Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” is a short story, which contains many symbols that can reveal the story’s meaning. Hemingway’s story does not say what is going on though it is up to the reader to figure out. The symbols in “Hills like white elephants” give the reader clues of what the writer wants to say.
In “Hills like White Elephants” the author does not actually say in the text what is happening. Then a short story cannot be too specific because then it would not be a short story any longer. The reader can by the symbols realize what the story is really about. Some readers may interpret another way of seeing the truth, but the symbols are there.