"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway Reading Response Question.

Agron Berisha

EN 102 

Prof. Raquel Corona

Question 2.  Research the phrase "white elephant."  What is the significance of this phrase in the story's title?

            In Ernest Hemingway’s novel “Hills Like White Elephants”, he uses the reference “white elephant” all throughout his writing. This phrase generally means something unwanted by the owner but hard to dispose of. I found it interesting how Hemingway connected this phrase with this couples situation. The way the man and the girl were talking to eachotherwas in a way like they were making a heated the decision. It seemed that the man did not want to go through with it without knowing what the girls position in this conversation would be. When referring to the phrase white elephant and it corresponding to the couples conversation and how they look out onto the hills beyond the train station it seems that they are probably trying to get rid of a piece of land that they both don’t really want, but are having a hard time as to whether or not they want to get rid of it. However, I also think that they are probably debating on whether to leave this particular area, since they are waiting for a train and that their suitcases were filled with numerous patches from their previous visits of other places, that they had stayed in. In knowing this I think that the have visited this place by the Ebro river in Spain and the man wants to know what will be his wife’s decision as she is having a hard time answering him and eventually she begins to get frustrated with him and don’t really get along.  During their conversation they tend to say things will be better like before, reading this makes me think that maybe they were not feeling like home in this place but, they are still having trouble deciding whether to leave or not. Thus putting a huge significance on the phrase "white elephant" on this piece by Hemingway.