Hills like White Elephants Essay

In â€Å"Hills like White Elephants,† Jig describes the hills from a distance like white elephants. That description signifies that, for Jig, her pregnancy is something that is precious while a burden at the same time. In order to understand the situation of Jig, it is important to note that white elephants are considered to be sacred and symbolize justice in Southeast Asian monarchies. On the other hand, these elephants come with a costly price in terms of its upkeep or maintaining its health. White elephants are oftentimes given as precious gifts for royal members of the family since they are the ones who are capable of taking care of the costly needs of the elephant. But for the average individual, being given a white elephant means having to take care of a burden that is supposed to be treated as a precious gift. Apparently, the hills in the story symbolize the pregnancy of Jig and the description of the hills as white elephants suggest that her pregnancy is both a precious gift and a burden. On the part of Jig’s American male companion, the fact that he wants Jig to have an abortion suggests that he sees her pregnancy as a burden. Moreover, the railroad tracks in the story’s setting suggest a dividing line between two distinct landscapes—a barren and dry land on one side and a green landscape on the other. Jig’s attention is focused on the landscape while the American is having a conversation with her, suggesting that she is concerned between choosing which side to take—a happy life with her child or a barren life with her American companion but without her baby—while the American is busy convincing her to let go of the baby. In â€Å"A Rose for Emily,† the setting used by the author, William Faulkner, is the fictitious post-war town of Jefferson. In the town, women are not allowed to walk the streets without wearing an apron, thereby suggesting that there is a form of discrimination against women. However, Emily Grierson can opt not to follow the rule because she came from an influential family. In fact, there was even a time when she was given the privilege of not having to pay taxes. Thus, the society’s perception towards Emily by that time was that she was a woman of distinct position. She was someone who is not like the average woman in town as she is capable of doing things that the average women in town cannot afford to do. Moreover, the setting of the house of Emily in the story reveals something about her character. The house is considered to be once a majestic edifice in the town only that it has turned into â€Å"an eyesore among eyesores (287)† later in the story. The reason behind this is that the house was no longer well taken good care of even though Emily has employed a man—both the her gardener and her cook—to look after the house. The time when the townsfolk have noticed the searing stench emanating from Emily’s house all the more gave the house an ugly reputation. At the end of the story, it is revealed that the stench came from the decaying body of Homer, Emily’s lover, who was laid in one of the house’s beds as it rotted for years. Apparently, it is also revealed that Emily had been sleeping with the corpse of Homer all the time when the stench lingered around the house. It symbolizes the decay of the personality of Emily, perhaps dying with the death of Homer. The setting of the house clearly represents the decaying personality of Emily and the predicaments which caused her grief and despair. Victoria Battistelli, (A Rose for Emily) I agree that Emily is an old woman and that she should not have died in that decrepit house. However, I think it was Emily’s decision to stay inside that house until her dying days for one reason—her lover, Homer, is there in one of the bedrooms. Interestingly, it was Homer’s stench—for his dead body was decaying all the time that it was there—that roused the interest of the rest of the people in town although they were not aware it was Homer’s. More importantly, there are evidences in the story which suggest that Emily slept with the corpse of Homer: the lock of hair beside Homer’s body and the shape of the pillow that appear to suggest that somebody’s head was on top of it. These things, among others, indicate that Emily chose to stay inside the house and even sleep with Homer’s corpse. Sadly, though, she did not have to put herself in that position. Apparently, her strong emotions for Homer caused her to withstand the putrid scent of his corpse and stay inside the house. Do you know of other indicators that Emily was willing to stay inside the house even though it was reeking of bad smell? Debbie Wong, (Hills like White Elephants) I definitely agree that Jig was thinking of her pregnancy as she was concerned as to whether she should follow the suggestion of her American companion or to follow her desire to keep the baby for herself. It seems that Jig was weighing the odds for each side of the coin, so to speak, although she gave-in eventually to the demands of her American companion. Her pregnancy is truly a white elephant—a burden and a gift, a burden for her American companion and a gift for Jig. Are there any indicators in the story that says something about Jig’s pregnancy as a burden for herself, or that she was tempted to give-up her baby before finally deciding to do so?