<P> The reader must interpret their dialogue and body language to infer their backgrounds and their attitudes with respect to the situation at hand , and their attitudes toward one another . From the outset of the story , the contentious nature of the couple 's conversation indicates resentment and unease . Some critics have written that the dialogue is a distillation of the contrasts between stereotypical male and female relationship roles : in the excerpt above , for instance , the woman draws the comparison with white elephants , but the hyper - rational male immediately denies it , dissolving the bit of poetry into objective realism with `` I 've never seen one . '' By saying , `` No , you would n't have '' she implies he had n't had a child before , or had n't allowed birth in the past . She also asks his permission to order a drink . Throughout the story , the woman is distant ; the American is rational . There may be more serious problems with the relationship than the purely circumstantial . While most critics have espoused relatively straightforward interpretations of the dialogue , a few have argued for alternate scenarios . </P>
<P> The reader must interpret their dialogue and body language to infer their backgrounds and their attitudes with respect to the situation at hand , and their attitudes toward one another . From the outset of the story , the contentious nature of the couple 's conversation indicates resentment and unease . Some critics have written that the dialogue is a distillation of the contrasts between stereotypical male and female relationship roles : in the excerpt above , for instance , the woman draws the comparison with white elephants , but the hyper - rational male immediately denies it , dissolving the bit of poetry into objective realism with `` I 've never seen one . '' By saying , `` No , you would n't have '' she implies he had n't had a child before , or had n't allowed birth in the past . She also asks his permission to order a drink . Throughout the story , the woman is distant ; the American is rational . There may be more serious problems with the relationship than the purely circumstantial . While most critics have espoused relatively straightforward interpretations of the dialogue , a few have argued for alternate scenarios . </P>
what is the white elephant in hills like white elephants
what is the white elephant in hills like white elephants
a child
a child