Hills Like White Elephants – Literary Analysis
The short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway
From the first paragraph the setting immediately introduces the tense atmosphere that will surround the rest of the story. The story takes place in Spain in the late 1920’s. The setting is described as follows:
The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. […] The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went to Madrid.
The couple is in the middle of making a drastic decision where there are only two choices, two directions, just like the two rail lines that pass by the station. The openness and loneliness around the railroad station imply that there is no way to back out of the problem at hand and that the man and the girl must address it now. The heat turns the scene into a virtual teakettle, boiling and screaming under pressure. The landscape that encompasses the station plays a fundamental role in the conflict of the story through its extensive symbolism.
When the girl sees the long and white hills she says that “they look like white elephants.” As she observes the white hills she foresees elatedly the birth of her baby – something unique like the uncommon white elephant. The color white symbolizes the innocence and purity of her unborn child. She also admires the rest of the scenery:
The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across, on the other side, were the fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees..
The fields of grain and trees represent fertility and fruitfulness, which symbolize her current pregnant state and the life in her womb. The Ebro River also represents life, as it germinates the fields. Just as the girl appreciates the panorama and its connection to her unborn child the “shadow of a cloud,” which represents the abortion of the fetus, overcomes her happiness. After an exchange of words with the man she again looks at the scenery, but this time in a different way, as the following sentence illustrates: “They sat down at the table and the girl looked across the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her and at the table.” The man is obviously in favor of the abortion, and everything he says is an effort to persuade her into it. As she considers his point of view she looks at the dry side of the valley, which is barren and sterile, symbolizing her body after the abortion. The man and woman continue arguing and stop for a little when she says, “Would you please please please please please please please please stop talking?”
He did not say anything but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights.
The American apparently wants this abortion because he wants to keep his current lifestyle. The bags with all the hotel labels on them are symbolic of his vivacious spirit. If the woman goes ahead with the pregnancy, he would have to settle down and raise a family, which would mean forgoing his youthful desires of seeing the world.
The story ends with the couple expecting their train’s arrival in five minutes. There is no resolution and there is no decision stated regarding the abortion. Hemingway’s interweaving of setting and symbolism helps him juice each sentence to provide maximum detail. This story was not only intended for the pleasures of reading, but also though provocation. Hemingway has intentionally left the readers to conclude for themselves what will happen next.
• Click Here to Read the Full Online Text of Hills Like White Elephants
Comments
102 Responses to “Hills Like White Elephants – Literary Analysis”
Leave a Reply
Feed: 
Go for the gold
ooooooommmmmggggggg how confusing was dat?!?!?!?!?!?!
I don`t think you are right about the girl not having the abortion. Because in the story, she says that she will do, in fear of their relationship to change. If she agrees to the “simple” operation, they will be happy again, and things will be like they used to….
In my own opinion, the story portrays that there is really no abortion process being committed because the girl realizes that she couldn’t have everything when the abortion is done.
There is a line in the story where she said “Once it is has been taken away, you’ll never get it back”
That’s true since the life of the baby will never get it back once it is being aborted.!!
I agree with Maurice. There is also a point in the story where the girl is looking at dry dead land symbolizing no life (or the abortion) and that was where the couple was headed at first. But towards the end of the story the man picks up their luggage and they decide to go on the train that is leading the opposite direction, a direction where it is described that the the girl saw sunshine, trees, mountains and a river, all major symbols of life. So by choosing to go in that direction i believe it symbolically tells us that they chose not to have the abortion.
a white elephant is not “something unique and uncommon.” it’s a symbolic description of something that is often large, mostly useless, and expensive to maintain.
I dunno know, sorta stupid opinion, but I think that maybe, like if the white elephants symbolize something unwanted, maybe the couple did decide on abortion. =P
In addition, maybe the baby could cost too much to support, so they could decide on abortion. I dunno… =P
interesting story…..symbols of life dramatise our life tooo….
