Hills like white elephant 中象征手法的使用

Symbolism Used in

“

Hills like White Elephants

”

A symbol is an object, action, or idea that represents something other than itself, often of a

more abstract nature. Symbolism creates quality aspects that make literature like poetry and novels

more

meaningful.

The

story

is

talking

a

very

sensitive

topic

at

that

time,

because

of

that,

Hemingway

does

not

use

a

word

of

pregnant

or

abortion.

Hemingway

is

good

at

“

Iceberg

Theory.

”

In this way, the short story does not disclose everything, we may find that a lot of things

are symbolic in it.

The title

“

Hills like White Elephants

”

contains three different symbols: hills, the color white,

and the white elephants. Firstly, hills can be interpreted in two ways. The shape of the hills Jig

sees is just really like a white elephant.

“All

right, I was trying. I said the mountains looked like

white

elephants.

Wasn't

that

bright?

”

She

uses

the

white

elephants

as

a

metaphor

for

the

mountains. Another interpretation---- Jig is pregnant, in her eyes, the rounded enlargement of her

stomach with a baby is just like the hills, and it can also be thought of as the image of the swollen

breasts. White is the color

of pure snow or

milk.

It is

the color of light

that contains all of the

wavelengths

of

the

visible

spectrum

without

absorption.

In

Western

culture,

white

is

the

color

most

often

associated

with

innocence,

perfection,

the

good,

honesty,

cleanliness,

the

beginning,

the

new,

neutrality,

lightness,

and

exactitude.

In

the

girl

?

s

eyes,

the

color

white

symbolizes

the

innocence

and

purity

of

her

unborn

child.

As

for

the

white

elephant,

it

is

a

largely

useless

object that may be expensive to own and maintain, according to one of its definitions

in standard dictionaries. From the perspective of Jig, one of the hills may represent the

lifestyle

of

her

and

the

American. There

are

also

some

other

symbols

of

it.

It

represents

a

valuable

possession

which

the

owner

can

not

dispose

of.

According

to

Asian legends, the possession of a white elephant was regarded as both a blessing and

a

curse.

It

was

good

because

the

animal

was

sacred

and

was

considered

to

be

a

high-level gift. It was bad because the animal could not be used as a labor animal and

would

be

expensive

to

own

and

maintain;

It

is

a

avoidance

of

a

difficult

topic

(according to

“

an elephant in the room

”

).

The phrase

“

an elephant in the room

”

is

a euphemism for a topic painfully obvious that no one wants to discuss

–

it refers to

a question, problem, or issue that is obvious but is being ignored; It symbolizes the

strength

and fertility. According to tradition, Buddha

?

s mother had a dream about a

white elephant that brought her a lotus flower.

The following day she gave birth to

her son.

The name of the girl, Jig, also implies and symbolizes a lot. A jig is a device used

in wood working. Some have suggested that her name is symbolic because the man

thinks

of

her

as

a

tool

–

an

object

–

rather

than

a

person

with

emotions

and

feelings about her unborn child. A jig is also a traditional Irish dance. This nickname

can show, in a subtle way, that the girl and man dance around each other and around

the

problem

that

exists

without

saying

anything

important

or

coming

to

any

clear

decision.

Curtain is recurred seven times in the short story.

“

Close against the side of the station

there

was

the

warm

shadow

of

the

building

and

a

curtain,

made

of

strings

of

bamboo

beads,

”

“

?Dos cervezas,?

the man said into the curtain

”

.

“

The girl looked at the bead curtain

”

, etc.