hills like white elephants

Hills Like White Elephants ' Response

The setting in Ernest Hemingway 's Hills Like White Elephants ' is as significant to the story as the dialogue between the two characters . It is clear that the man and his girlfriend , whom he refers to as Jig are speaking about her having an abortion . The man is certain about his decision and he is trying to convince Jig as gently as possible to get an abortion Jig has her concerns about it , especially because she doesn 't seem to agree that a child would be such an

obstruction in their lives and she seems to be tiring of their lifestyle anyway , seeking something of more substance . She is conflicted about the decision mainly because it could possibly mean losing her man

Jig makes a comment about the hills in the distance looking like white elephants . This visual in itself is not the significant part as much as Jig 's of it . A white elephant is an essentially useless possession , and one that is excessively expensive to upkeep , that serves no purpose aside from its sentimental value to the owner . The origin of the phrase white elephant ' in English is derived from the history of the giving of white elephants as gifts in Thailand - these gifts were sometimes used as a kind of Trojan horse , since the white elephant was sacred it could not be used for work but was , however , incredibly expensive to care for . A white elephant given to a nobleman who was not very rich would lead him to financial ruin - and since the animal was sacred , it was an honor to receive one and one was forced to keep it and care for it , no matter what the cost . In English the term came to refer to something that was more trouble than its worth , something that might be seen as being of value to others but that the owner is happy to be rid of . From this common usage of the term came the idea of a white elephant sale ' which became synonymous with being able to buy something of apparent value for very little money

Jig referring to the hills as white elephants ' speaks a great deal about her emotional state and how she feels about the they are discussing . She could have described the hills in any number of other ways , so her (perhaps subconsciously ) purposeful use of the term white elephant ' is perhaps also her way of describing her unborn child - or at least , how her boyfriend feels about her unborn child . This is made even more clear when he fails to laugh at her little tongue-in-cheek observation and she questions him about it , and whether he would laugh again when she said clever things like that if she did what he wanted her to do . This little joke ' of hers was made for his benefit though he failed to see her dark humor . Obviously this child of theirs is something he considers to be a burden , and she a blessing : one person 's value is another 's expense . Thus it is their white elephant

The train station is also significant to their story because it is the literal representation of them being figuratively at a crossroads . The express train can continue to whisk them away from one location to the next to the next , as they have been doing for some time (as seen by the number of stickers on their luggage , or they can (figuratively ) stay off of the train , or take another path , and enjoy the beauty of what is around them , ceasing the endless running from one place to another The opposing train tracks are the choices they have to make : one leads them down the same path they 've been screaming down all along , and the other leads them down an entirely different path , with an entirely different pace and different priorities , but which has a beauty all its own - a beauty that Jig sees but her man does not

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