This story was very interesting,but at the same time rather confusing…Even with its lack of obviousness I somewhat enjoyed it…The excitment you feel when you figure out the meanings of the symbols and settings is priceless..
I believe this was a essay full of rhetoric appeals and delma’s that girls have to face daily, i think there is no final solution in fear the man will leave, or will choose to leave due to an unhappy decision. I agree with the analysis, yet i found more meaning behind each detail. this is a major pathos appeal.
I could write forever but i’ll just make a few notes. Firstly, I completely agree with evil bat on this one. the story is initially void of clues unless you are familiar with certain allusions like “white elephant”……..OMG! and Zoogs, good work on noticing that point. they did go the opposite direction. But how do know in which direction abortion awaits? However, Jig does smile when the man said he was taking the bags on the other side.
Hey,
My Name is, Donald
good overall content
check my site:
http://vlg8sVV1.spaces.live.com/
In line 73 she said “we could have everything everyday we make it more impossible.” In line 75 the man said ‘no we can’t.” From my own point of view if the girl keep the pregnancy she is going to lose the man so i think she agree to do the abortion so she can have the man
i think the white elephat symbolizes surgory that she was gitting pressured into by the man in the storie
1fs3yxinbkueesp9
Just to say, a white elephant is a phrase for a precious gift that you can’t give away. I dont think he was using white to symbolize innocence. A white elephant is an expression in its own form.
for me the white elephant is something which obviously does not exist, it is a dream. Jigs dream is to have the baby and it is her white elephant. the girl wants the baby. it is her dream to have it and to have a family, a normal life. she does not want to travel anymore whereas the american boy is afraid of taking serious action. he is afraid to have the baby to have a normal life and in one paragraph he says:”it’s perfectly simple ; it’s really an awfully simple operation,jig ; (and the best one) WE’LL BE FINE AFTERWARD”. here you an see that the american thinks that now it is not fine.
there is another thing; Ernest gives us the chance to finish his sentences look:
I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you BECAUSE IT MEANS NOTHING TO ME” the man said. hehe, i think i could help.
i think it’s very meaningful to name the girl “jig”. in my opinion the writer himself writes what he thinks. otherwise why a writer names a character “jig”.is there anyboy who can comment on this issue?
iunno, but the quote that kinda stuck to me was
“It tastes like liquorice.’ the girl said and put the glass down. Thats the way with everything. Yes,” said the girl. “Everything tastes of liquorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for, like absinthe.”
iunno why, but a pun is obvious from the start that it says liquorice but supposed to be licorice.. all the same, she talks about how everything you’ve been waiting for especially (and everything else) is depressing and seems to motivate for a person to drink.
well from my point of view this story is about how the protagonist is pregnant and is considering an abortion however she is basing her decision on the antagonist in this occasion the man and because she never gives us a clue if she had it already or not
well in my opinion you are right but I really can’t get the moral from this story so I wish someone geve me the moral from these story please
about the girl i think she didn’t do the oportion because there’s final words (Ifeel fine ) that the girl will not do the oportion & got bak to the home
I need some one send the moral on my E_mail please
( Aref_1986@yahoo.com ) I’m on waiting
thats ok
She gives up her white elephant, that’s what I think the moral is. She gives up her dreams for someone else and lets the man decide for her to keep or abort her baby. I think the moral is that you should not lose yourslf to someone else, because by the end I do feel like the woman has lost herself and will never see white elephants again.
i agree with ayse about the matter ”jig”
Why would she be drinking alcohol if she is pregnant? And I also believe the name ‘jig’ should have some sort of meaning.
the white elephant means purity or innocence. it’s the same symbol buddhists use for the baby siddartha. This is true for babies since they are pure and innocent
I think the ending will ultimately be decided by the love the man has for the woman. We know the woman is willing to abort her baby, but what about the man? Isn’t love so amazing, that it can guide people in so many wonderful ways (although sometimes things can turn for the worst)?
