Hills Like White Elephants Annotation

In the short story “Hills Like White Elephants”, the author repeatedly has Jig mention the phrase “white elephants.” This phrase serves a very important purpose throughout the story. White elephants are very sacred and pure just like a newborn baby is treasured and pure (Wikipedia). The author does not just refer to the mountains as elephants, but instead as white elephants. The author uses the color white because white represents purity. When a baby is born they are naive and pure in heart. Jig keeps reflecting on the hills like white elephants because she is contemplating the decision that lies before her regarding her unborn baby’s life.

A white elephant is defined as a prized possession, which has no dollar value in the owner’s eyes (Wikipedia). A white elephant can also be broken down into two words. White represents purity and an elephant is majestic and mighty. Jig probably says that the hills look like white elephants because she is alluding to the fact that her unborn baby is pure and breathe taking. She is in awe of the life inside of her and she displays that in the way she expresses her feelings throughout the story. Even though Jig is very descriptive when describing the hills, the man in the story never picks up on the real meaning that Jig is trying to convey through the use of metaphors. A white elephant is the denotation for a certain breed of elephants (Dictionary.com).

The landscape is a symbol of the choices that lie ahead in Jig’s life. There is a railway that runs parallel and divides the landscape into two parts. The railway symbolizes a turning point in the couple’s life. They have to choose to go one way or the other and whichever way they choose to go will define the rest of their lives. One side has fields, a river, and mountains. This side symbolizes growth and is a metaphor for the unborn baby inside of Jig (Gardner). The other side is barren and hot. This side symbolizes infertility and is a metaphor for how Jig views her life is she was to get an abortion (Gardner).

The whole story is full of symbolic meaning all related to the decision the couple faces of whether or not Jig should get an abortion. The man seems in favor of the option of abortion for his own selfish reasons, but Jig seems to really be struggling with the decision. The man’s words and actions do not correlate. The man tells Jig that she wants what is best for the woman and wants her to do what she wants, but the next line makes his words seem very ironic. He then orders her another beer as she requests. When a woman is pregnant, drinking alcohol can be harmful to the unborn baby, therefore either the man was naive about this fact because of the time period or he just did not care because he did not really have Jig’s best interests at heart.

I think that in order for the reader to fully appreciate the story, they have to understand that the story is about a woman and a man dealing with the decision of having an abortion or deciding to have the child. The author never actually tells the reader that the story is about abortion, but he alludes to this fact with his clever use of metaphors and symbolism. The story ends with the couple preparing to board the train. The author never reveals the outcome of the situation. Instead he leaves the outcome of the story up to the reader’s own imagination and intuition based on their observations of the characters.

References:

Gardner, Brian. “Hills Like White Elephants-Literary Analysis.” 2 Oct. 2006. gummyprint. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www.gummyprint.com/blog/hills-like-white-elephants-literary-analysis/>

“Hills Like White Elephants.” 19 Jan. 2011. Hypertext.

<http://www.has.vcu.edu/eng/webtext/hills/hills.htm>

“White Elephant.” 14 Jan. 2011. Wikipedia. 19 Jan. 2011.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant>

Dictionary.com. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/denotation>

Dictionary.com 19 Jan. 2011. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/connotation>