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Gefroh 1

Brittany Gefroh

English 169

Eunice Johnston

12 September 2010

Symbolic Interpretations of the White Elephant

Ernest Hemingway was a 20th

century American author who is known for his terse,

economical prose style, which is widely acknowledged to be his greatest contribution to

literature (Ernest). He was born on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois, and he died as a result

of suicide on July 2, 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho after a long period of physical and emotional

suffering. The public was well-acquainted with Hemingways personal life, which was filled

with drama and excitement. He was married four times and had three children with two of those

women. He was an avid outdoorsman and a bon vivantone with refined taste. While serving

as an ambulance driver in the Italian infantry during World War I, he was severely wounded.

His experiences in the war profoundly affected him, and he came to see the world "as devoid of

traditional values and truths" (Ernest).

It is in this sort of world lacking traditional values that Hemingways short story Hills

Like White Elephants takes place. An American man and a woman who live a wild life of

traveling and drinking sit outside of a train station in Ebro, Spain, drinking beer and Ans del

Toro. While the two are drinking and chatting, the man brings up an awfully simple operation

that he wants Jig, the woman, to have (42). This operation, in which they just let the air in, is

an abortion (46). The conflict that results over Jig having an abortion is illuminated by the title

of the short story and the different symbolic interpretations that a white elephant can have.

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The importance of the symbol of the white elephant is demonstrated by Jig mentioning it

four times in this relatively short dialogue. She mentions twice that the hills look like white

elephants but then clarifies that they dont really look like white elephants and that she just

meant the coloring of their skin through the trees (36). Jigs mind is undoubtedly preoccupied

by the idea of a white elephant, but exactly what she means by her comments is not made

entirely clear until the final reference to white elephants. The man tells her that he loves her, and

she responds by saying, I know. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like

white elephants, and youll like it? (60). Here for the first time the unborn child is connected to

the symbol of the white elephant.

Once it is deduced that the idea of the white elephant is connected to the unwanted

pregnancy, one can make reference to a white elephant sale in understanding the significance of

this connection. A white elephant sale raises money by collecting unwanted objectswhite

elephantsto sell at low prices. In the mans eyes, the unborn child is simply a white

elephantan unwanted object that will prevent the two from living just like [they] were before

(48). He cares nothing about the child but only about the opportunity to continue living a happy,

carefree life. The baby is the only thing that bothers [them and] its the only thing thats made

[them] unhappy (50).

Jig, however, is very reluctant to accept the idea that the unborn child is a white elephant

that can simply be thrown away. This brings to mind what a white elephant is in nature without

all of the figurative meanings attached to it. Literally, a white elephant is a rare albino variety

of elephant which is highly venerated in some Asian countries (Elephant). Due to its rarity, a

white elephant is considered sacred, and it is revered and protected. These two conflicting

definitions of the term white elephant highlight the conflict that takes place within Jigs mind.

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On the one hand, the unborn child is an unwanted burden that would wreck her current lifestyle,

but on the other hand, she struggles to let go of the normal belief that babies are precious gifts.

This internal struggle leads to her reluctancy to give in to the mans demands even though he

insists that its the best thing to do (57).

Morality aside, an abortion would most likely be best for Jig. The reason the term white

elephant originally came to mean an unwanted burden was that, according to legend, the kings

of Siam were accustomed to make a present of one of these animals to courtiers who had

rendered themselves obnoxious, in order to ruin the recipient by the cost of its maintenance

(Elephant). Because the white elephant is sacred, it cannot be disposed of or used as a beast of

burden, so essentially one is responsible for feeding its enormous appetite while getting nothing

in return. The cost of keeping the baby would be great for the two, as their life of traveling from

place to place drinking and living in luxury would surely have to end. One could argue that the

baby would not be a true white elephant in that Jig and the man could get something in return

namely the joy that comes with having a child and seeing it grow into an adultbut the lure of a

continued life of extravagance as well as the demands of the man who Jig desperately wants to

please likely would be too overpowering, though Hemingway does not make it clear what Jigs

final decision is. Regardless of her decision, the various interpretations of the white elephant

highlight the various perspectives that exist on abortion and that make it such a contested and

confusing issue. By leaving the conclusion ambiguous, Hemingway refrains from declaring his

position on which perspective is the most correct.

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Works Cited

"Elephant." Def. 2. Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2009. Web. 12 Sept.

2010.

"Ernest (Miller) Hemingway." Contemporary Authors Online. Gale, 2005. Web. 12 Sept. 2010.