I also thought that the girl in the end kept the baby. “I feel fine” means that the pregnancy is nothing wrong and she can deal with it quite well. I don´t know what jig is supposed to mean and what meaning it has in the story??
And to Liane: We learned that alcohol is bad for pregnant women but I think that´s a rather new information. I don´t think they knew it in the time Hemingway wrote it in.
There is a point when it says jig can see the ebro river through the trees. this little bit of setting shows that jig is leaning towards keeping the baby and the man wants the abortion. River symbolizes life but the man wants to act like the trees to change her mind. And just to make people think about her name “Jig” dumb it down a little and think about the little dance people do when they are happy… if you read closely what the man says it seems like he has been in this position before so it is the same old dance for him…. same old jig.
No abortion happened!
Just because a woman says “I feel fine” doesn’t mean that she feels fine. Sometimes that means that everything is NOT fine. It depends upon the tone she uses, which Hemingway leaves for each reader to decide.
The “girl” is drinking alcohol because the story was written in 1927. They didn’t know that drinking/smoking, etc. was harmful to the fetus.
I agree with the person who anilized this story!! with Hemmingway you have to read inbetween the lines!! i agree with you.. Good Job
it really depends on your approach in analyzing this. but it is really useful to analyze in a formalist way so u really can read between the lines and see every detail to decide the best conclusion. there are many ironies, but these support the overall theme. so don’t conclude hastily.
I think that the guy did not care about jig, and seems like he wanted the abortion to happen, so that way he wont feel like he has to stay with her, if he doesnt want to. He can keep travelling and live his american dream…
I think you need to take into account the context in which Hemingway himself wrote in. All of his other short stories are in conjunction with the idea that the main character loses something that he or she holds up as essential to their happiness. I believe we can concur that Jig DID have an abortion simply because that is a theme that runs ravid throughout Hemingway’s other stories, primarily where this story surfaces, in “Men Without Women”.
so the railroad tracks are like cross roads theres only 1 path two of them can take 1 without the man and 1 without the baby
I feel there is an need for students to learn about life through this matter…painful objections and feelings of obligation.
en mi opinion este cuento es muy confuso pero despues de leer entre lineas pude sacar y deducir que ella estaba enbarazada ,como es posible que por el amor de un hombre ella haya aceptado hacerce un aborto , por un hombre y su amor hoy dia todavia se ven esas cosa , deverdad que me gusto mucho yo estoy haciendo un analisis d el cuento y hasta ahora todo vA BIEN!
First off, it is obvious that the man does not ‘love’ the woman. He is pressuring her to do this. This is also apparent in his nickname for her, ‘Jig’.
The woman was not American, and she was not from Spain either, considering she had her baby daddy translate. Now, she knows what a white elephant is. In the 1920’s, white elephants were valued in India. The Indians could not work the elephants because they were special. They appeared to be ‘blessed’ because of these elephants. However, they still had to pay for the upkeep. At the same time, the elephant was useless, expensive, AND valued. Paradoxical, huh?
So, if she had SEEN a white elephant, which she said she had, she might have been from India, a woman with darker skin. Thus, jig might be short for the slang term jigaboo.
And also, as a side note, absinthe, licorice, and ingredients in each of the drinks the man ordered are used to induce miscarriages.
White elephants being the symbol for fertility in this case can shed some light on the question of the abortion. Considering that they are in a place with “no shade and no trees” in the distance there are object that symolize fertile and pure life. Trees,the river, mountains and field of grain. This to me tells that she did not have the abortion.
wait..this might be a dumb question..
but if the main character is indeed pregnant…then why is she drinking beer? I know, I know..she is drinking beer because she it doesn’t matter since she is going to abort the the baby, so it wouldn’t really matter i guess. But, it seems like she is in favor of keeping the baby..so why would she damage the baby with alcohol. am i wrong here?
