Hills Like White Elephants

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he may be talking about. Jig then looks around her surroundings and sees a valley of hills, which she says that looks like white elephants. A white elephant is a metaphor for a useless and burdensome gift. (Merriam Webster) The hills would later become a recurring motif throughout the story. Jig might have said that the hills look like white elephants as a metaphor of stating that the hills serve no useful function to people other than being a natural landscape. (Bloom 2) The American then pressures Jig to perform the operation (still not explicitly stated), reassuring her that the operation will be "simple" and their lives will return to how it was in the past between the two of them. Since the American refuses to explicitly say what particular operation he may be talking about, he believes this will make the operation less important and something that is completely harmless. (Bloom 2) Jig however, seems to be hesitant and uncomfortable; she doesn't directly respond to his ...

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and "we'll be fine afterwards, just like we were before", while at the same time assuring her that she can what she wants with her body and he does not want her to make a decision that she is uncomfortable about. The American could be lying, and is trying to be sympathetic and manipulative with Jig so that she may agree to the operation later even though she isn't being "forced" to perform the operation. Jig however then tells him to be quiet and not ask any more questions about the operation. As the train arrives, the American walks on and looks back at Jig one last time to ask if she is okay and if she has changed her mind about the operation. She replies that she is fine. We never know ...

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