At first when I read the story I was a little confused on what was going on and the meaning behind a sort of random meaningless conversation. After discussion with peers I have came to the conclusion that the story is all about choice to change. It seems as if the man and girl are going across Spain and just partying, stopping at random places and drinking. The girl seems as if she has made the choice that she wants things to change by the way she speaks. While the man has made the choice that he likes what he is doing and doesn't want things to change. These point of views are also represented by parts of the story such as the hills, train station, and even the drinks. The hills could be symbolic of how the girl wants something new and she's all amazed by the lush hills that look like white elephants, while the man could really care less about the hills and he just wants to have his drinks. The train station is also symbolic of their choice of change, because they can either keep going on their trip and drinking and having fun or they can easily just go back the other way and lead a completely different life, and do everything different. Which is also like the drinks. The beer is represented as the normal, It sounds as if they are always getting beer wherever they stop. However the anis del toro could be represented as their new life if they did make the decision to change. According to wikiepedia, just the way you mix the liqueur with the water can make a completely different outcome. Which could be exactly like their new lives, they don't know what the outcome will be if they do decide to live this different lifestyle. I believe Hemmingway is a great writer because he leaves all the subjects up for the reader to make the interpretation on what's going to happen or what is really going on. This is what I believe to be the meaning behind his story.