Melissa, in the 1920’s people did not know that drinking and smocking hurts the fetus, and i think the girl did not have an abortion because the man put their bags in “other tracks.” Symbolizing a new direction.
EVERYTHING IN THIS STORY IS SYMBOLIC. THE FACT THAT THE STORY WAS WRITTEN IN 1920 AND THAT THERE WRE GOIN FROM SPAIN TO MADRID IS SYMBOLIC BECAUSE IN THE 1920′S ABORTION WRE ILLEGAL IN SPAIN. THE WHITE ELEPHANT IS SOMETHING UNWANTED AND HARD TO MAINTAIN WHICH IS SYMBOLIC OF THE BABY WHICH IS UNWANTED BY THEM AND PROBABLY HARD TO MAINTAIN. THE LABELS ON THE SUITCASE SHOW THAT THEY HAVE BEEN TO MANY HOTELS, AND SINCE HE IS AMERICAN, SHE IS A GIRL JUST FOR HIM TO HAVE FUN WITH, BUT THEN SHE GOT PREGNANT.
The white elephants have a double meaning: they are the uncommon, unique gift for the girl, and an expensive, useless thing for the man. They symbolize at the same time something she wants and something he refuses to accept. She is obviously unhappy to carry the abortion, and he tries to persuade her.
Wow this really helped me a lot.. I had no clue that the story symbolized abortion.
I thought that was about something illegal,”let the air in” made me think about some sort of drug, but it was questionable why he had to be there with her? Other possibility was that she worked in a important place where there was some conspiracy against the Earth(nature) and she had to “save” it by doing this illegal movement of letting
[...] Very Detailed – Literary Analysis [...]
I think this series of lines are the ones I enjoyed most from the entire story:
‘I love you now. You know I love you.’
‘I know. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you’ll like it?’
‘I’ll love it. I love it now but I just can’t think about it. You know how I get when I worry.’
‘If I do it you won’t ever worry?’
‘I won’t worry about that because it’s perfectly simple.’
‘Then I’ll do it. Because I don’t care about me.’
If you also notice, this is where the man really starts to become noticeably flustered and this lasts throughout the entire rest of the dialogue. He seems to lose his composure on the issue. I think this is because this is the exact point where the woman makes it clear to the man that an abortion is not something she wants to do, but that she will make the sacrifice for the man in an act of love. This seems to make the man feel guilty enough to continually mention how he doesn’t want her to do anything she doesn’t want to do, but it doesn’t seem to make him feel guilty enough to stop talking about the issue.
Does anyone think that the hills are symbolic? I mean the story starts by saying, “The hills….were long and white.” I have never come across white hills. There are mountains that have white tops. Is it possible that they were making mole hills out of mountains? Maybe this isn’t coming out right. The American is making it seem as though it’s no big deal to have the abortion -when obviously it is (at least to her). Maybe the hills are mountains and not hills? If anyone can word it better, please do.
the “hills” is a symbol of her child growing in her, the stretching of her uterus? White, because pregnacy and child birth is pure and sacred? She never says what she wants… she always asking… shes always pleasing. She wants to settle down, yet is willing to kill her child, to make him happy. thats why shes fine? shes willing to give up herself and the baby she longs for?
help me matt!
To those of you wondering about the girls name being “jig.”
The definition for the word jig is “hopeless”, or no hope remains. I think this is indicative of what Hemingway was trying to convey by naming his character this. But, is the “jig” going to be up in favor of her having the abortion or not?
Hard to take this too seriously when Hemingway isn’t even spelled correctly in the opening line of the analysis …
Just sayin!
About the term “Jig” that the American man refers to the girl as has many meanings. 1. short dance- he calls her Jig because that is all she is to him, a short dance or a fling. 2. to copulate- enough said. 3. to be jiggered- is to be damned or intoxicated. This could mean he is intoxicated by her or she is basically screwed or damned. 4. The expression “The Jig is up”, or game over, you can run but you can’t hide.
