They Look Like White Elephant Analysis

The theme is about two couples would have been traveled around (crossroad) the Europe during the World War 1. The author did not notify to the readers if they were married or not, but it is an assumption that they ought to be couples. The title has a significant meaning; it says Hills dealing with the green pasture, and happiness. While the white elephant signify something that is hard to get rid of even though it seems priceless, it could mean an object that becomes a problem to the person who received the gift. The title entails that it is hard to make decisions in life one the white elephant is present in the person’s life. This illustration leads to the main story of the two couples. The woman wants to know if the man would be able to understand
that she is with child and he is responsible for the baby even though they are not married. In the 19th century, it was a taboo and abomination for an unmarried woman to be with a child. People in the society would see that lady as a prostitute and a shame to the community.
It takes two to tango, so she should not the only one who takes up the responsibility of affairs or the baby in her womb. The man is responsible too, but he does not want to marry her and cater for the child. The woman has a hard decision to make, such as aborting the child or having the baby and facing the consequence that follows. The story deals with the conversation the man and the woman discussed in the bar and ways to tackle the situation. In the story, there are few notions I would lie to point out. “They look like white elephants, I have never seen one the man drank his beer”, “Should we have another drink, all right.” This implies that they bought drink a lot. Also, once the man started talking about the operation, she is quiet. The man acts like he does not understand what the woman wants the man to understand that she is pregnant and he is the father of the child. Maybe, the man understands the woman, but pretends like he does so the woman could stop whining about her pregnancy. “Well, the man said, “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to”. Later on, he understands the woman, but he is trying to sway her to have an
abortion. “ If I do it you won’t ever worry, I won’t worry about that because it’s perfectly simple….” This illustrates that she cares about him even though he does not. “What did you say, I said we can have everything”, She is feeling something for the baby and she knows that any decision she makes she cannot take it back, once it is done. “ I feel fine, she said, “there’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine”. The author wants the reader to think critically, about the last sentence, such as you do, think she is going to have an abortion, or take care of the child alone and face the consequence or get married to another man, before the child is born.