and even more so the girl, irritate each other during the conversation. The American pressures the girl to have an abortion, but the girl doesn't want to keep hearing these things. The landscape surrounding the train station symbolizes the difficult decision-making process and how this affects the couple's emotions. The setting of a short story plays an important role in imitating the circumstances of the main characters. There are many factors that build the setting, as shown in “Hills Like White Elephants”. The train station, the landscape and the surrounding area all help to establish a strong vantage point of the characters' situation, emotions and circumstances. This particular story is built on its setting and the circumstances of the characters can be easily extrapolated