All of these terms basically state that he calls her Jig because she wasn’t suppose to have his child.
What if the operation doesn’t mean “abortion”?
It seems funny how it doesn’t say abortion and yet we find all the clues that will lead to it…
but if one interprets the operation as something else, one will also find the symbols and turn them to whatever the operation they think it is.
The man says that the operation is a simple one and that they are just “letting the air in”. They also say how they know a lot of people who have also had it done. All the signs point towards abortion!
Yes, I understand. However, it really doesn’t say abortion so there could be another explanation.
I can’t find one though, but I am trying. I really didn’t see abortion coming until I started reading some of the analysis and I think it sort of ruined it for me.
I would have thought of it as something like a symbol than something literal. Like how it can be related in the ideals of modernism, naturalism and feminism but not literally an ‘operation’ which is abortion.
If anyone can relate these to those said above it would really help me. I have already written some of my own analysis however I have not posted it yet.
slow usain bolt
There isn’t another explanation, its talking about abortion. He doesnt say abortion because that would be too obvious and ruin the story.
“letting the air in” is only something that happens in an abortion.
this story wuz so confusin
i can blieve that a woman would drink
when she has a child in!!!
she should let the baby b born
and giv it 2 some 1 instead of killin it.
she is so stupid
i relly like this story^^
i rated with a 4 stars^^
i meant that i CANT blieve the women
would drink when with a child
this story wuz so confusin
i canT blieve that a woman would drink
when she has a child in!!!
she should let the baby b born
and giv it 2 some 1 instead of killin it.
she is so stupid
i relly like this story^^
i rated with a 4 stars^^
You don’t give a fuck that she drinks, she’s going to get an abortion you stupid.
Okay, just to get something straight, guys: white elephants are an illusion to a tradition in India. White elephants are rare and priceless gifts. But you would never, ever give one to your best friend, so to speak. It’s an honor to be gifted one, but they’re extremely large and are very expensive to take care of. In short, it’s a curse in a blessing. It’s referring to her pregnancy: a blessing, and yet a curse.
And it’s evident that the abortion hasn’t happened yet. Throughout the entire story she’s debating as to whether or not she will go through it, and her American is trying to convince her to do so.
Also, the drinking in itself is symbolic. Don’t say she’s stupid. It helps show how reckless and confused she is. Besides: at that time, I’m not even sure if they knew drinking was detrimental to fetuses.
I’m going to continue to say that it’s an abortion because of the horrible tension you sense between the characters; what better to create tension between two lovers than an unwanted pregnancy? Why else would the girl be hesitant, whereas the guy is trying to manipulate her into complying? And what about all the symbolism, what with the white elephants and the fertile vs. dead landscape? And I’m pretty sure it’s actually called an operation somewhere in the text. I can’t imagine there’s another explanation that fits so perfectly.
Okay, just to get something straight, guys: white elephants are an allusion to a tradition in India. White elephants are rare and priceless gifts. But you would never, ever give one to your best friend, so to speak. It’s an honor to be gifted one, but they’re extremely large and are very expensive to take care of. In short, it’s a curse in a blessing. It’s referring to her pregnancy: a blessing, and yet a curse.
And it’s evident that the abortion hasn’t happened yet. Throughout the entire story she’s debating as to whether or not she will go through it, and her American is trying to convince her to do so.
Also, the drinking in itself is symbolic. Don’t say she’s stupid. It helps show how reckless and confused she is. Besides: at that time, I’m not even sure if they knew drinking was detrimental to fetuses.
I’m going to continue to say that it’s an abortion because of the horrible tension you sense between the characters; what better to create tension between two lovers than an unwanted pregnancy? Why else would the girl be hesitant, whereas the guy is trying to manipulate her into complying? And what about all the symbolism, what with the white elephants and the fertile vs. dead landscape? And I’m pretty sure it’s actually called an operation somewhere in the text. I can’t imagine there’s another explanation that fits so perfectly.
