White Elephant in the Room

White Elephant in the Room by Alissa Gray - Monday, October 22, 2012, 01:48 PM

A cold hearted situation of giving up life to have a better life. its not like she would get sick or was forced to do it because she wouldn’t survive. They just decided too get this operation because they wanted to rid of their mistakes. The American guy was pushing it on hard core. The Beer was a symbol and instigator on several aspects of this story. Maybe if it wasn’t for that alcohol in the first place they wouldn’t have to have this operation or even the stress of having to make a choice. Also the alcohol helps destroy her chances of making any other choice but to go to through this particular operation. White elephants means a trivial, little to no value, so, what may, " The hills like white elephants" meant the hills have no value. This minimalist styled short story does a good job describing without describing what that trying to do. As they struggle about having the operation or not and weighing down the options. They are young and have their whole life to live, so they travel to get this operation. I think the female tries to minimizes the whole operation by saying that comment,"The hills like white elephant" meaning its no big deal. Which instead of feeling better about the situation , he felt annoyed about having to make an decision in the first place. The hills may symbolize the baby and the elephant will always stand for the awkwardness and untold loud teeth liking ignoring the elephant in the room or the expression alone, “the elephant in the room” which is that the Spanish girl might of wanted to keep the baby in the end but I’m not sure her opinion mattered as much when ignored like a elephant. The hills would like the white elephant, perhaps the baby would of liked it’s mother. The couple seemed like they were making a big decision maybe about a baby. The words danced around the subject. But they argued and struggled about keeping it but knew the best thing was to go through the operation. I doubt they were dancing around a new nose or boob job they had to go cross country to another place completely just to perform this particular operation. The theme was abortion, and how a immature and careless American man went out to have some fun and accidentally knocked up a Spanish girl. Here is this whole situation where you have the American man trying to persuade her and push her to have this abortion. So she drinks her problems away and tells her self it will be all better then if she gets rid of this mistake. Even though deep inside she wants to keep it and at least wants the American Man to acknowledge how it would be nice to keep it but she knows it would more like not happen. A good quote i liked from the book showing her conflict with keeping the baby or not. So here she is pregnant but that doesn’t stop her because she wants to try absinthe. The quote goes, “Yes,” said the girl. “Everything tastes like licorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for, like absinthe.” in comparison with her always wanting to try absinthe and finally doing it goes also with how she always wanting a baby growing up but as she found herself pregnant she didn’t want to be pregnant, she didn’t want to have a baby inside her. It goes along with that saying, “ Be careful what you wish for because It just might come true”.   Re: Elephant in the Room by Allen Ghazarian - Saturday, December 8, 2012, 07:20 PM Alissa, I love your breakdown of the story and how you were able to decode the symbolic meanings behind everything.