What is the point of the comparison of the hills to white elephants in "Hills Like White Elephants"?

Hemingway attached great importance to making
the reader feel present at the scene of the story. He was willing to sacrifice the
who-what-where-why-when of an event in order to go straight after the feeling of "being
there." He was an admirer of Stephen Crane and Joseph Conrad. Both of these older writers
were noted for their ability to make the reader feel present at the setting where the action was
taking place, as can be seen in Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Crane's
The Open Boat. "" is a good example of his technique. Among other
things, Jig's reference to the hills in the distance establishes the perimeter of the setting.
The hills are bleached white by millenia of blazing sunlight. The man mentions that the weather
is hot, which is why they decide to drink cold beer. Hemingway appeals to all the senses with
the possible exception of the sense of smell. He has both characters talk about the taste of
licorice, which is very effective because every reader knows what licorice tastes like and can
almost taste it from reading the word. We can taste the flavor and coldness of the beer. The
girl feels a few of the beads in the curtain advertising Anis del Toro.
They feel the heat. The American feels the weight of the heavy bags when he carries them over to
where they will board the Madrid train. We can visualize the hills in the distance and can
almost see and hear the big train even before it will pull in with all the squeaking,
screeching, and squealing of the locomotive. We ought to be able to smell the odors of liquor
and urine emanating from behind the bead curtain. We can hear the intonations of Jig's and the
man's voices and the exotic tones of the few words spoken in Spanish, which so quickly and
effectively reinforce the idea that we are in a foreign country. The story only gives us a
glimpse into two people's lives, but we have shared their problems, regrets and sorrows while
they were here. We have felt their feelings, including their guilt. Maybe we shouldn't try to
judge them.