Sorry for the double post!
a white elephant is much like a yard sale… some ones trash anothers gold… ancient indian tradition, what are you nuts…
fuck this book
i actually thought the man was trying to get the girl to have a lobotomy.obviously there was a strain on the relationship,and in that day they viewed the proceedure as a simple fix to emotional problems like depression.she says she doesnt care about herself,she just wants him to love her .he wants her to do it but tries to act like he is not pressuring her.he wants her to be carefree again,like they were at one time .seeing elephants in the white hills makes me think of lighthearted things like children looking at clouds and imagining animals .she knows it will change her,so she isnt sure
jp…wow i feel the same
I think that time doesn’t have much affect on this peice! Many young girls today may have the same views of doing “whatever it takes” to keep a relationship then realizing what they are in.. think this story shows a concious on the girls part that she seems desperate but puts everything on the back burner fir what is best for her boyfriend and or baby
this story is very difficult to analyze. most subjects that have been figured out so far make perfect sense but some of the text just leaves me at a loss. what about the part where teh girl is talking about how she doesnt care about her self those lines, what does that symbolize? and what about the part where she is talking about all the things they could have and all he can say is no we cant. what is that saying?
They obviously take the train home. He carry the bags out to the place where the other train arrives, she smiles at him, and everything is fine. She doesn’t take the abortion.
crysta,he doesn’t say No, we can’t. It’s the girl who says so.He wants to persuade her and says something that he thinks she will like but she keeps on saying No,we can’t because she implies that she will not have that operation,she will have that baby and when she has that baby the man will be gone.That’s why she says ‘No, we can’t.
It’s hard to figure out what Jig is arguing to herself or the American, but i believe that by her last comment, “i feel fine…nothing’s wrong with me…” means that she’s keeping the baby. A white elephant is a unexpected gift. So a baby would be unexpected for them, at their stage and she feels that it’s okay.
visit http://www.promalechoice.com it has a lot of information on abortion and stuff.
You know during his lifetime Hemingway HATED this sort of analysis.
Someone once asked him what fish and the old man in The Old Man and The Sea represented.
He said, “It’s about an old man that goes fishing and catches a great big fish.”
IMO, It’s this sort of literary BS that ruins literature for young people!
My cousin-in-law has to answer the most debatable topics on this piece, and it’s entry level English (she’s in Taiwan). If it’s hard enough for fluent English speakers, wtf is her teacher especting? teacher-centric mofo >:|
Anyway, back to the story–
I looked up “letting the air in” and I found some sort of operation for Emphysma about puncturing the lung to “let the air in.”
I’m not familiar with the procedures of abortion, so would someone mind explaining how “letting the air in” points towards abortion? Please
This story was soooo confusing. If I hadn’t read this and people’s comments, I honestly would’ve had no idea what was going on!
I believe the assignment of the symbol of the vegetated scenery and the dry, brown land on the other side are the other way round. The life that the vegetated scenery stands for, which the girl admires, in my opinion stands for the life of the couple, not the life of the unborn baby.
How I get to this conclusion: In line 113, the girl admires the scene, saying: “And we could have all this [...] And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible.” What leads me to my conclusion here is the part reading “every day we make it more impossible”. Every day, she gets closer to getting her baby; yet she says that every day they, as a couple, make it more impossible to live their carefree lifes with only the two of them.
Also take a note of how the conversation continues! The girl repeats “We COULD have everything”, but the man says “We CAN have everything”. The girl contradicts this statement. Then the man says “We can have the whole world”, but the girl says “No, we can’t. It isn’t ours anymore.” – Here, the “It” refers to the “whole world”. So by saying that the world isn’t theirs’ anymore, the girl acknowledges her responsibility for her baby.
In the end, the man, too, is hit by unspoken insight. By saying “I’d better take the bags over to the other side of the station.” as the time for the train runs out, he decides the path for the two, which is to have the baby. That path may be full of hardships (”the country was brown and dry”), but they in the end both feel that it is the right, mature way to go. The white hills – the baby – is on the dry side of the landscape.
