Symbolism in "Hills Like White Elephants"

In Hemingway’s “Hills like White Elephants” of all the symbolism contained, the references to a white elephant are most important. The reader must understand the universal meaning of a white elephant to understand the theme. Otherwise, it would seem that the story is just ramblings. A white elephant symbolizes a valuable possession; a possession that cannot be parted with, even though it is unwanted and the cost of keeping it outweigh its benefits. I believe that the white elephant, in this case, symbolizes 2 things: An unborn baby and Jig’s relationship with the man. Jig mentions that the hills look like white elephants to her, but the man doesn’t agree. This means that the man is unwilling to keep the baby, he doesn’t want his lifestyle to change and would rather that Jig undergo an “awfully simple operation” that is apparently an abortion; which in the first half of the 20th century would have actually been rather risky (Hemingway 295). Also, one can assume that Jig doesn’t believe she can go through with it. She knows that it will be a burden, but one that cannot and should not be parted with. She knows if she decides to keep the baby that her relationship with the man (that is already crumbling) will not continue.

In Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the black box is the central symbol. One doesn’t really need to understand the symbol to understand the theme. The nervous tension illustrated in the crowd helps with that and besides, the suspense is a nice touch to the story. However, the black box, especially, the references to the color black, gives the reader a sense of something awry with this town’s particular lottery. Also, the tattered condition of the box leads to a sense of tradition. The references to needing a new box refer to the town’s need for a new tradition like other towns are adopting.

I enjoyed “Hills like White Elephants”. It was hard to read, but a challenge. The fact that I had already know what a white elephant symbolizes, helped me to understand what was going on in all of the dialogue. Hemingway was clearly a brilliant writer. Jackson also made good use of symbolism in “The Lottery”, but it really wasn’t needed for us to understand the point that this lottery is unnecessary and clearly an outdated ritual.