The story is full of meaning and there are three specific symbols that the story focuses on to convey that meaning. 
 

??First, are the white elephant like hills, which symbolizes the " elephant in the room" the  taboo subject that the couple is talking about but not naming, and the thing that cannot be gotten rid of easily. ( The baby not mentioned in the story)

 

??Second, is the round shape if the hill itself, which is a symbols of the subject matter that the couple is dicussing, her pregnancy and the fact that he wants her to have abortion. 
 

??Third, is the soon to arrivei train symbolizes the heavy impending moment of  decision that the woman must make

 

    Through their behavior American and the girl each show that they are enacting gender-specific roles. The American shows little respect for the girl, treating her as juvenile, even though she is probably not much younger than he is—and is carrying his baby. 
 

    He acts as though dominance, assertiveness, and bullying are appropriate ways to achieve results. He ignores the girl's reluctance as he pushes her to have a "simple operation" that he insists is "really not anything." 

 

       Although she gradually changes during the narrative, the girl starts out very much in a subservient role. She asks the American's permission to try Anis del Toro, assures him she is trying to "have a fine time," and placates him by altering her comment about the white hills and agreeing with his comments on the beer.

 

      The girl seems torn between the two landscapes, not only commenting on the beauty of the hills but also physically walking to the end of the platform and gazing out at the brown emptiness around the station.

 

       In "Hills Like White Elephants," the brown and dry landscape that the couple awaits their train on symbolizes the dismal state of their relationship and implies they choose not to have their child. The fertile plains across from the station symbolize the better life Jig dreams of and thinks they could have if they have their child. The hills that she compares to "white elephants" symbolize how her dreams for her relationship are just an illusion.

 

Step-by-step explanation

    The first example of symbolism in the story is the white hills in the that the woman says look like an elephant.

 

     The girl don't ever quite say what they mean, they leave a lot of room for interpretation. In a scenario as serious as this one, the work of trying to decipher what the other character actually means by what he or she says—or does—creates a very tense situation.

 

     In "Hills Like White Elephants," the couple awaits their train on an image that implies they choose not to have their child. The fertile plains across from the station symbolize the better life Jig dreams of and thinks they could have if they have a child.