Because of Hemingway’s minimalist writing style, the tone of “Hills Like White Elephants” comes off as emotionally distant and removed. This is both because the narrator doesn’t seem to “care” enough about the characters’ feelings or inner experiences to relay them to readers, and also because of the emotional distance between the two characters. Take the following passage, for example, which starts with the girl mirroring the man’s point about the good that could come from her having an abortion:
“And you think then we’ll be all right and be happy.”
“I know we will. You don’t have to be afraid. I’ve known lots of people that have done it.”
“So have I,” said the girl. “And afterward they were all so happy.”
“Well,” the man said, “if you don’t want to you don’t have to. I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to.”
Because Hemingway does not interject at any point in this passage (apart from the simple phrase “the man said”), he comes off as disinterested in the characters’ inner worlds. In a way, he is communicating that, just as the characters are alienated from each other, he feels alienated from them.
The tone of the conversation itself comes across as bitter, as readers can sense that the man and the girl are not on the same page about the abortion. The girl’s statement that the women she knows who have had abortions “were all so happy” comes across as sarcastic and biting, and the man’s assertion, “I wouldn’t have you do it if you didn’t want to” comes across as defensive and untrue. Overall, the tone of the story is a disconnected and disharmonious one from start to finish.