I think it does point to an pregnancy and abortion because of these lines:
- – -
‘You’ve got to realize,’ he said, ‘ that I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to. I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you.’
‘Doesn’t it mean anything to you? We could get along.’
‘Of course it does. But I don’t want anybody but you. I don’t want anyone else. And I know it’s perfectly simple.’
- – -
The American mentioned not wanting anyone else but the girl and so this could imply that the baby is really not something the American would like to have in his life.
GENIUS !
i really like that at the end of the story the author left it open ended for the reader to conclude, because its like the choice for any body else that would ever have had to go through this. in a way it shows the reflection of any one who reads this storys personal opinion on the situation and basically lets you decide what happens in the end
nice work Hemingway
i really like that at the end of the story the author left it open ended for the reader to conclude, because its like the choice for any body else that would ever have had to go through this. in a way it shows the reflection of any one who reads this storys personal opinion on the situation and basically lets you decide what happens in the end nice work Hemingway
it was yannidonlicious
it was yannidonalicious
I had read this story and these comments, and I am still as confused as I was when reading it the 1st time. I have to question how old the girl Jig really is? Her pattern of speach makes it sound like she is no older than 13. I don’t hear too many girls in high school talk this childish. Yes I use girl b/c she is not yet a woman so please do not read into this and think it is just that I am a man. He must be in his late teens if not a little older and I agree with the fact that she is not from Spain but elsewhere due to not knowing what the ad was for the drink on the “bead curtain. What is the age difference and isit relevant in this story?
The expression “White elephant” means (according to Longman’s Dictionary of English Language and Culture) “Something that is useless and unwanted, especially something that is big and/or costs a lot of money”. White elephant sale is old-fashioned American English for jumble sale.
The origin of this meaning is the expression stems from an early period in Siam. When the king of Siam spotted rebellious courtiers, he gave the rebel a sacred white (albino) elephant.
This was such a precious gift that the rebel could do nothing else in life than look after the white elephant. Thereby the king kept his power.
Maybe this ‘jig’ is the rebellious courtier. And the American represents someone with much more power, trying to bribe ‘jig’, to keep himself satisfied. Maybe this goes even further that we could ever possibly imagine?
think about the age differential between the “man” and the “girl”. it hints that she is his mistress. then, look at how uncaring he is, and how sure that it is a simple operation. that kinda tells you he’s done it all before. he’s a guy, why should he know if this illegal abortion is simple if he hasn’t done it before?
What people have to understand is that some men have power over some womens minds… Meaning look how old she is, she is merely a baby and he is seasonsed.. She is at the point in her life where she will do anything for this man to keep him… Even though it is from the 1920’s some things will never change.Sometime’s love makes you do some crazy things!
She must have decided to have the abortion or she would not be getting drunk.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome wasn’t discovered until the early 1970’s. This story was written in 1927. In Hemingway’s eyes she wasn’t hurting the baby.
As a piece of modernist fiction, the story’s ending is meant to be ambiguous, so that the readers can decide for themselves. There is no write or wrong answer, however, I think whether she had the abortion or not hinges on her view of the “white elephant.” They are considered sacred animals in southeast Asia, but are also terribly expensive to take care of. It can be either a blessing or a curse. In case you were wondering what I think happens, “They’re lovely hills,” she said. “They don’t really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees.” The side with the trees!
I agree with Luke, White Elephants is an anlaogy to the white Elephants in Asia , an expensive animjal to keep that once you’re given it, you have to keep it. Just like children , the author may have thought.
The Old Folks Home
Sooner or later it’ll get you. Anne Tyler is the author of the story “With All Flags Flying.” Through her use of character and setting she shows how important it is for old man to feel independent. This story illustrates a strong desire old people have to make decisions.
In this story Character is the really important element that proves my thesis. First and foremost, the old man is nearing the end of his life and his body is failing him. He strongly desires to make his last choice independently. On page 315 the author uses the old man’s behavior to illustrate his desire to make his own decisions when he is talking to his new roommate at the old folks home, “I wanted to come, I made them bring me”. Another quote that proves my point is: “Well, I could have stayed with one of my daughters, but I’m not like some I know. Hanging around making burdens of themselves, hoping to be loved. Not me”. Clearly is important for the man to take his own decisions.
Another element that supports my thesis is the setting. In the beginning of the story the author spot the old man at his house and uses this setting to show how important is for him make his own decisions. Wanting to be rid of clutter that is no longer necessary to his solitary life he decides to leave his house; the house stores to many memories along with the clutter. A quote of my text literature book on page 311 says: “Why should he be so cluttered? He was eighty-two years old. He had grown from an infant owning nothing to a family man with a wife, five children, everyday and Sunday china, and a thousand appurtenances, down at last to solitary old age and the care essentials again, but not bare enough to suit him”. Later on the old man appears at his daughter Clara’s house. That house is important because Clara’s is trying to keep him there, where he will have to give away his authority over his own decisions. “I know that, but I decided on an old folks’ home” said the old man, “We couldn’t do that. We won’t even talk about it”. Said Clara (page 312). It shows how if he stays at Clara’s he won’t be able to make his own decisions.
Clearly the character and the setting illustrate how important it is for the old man to be able to make his own decisions. At the end of the story the old man peacefully lays on his bed at the Old Folks’ house, finally happy to have made his own decision.
Sources:
-”With All Flags Flying.” Elements of LITERATURE Fourth Course with Reading in World Literature. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2003. Print.
i have to write a research paper on this short story . the white elephant is a thing thatrequires much care and expense. Jig or the girl has a hard chopicec to make she wants her baby but wnts her man
why do i feel like this story is about virginity
I feel like the blatant statement near the end of the story is significant. Jig states, “I feel fine,’. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.’ I believe this suggests what her decision will be at the end of the story. If she is fine, there would be no need for an operation,”simple and natural” or otherwise.
Dear Webmaster,
I have Hotel sites and my sites are doing fine in major search engines.Your input is very much appreciated i would like to congratulate you for that, While searching in Google I have found your website and as we both are in the similar field I would like to exchange links with your site. I have some healthy content pages in my websites and will give you some healthy links from my websites.
So, if you are interested then kindly send me your link details. I will activate your links within few minutes. I can assure you that you will get good Search Engine value from our link. If you are not the concerned person, then kindly forward this mail to the webmaster concerned.
Waiting for your reply to come.
Best Regards,
Aurel
if I were familiar of the setting, i would have appreciated the story at first read. i guarantee, it is not bad at the second read.
I like the story and had to read it a couple times to grasp it but yes they both was talking about abortion life with having a child and death without the child in their life. She felt as if it would make him happy and she wanted him to be happy and not haven’t this child in her life they could be happy. But a part of her I believe wanted the child as well. Looking at both sides made it hard but to keep him she wants to give it up. Sad I’ll tell you just sad I think it was an act of selfishness.
The part that gets me stuck is at the end. It’s as if she is playing it off when he says, ‘Do you feel better?’ he asked. ‘I feel fine,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.’ So I’m stuck there wondering, did she just try to play it off in spite of how she was really feeling? Oh and since the whole metaphor of her sitting outside near the river symbolizes her fertility, does that mean he excepts her decision since he left the bar and went back outside with her?
Man, oh man, this is a wonderful twist. I just wonder what Hemingway would have chosen.
Now that I have discussed with a group of people about the story, I realized the astounding symbolism that was presented by Hemmingway.Also the decision of the American man could have depicted the time the story was written in. Around that that time men did themajority of the decisions in a relationship, so when the American man said he would do whatever the girl wants to do but took their suitcases to get ready for the train, the decision was already made without the girls consent.